Harlan Ullman, chairman of Killowen Group and a retired senior US navy officer
who served in the Gulf, said Washington’s operational constraints and a
dwindling set of military targets make further US strikes on Iran likely to
remain limited. He said the Trump administration appears intent on keeping
strikes very limited to avoid escalation and is relying primarily on economic
strangulation; whether Iran can hold out or US domestic political pressure
forces talks is uncertain. Ullman warned that expanding targets to civilian
infrastructure would risk war-crime allegations. He added some senior US
officers have warned the campaign is degrading US readiness: extended
deployments and deferred maintenance will put carriers USS Lincoln and USS
Gerald R. Ford into shipyards for months, effectively sidelining two
nuclear-powered carriers without Iran mounting a direct attack.
