Hormuz

Even if you wish to ignore what is going on in the Middle East, you will still be paying for what happens there.

- ALEX MAGNO

Today, pump prices are expected to spike. The direst forecasts see the price of crude oil climbing to close to $100 per barrel.Trump and Netanyahu expected the decapitation campaign against Iran to be over in hours - or a couple of days at most. Instead, every sign points to a longer war between a beleaguered Islamist regime and the two countries that wish to see regime change in Iran.

Soon after American and Israeli missiles began landing on Iranian cities, Tehran responded by widening the theater of conflict. Iranian missiles and drones hit US bases and hotels housing American military personnel in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq.

The counterattack forced busy airports to cancel operations. Thousands of civilian flights have been put on hold. Thousands of travelers are stranded. Economies in the region have ground to a halt.

The first strikes against Iran inflicted significant casualties among the country's leaders. Iran's Supreme Leader and senior military officials were killed. The country's defense infrastructure was pummeled again and again by powerful missiles fired from Israel and from the US armada positioned in the Persian Gulf.

The Islamist regime learned much from the brief attack that happened last year. It has decentralized its command and control structure, giving unit commanders greater leeway to respond quickly. Its first waves of counterattacks used older missile stocks, hoping to drain enemy logistics.