Operation ‘Epic Fury’ is already the Donald Trump’s first great war: its first large-scale, sustained military intervention, with Iran as the central objective. Until now, its foreign action had been limited to specific blows in seven countries but with limited actions, according to ACLED data. In a matter of days, American involvement in the offensive with Israel has advanced and threatens to open several fronts.
From the nuclear program to regime change, with the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic node. All this panorama in one crisis that is already beginning to affect Europe for security, energy and markets. The White House maintains that the war seeks to stop Iran, which Trump presents as “a threat” if it advances in capabilities linked to nuclear technology, although the public story has varied about the objectives and real scope of the conflict.
The most immediate impact on the world system came with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz: a critical step for global energy trade and one of the most sensitive points on the economic map of the planet.
We review in 12 maps step by step of the American intervention and we analyze, in a visual key, the singularities of the conflict with Iran.
Who are Iran’s allies and enemies?
In this war, Iran is not alone. It acts through other armed groups of the Axis of Resistance: Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis of Yemen, three key pieces that move the pulse between Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the Bab el Mandeb Strait.
On the other side of the board, the majority of powers in the Arabian Peninsula align themselves politically with the United States and, indirectly, with Israel. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates act as central partners, while Türkiye and Israel are among the key allies in the regional architecture. Oman is trying to maintain a more neutral profile, being the negotiator for nuclear talks between the Americans and Iranians.
How does it affect the West?
The economic dimension comes when the pulse moves to the straits: by Hormuz 20% of the world’s crude oil passesbut the blow is asymmetrical since China absorbs 90% of Iran’s exports that transit through this route. According to the EIA, the blockage of these 20 million barrels per day forces giants like Sinopec to resort to their strategic reserves in the face of the total paralysis of supply.
If the blockade is sustained, the immediate effect would be tension in prices and supply chains, with special pressure on large Asian importers, and an added incentive for third parties to try to force a de-escalation. In other words: the conflict is not only measured in missiles, but also in sea routes and in the ability of Iran (and its allies) to convert its internal weakness into external levers.
The goal for the United States and Israel is clear: change the regime of Iran. The Islamic Republic faces at this point quite weakened, with a crisis fueled by protests and their proxies in a precarious state.
What consequences does it have for the Iranian regime?
More than a dozen cultures coexist in Iranian society, combined with different religions and languages. From Jews to Arabs, Kurds or Azeris, although Persian culture is the majority.
Iran represents a hybrid system: they have an elected parliament, but it is not sovereign, since its laws must pass through the Guardian Council. That council is made up of 12 members, half clerics appointed by the ayatollah and the other half jurists appointed by the head of the Judiciary and approved by parliament.
Trump’s ‘Epic Fury’ ended with the death of the main leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The supreme leader is above Parliament with the ability to guide and veto political direction.
Khamenei’s death has caused instability, but it does not prevent the system from being postponed. The protocol designates a provisional council made up of the president, the head of the Judiciary and a faqih, who is usually a jurist or cleric belonging to the Council of Guardians selected for that role. In this case, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi will be the acting supreme leader.
The American media suggests that the CIA was monitoring Iranian commanders. Israel, according to information, hacked Tehran traffic cameras for years to locate the Iranian leadership and eliminate fifty senior officials. “This great crime will never go unanswered and will mark a new page in the history of the Islamic world,” warned the country’s president Masoud Pezeshkian in a statement.
What is Iran’s “nuclear threat”?
Trump has excused his intervention by saying that the negotiations in Geneva on the use of nuclear force were not fruitful, while Israel has maintained that it was a “preemptive strike.”
The US has been at enmity with Iran for nearly 50 years after the 1979 Revolution in which the Iranians overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlevi, an ally of Washington. This redefined their relationship for decades.
The Iranian nuclear map, the central objective of this offensive, is deployed through critical facilities such as the Natanz and Fordow enrichment centers.
The latter is armored under solid rock, next to the Isfahan technological complex and the Bushehr coastal plant, whose vulnerability keeps the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on alert due to the risk of a radiological disaster in the Gulf.
Leave a Reply