Six months after President Donald Trump initiated a war against Iran in late February, the conflict remains ongoing, and U.S. objectives have shifted to include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carries about 20% of global oil shipments.

The war was initially expected to last four to five weeks, but fighting has continued despite repeated statements that it has been won or that a deal was near completion. A June memorandum of understanding intended to pave the way to a cease‑fire has not led to a resolution, and the United States has reduced its stockpiles of key weapons while increasing economic pressure on Iran.

Trump declared in June that the United States had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, but a stockpile of roughly 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of highly enriched uranium is believed to be stored at three sites bombed by the United States and Israel. Trump said the material would be retrieved in coordination with Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency and destroyed, though Iran has not indicated willingness to permit such an operation, which experts say would require a large deployment of U.S. troops.

The original war aims did not include reopening the strait, which had been closed since the conflict began, raising fuel and fertilizer prices. Trump has said the strait is functioning, though occasional drone or rocket attacks have occurred. A proposed deal would involve reopening the strait and lifting the U.S. blockade of Tehran’s ports, though the president has also suggested the waterway could become U.S. territory with tolls.

The administration set out to destroy Iran’s missile arsenal. Trump initially claimed that 90% of Iran’s missiles and launchers had been eliminated, later revising the estimate to 82% by mid‑May. U.S. Central Command continues to identify Iranian command centers, air‑defense sites, coastal surveillance facilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks as targets.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in early June that Iran has suffered massive destruction of its defense industrial base, with attrition of 80% to 90%, a process he said would take years to reverse.

U.S. and Israeli forces achieved air superiority early in the conflict. Rubio said Iran retains limited drone capacity but lacks the ability to employ swarms, and that its navy no longer exists as a conventional force, relying instead on small fast‑boat units equipped with machine guns that occasionally lay mines. Trump asserted on July 3 that Iran’s navy and air force are “totally gone.”

Trump said in March that the United States would protect Middle Eastern allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and others. The United States maintains thousands of troops in the region, and in June responded with strikes after Iran fired missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain. Oman, which has pursued separate negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, has expressed discomfort with the administration’s approach, and Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it obstructed the deal.

Early in the war, the United States struck Iranian‑aligned militias in Iraq. Administration officials have reduced public updates on degrading proxy networks, saying the goal is to prevent the regime from arming and directing terrorist forces beyond its borders. The focus has shifted to the conflict in Lebanon, where the United States mediated a deal for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament; Hezbollah’s leader has rejected direct talks and pledged not to disarm.

Whether the United States can achieve its revised objectives, particularly reopening the Strait of Hormuz and securing a negotiated end to the conflict, remains unresolved as the war enters its seventh month.