The war with Iran, launched in March 2026, is nearly seven months old. The Congressional Budget Office puts its cost at $38 billion, strikes this month targeted vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and Houthis now control a key Bab al-Mandab island. Iran's proposal, sent through Qatari mediators, offered a seven-week cessation of US and Israeli hostilities including Lebanon; Trump rejected a seven-day pause tied to lifting the blockade and unfreezing billions, and Tehran says it awaits a formal rejection. Reporting has turned to Iran's squeeze: it has exhausted the 90 million barrels it moved over the summer, the rial hit a record low, inflation is at 89 percent, and the oil minister resigned. Trump says no new strikes before…