The burden-shifting strategy of the US under Trump, and in large part before, has been to get regional players like Saudi Arabia and Turkey to take responsibility for the Middle East from the US, but those countries are concerned about unintended consequences from wars like the Iran war.

Tens of thousands of people (7,000 to tens of thousands) were killed in protests in Iran in January, meaning that many people who might have protested against the war in current circumstances are no longer able to do so, reducing the potential for internal dissent against the war.

UK supermarkets are predicting food price increases of up to 8% due to supply chain disruptions from the Strait of Hormuz closure.

In April (one month into war), the ongoing economic impact on the world—including food price inflation in the UK of 8%, nitrogen fertilizer shortages in Australia, and energy disruptions—creates economic pressure on the world to find a settlement.

Underground weapons storage makes destroying Iran's drone weapons even more difficult than destroying exposed weapons, because bunkers protect weapons and add verification challenges.

Many people in the West and inside the US see US action as inherently logical, but many countries around the world—particularly those not considering themselves allies of the US—see the US as unpredictable cowboys who act irrationally.