The war on Iran entered its 36th day on Saturday, and if you were hoping for a way out, the latest developments offer no such comfort.
An American F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down by Iranian air defenses on Friday — the first confirmed loss of a US aircraft and crew inside Iranian territory since the conflict began. One crew member has been rescued. The other is unaccounted for, with US forces reportedly conducting search operations deep inside Iran. Iranian state media, meanwhile, urged citizens to help locate the pilot.
And if that wasn’t enough to keep the pot boiling, Tehran rejected a US proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire just hours later. The offer, presumably extended in good faith, was publicly slapped down by Iran’s foreign minister. So much for a diplomatic off-ramp.
That said, not everything is at flashpoint. Iranian officials have signaled a degree of openness to talks — vague, conditional, and entirely unsurprising as a pressure-management tactic. Iran says it wants guarantees it won’t be invaded again. Washington says it’s open to negotiation. Both sides are saying what they always say. We’ll see if anyone means it.
The US carrier Gerald R. Ford, which had put into a Croatian port for repairs after a fire, has now departed and is returning to the conflict zone. The message is clear: America isn’t stepping back.
On the economic front, global energy markets continue to feel the strain. With the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil flows — still a contested chokepoint, the ripples are being felt far beyond the battlefield.
China’s foreign ministry called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to dialogue, while expressing concern over civilian infrastructure strikes. The usual diplomatic platitudes, but someone had to say them.
This war has now lasted longer than many expected. The missing pilot is, for now, its most human face.
The search for one man won’t end this war — but it might tell us whether either side is actually interested in stopping it.
— Mr. White