A “whole civilization will die tonight,” the president said as he turned up the pressure on Iran’s leaders to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

As the conflict with Iran expands and intensifies, President Trump’s options — to fight on, or to move toward declaring victory and pulling back — both carry deeply problematic consequences.

The U.S. and Israel have pounded Iran’s leadership and undercut its defense capabilities, but President Trump has offered wildly different explanations for what he hopes to achieve.

The C.I.A. has given small weapons to Iranian Kurdish forces in Iraq in a covert program that began before the current war.

The Pentagon provided few details, but the Trump administration has said that Iran’s efforts to kill U.S. officials is one reason the United States launched its bombing campaign.

President Trump is beginning to consider what sort of Iranian government might come next, as the U.S.-Israeli assault continues.