Strait Of Hormuz Crisis, Gas Price Politics, Iranian School Strike Investigation

President Trump says there's, quote, practically nothing left to target in Iran as US and Israeli air strikes continued on to Haran overnight. Iran is losing the war in the air, but on the water has strangled traffic in the Strait Of Hormuz. I'm Leila Fauldal. That's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Gas prices are rising because of the war. And president Trump, who campaigned on bringing them down, is now calling it a very small price to pay. Is that a price Americans are willing to accept? Also, military investigators say The US is responsible for a missile strike on a girl's school that killed at least 165 civilians. NPR learned the school was walled off from a nearby military base years ago. Why did The US cut back on an office that helped to limit civilian casualties? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. One of the hot spots in the war in The Middle East is the Strait Of Hormuz. Yeah. There, in the last twenty four hours, Iran struck several commercial ships. Images of one ship in the Persian Gulf area show plumes of smoke rising above it. The important passage for a lot of the world's oil is effectively closed, and Iran therefore, seems to have gained an advantage in the war at sea even while losing the war in the air. NPR national security correspondent Greg Myrie is covering all this. Greg, good morning. Hi, Steve. Where do you think the campaign stands? Well, Iran's air defenses have been so decimated that The US and the Israelis are sending defenses have been so decimated that The US and the Israelis are sending warplanes over Iran whenever they wish with minimal risk at this point. The Pentagon says that The US has hit more than 5,000 targets, so we're talking close to 500 a day. President Trump is sending a bit of a mixed message. He's suggesting the war could end soon because as he said in an interview, there's practically nothing left to hit. But he's also said The US needs to stay to finish the job. So The US and Israel could carry out these air strikes indefinitely, but they could be approaching a point of diminishing returns when there's a limited number of targets left. Why is the story so different when we move out to sea? Well, the Iranians have a very strong hold over the Strait Of Hormuz. The US has sunk most of Iran's navy, including minelaying ships, but Iran still has other ways to hit these oil tankers and cargo ships. The Strait Of Hormuz is just 20 miles wide or so at its narrowest point, and Iranian forces can fire drones or rockets or missiles at passing ships. And as you mentioned, several ships have been hit in the last twenty four hours. What is the impact of all that, the economic impact? Yes, Steve. We're …