Nicole Lapin

Less than 24 hours after the announcement from Oman, Israel launched strikes on Iranian targets, followed by U.S.

forces.

President Trump announced the operation at 2.30 in the morning.

U.S.

forces say that they've now hit over a thousand targets in the opening days of the operation alone.

Iran's response has been sweeping and it's deliberately spreading beyond its own borders.

Iran's strategy is to make this conflict as painful and as costly as possible for the United States and its allies by targeting the Gulf countries that host American military bases and allow U.S.

operations to run from their borders.

Disrupting the American financial system is also a weapon, and it's already being used.

To prepare for economic fallout, foreign policy and financial analysts are watching a few things very closely right now.

The biggest wild card is the Strait of Hormuz.

That is this narrow strip of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.

It is the world's single most critical oil choke point.

About 20% of the world's oil shipped by sea passes through it, roughly 15 million barrels a day.

For context, that is enough gas to fill roughly 12 to 15 million cars.

So the big question here is, will this be another long conflict?

According to analysts at Allianz Global Investors, the death of hominy, while a massive shock,

could actually reduce the risk of a prolonged regional war because it raises the possibility of regime change and potentially a new government that does not carry Iran's 47-year hostility toward the West.

That is an optimistic read.

Chatham House experts warn that Iran, with its back against the wall, has every incentive to externalize the conflict, drawing in its allies, expanding the theater, and making the cost of these strikes impossible for the U.S.