President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that the United States would bomb Iran "back to the stone ages" over the next two to three weeks, marking the most incendiary rhetoric yet in the escalating Strait of Hormuz crisis.Speaking from the White House, Trump confirmed that U.S. military strikes would target Iranian power plants and oil infrastructure, threatening to cripple the Islamic Republic's energy grid and economic lifeline. The announcement, first reported by Axios, sent global oil markets soaring and prompted urgent diplomatic efforts by European allies to prevent a full-scale regional war.To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions. The current confrontation traces back to Tehran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz last week in response to U.S. sanctions, effectively blockading the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil supply transits daily. The Iranian action followed months of escalating tensions over Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement.Trump's threat represents a unilateral American military response that bypasses traditional alliance structures and international law. The President made no mention of consulting NATO allies or seeking United Nations authorization, a departure from the multilateral approach that characterized previous Gulf crises in 1991 and 2003.Regional powers are now bracing for the consequences. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while traditionally aligned with Washington against Tehran, have publicly expressed concerns about the stability of their own energy infrastructure in the event of Iranian retaliation. Israel, meanwhile, has placed its military on high alert, anticipating possible missile strikes from Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Syria.Energy analysts warn that sustained military operations could push crude oil prices to $200 per barrel, triggering the third major inflationary shock in less than a decade. The first occurred during the 2014-2015 oil price collapse, the second during the 2022 energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and now this brewing confrontation threatens to dwarf both previous disruptions.The Pentagon has not publicly commented on operational timelines or force deployments, maintaining its standard policy of operational security. However, according to Reuters, the U.S. Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain has been reinforced with additional carrier strike groups over the past week.Tehran has vowed what it calls "crushing" retaliation to any American attack, threatening U.S. bases across the Middle East and warning that it could strike at American interests globally. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told state media that Iran "will not stand idle in the face of aggression."