Donald Trump's inner circle is growing alarmed that he may be losing control of the Iran war after allied countries flatly rejected his plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has demanded US allies deploy warships to reopen the critical oil passageway, but France, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom have all declined to help protect commercial shipping from Iranian attack.  

Gas prices have surged to an average of $3.80 a gallon from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago, while the narrow strait - through which a fifth of the world's oil flows - remains blocked by the threat of Iranian mines and missiles. 

Israel claimed it had killed two high-ranking Iranian commanders overnight. Thirteen US troops have been killed in the conflict, with more than 200 injured across seven countries.

'We clearly just kicked [Iran's] a** in the field, but, to a large extent, they hold the cards now,' a source close to the White House told Politico. 'They decide how long we're involved, and they decide if we put boots on the ground. And it doesn't seem to me that there's a way around that, if we want to save face.'

Some allies fear Trump risks being dragged into an open-ended conflict just as the midterm elections approach, with the escalating war threatening to drive up the cost of living for voters already furious about affordability. 

'The terms have changed,' said a second person familiar with the military operation. 'The off-ramps don't work anymore because Iran is driving the asymmetric action.'

The war has also caused a schism between top allies within Trump's MAGA movement, including Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, as the President has argued for years against regime-change wars in the Middle East.

US intelligence has also determined that Iran's regime will likely remain in power despite relentless airstrikes.  

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will likely tighten its domestic grip as the country's internal enforcer, intelligence officials told the Washington Post.  

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said security chief Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran's Basij forces, have joined the late Ayatollah Khamenei in the 'depths of hell' after targeted overnight airstrikes. 

The attack on Larijani comes four days after he marched alongside thousands of Iranians at a Quds Day rally in Tehran, where he taunted Trump during a live interview. 

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, unseen since the war began, has said the US and Israel must be 'brought to their knees' and accept defeat before any peace deal is possible. 

'For the White House, now the only easy day was yesterday,' the source familiar with the military operation added. 'They need to worry about an unraveling.'

The White House and Pentagon continue to insist the war is a 'tremendous success,' pointing to US naval and aerial superiority over Iran.