Since the United States and Israel began striking Iran on Saturday, US President Donald Trump and his administration have offered shifting explanations for why war is necessary — and what the end game is.
On Tuesday, Trump offered a new rationale, suggesting that Iran was preparing to attack Israel and other Gulf states, requiring the US, which has thousands of military and diplomatic troops in the Middle East, to strike first.
Appearing to contradict suggestions a day earlier that Israel was planning to preemptively attack Iran, the US needed to act and avoid deadly Iranian retaliation.
Officials cited an “imminent” threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, despite claims that last June’s strikes had “destroyed” Iran’s nuclear facilities. Efforts are underway to rebuild those facilities, officials said.
While the objectives of the war have so far appeared strictly military and security oriented, Trump has openly called for regime change.
He has wavered between setting a clear four-week timeline for US operations and saying the operations could last “as long as we want” and not ruling out American troops on the ground in Iran.
“I hope the endgame is well defined by the president and the administration so that Congress can do what it needs to do: hold the president accountable, which has not been happening so far,” said retired U.S. Maj. Gen. Randy Manor, who served as deputy commanding general of the United States 3rd Army in Kuwait.
Here’s how the message has evolved since Saturday.
Trump to Iranians: ‘America is supporting you’
In a video address posted early Saturday morning after the first US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Trump said his mission was to “protect the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
“Its threat activities directly threaten the United States, our forces, our bases overseas and our allies around the world,” he said.
Trump cited the failure of talks to end decades of attacks by Iran and its terrorist proxies in the region and its pursuit of nuclear weapons that have killed American citizens, as well as Iran’s ability to hit Europe and US bases with overseas ballistic missiles that “could soon reach the American homeland”.
He said the US would “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,” as well as “eliminate their navy” and end Iran’s ability to fund and arm extremist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
“When we are done, take your government,” he said to the Iranian people.
“Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming power and destructive power. It’s time to seize control of your destiny and unleash the rich and glorious future that lies within your reach.”
Trump and Israeli officials later confirmed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strike along with dozens of other senior Iranian officials at his Tehran compound.
“All I want is freedom for the people,” Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post early Saturday after his announcement but before Khamenei’s death was confirmed.
‘A dire threat to every American’
In a video update on Sunday, Trump said US operations in Iran would continue “until all of our objectives are met” and that the regime posed a threat to both the US and Israel.
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He did not say whether that threat was imminent.
“An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons poses a dire threat to every American,” he said. “We cannot allow a nation that is raising a terrorist army to have such weapons – allowing them to hold the world hostage to their evil will. We will not let that happen.
“These actions are right and necessary to ensure that Americans never have to face a radical, bloodthirsty terrorist regime armed with nuclear weapons and plenty of threats.”
He once again urged the Iranian people to “take your country back” and said the US would “be there to help”.
‘I got him before he got me’
In a series of one-on-one phone interviews with reporters on Sunday, Trump changed the rationale and timelines for the war.
Speaking to ABC News, the president said of Khamenei, “I got him before he got me,” referring to US allegations of Iran-backed plots to assassinate Trump. He said “most of the candidates” identified by the US to succeed the supreme leader had been killed and the operation would last “as long as we want”.
He told NBC News that the “number one” outcome the US wants is to “behead them, get rid of all their murderers and thugs. And there are many, many outcomes. We can do the short version or the long version.”
Trump said in an interview with The New York Times that the US envisaged a “four to five week” timeline.
He suggested a “perfect scenario” similar to what happened in Venezuela, where most of the regime remains in place and vowed to work with the US after President Nicolas Maduro was ousted.
‘Not a Regime Change War’
In his first public event since the war began, Trump on Monday reiterated many of the objectives he laid out in his Saturday video but did not repeat his call for regime change.
“Our intentions are clear,” he said. “First, we are destroying Iran’s missile capabilities….second, we are annihilating their navy….third, we are ensuring that the world’s number one terrorist sponsor can never obtain a nuclear weapon. And finally, we are ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist forces outside its borders.”
Trump said the administration had planned for a four- to five-week timeframe “but we have the ability to go longer than that.”
In a separate briefing at the Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kane, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said the military’s “clear, devastating, decisive mission” was to “destroy the missile threat, destroy the Navy, no nukes.”
“It may not be called a regime change war, but the regime has certainly changed and the world is better for it,” he said.
Kane said the objectives assigned to the Army “take some time to accomplish, and in some cases are difficult and exhaustive work.”
“Our mission is to protect and defend ourselves and, together with our regional partners, to deter Iran from being able to project power beyond its borders and is ready for appropriate follow-up measures,” he said.
‘We were aware of Israeli intentions’
Speaking to reporters Monday after briefing congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. needed to act now because Israel was about to attack Iran, which would retaliate by striking U.S. bases in the region.
“There was an absolutely imminent threat, and the imminent threat is that if Iran is attacked — and we believe they will be — they will come after us immediately,” he said. “We went proactive in a defensive manner to prevent further damage.
“Obviously, we are aware of Israeli intentions and understand what that means for us, and we have to be prepared to act as a result. But whatever it is.”
However, he denied that the US was forced to attack because of impending Israeli action and that the US’s ultimate goal was regime change.
“We are not worried, we are not heartbroken, and we hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country,” he said.
“We want that to be possible. But the objective of this operation is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and their naval capabilities.”
They were going to attack first
In an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, Trump was asked whether Israel had forced its hand and dragged the US into war with Iran.
“No, I might have forced his hand,” Trump replied.
“You see, we were negotiating with these lunatics, and my opinion was that they would attack first. If we didn’t, they would. They were going to attack first, I felt strongly about it.”
He added: “The way the talks are going, I think they will attack first, and I don’t want that to happen. So if anything, I might force Israel’s hand. But Israel is ready and we are ready.”
Iran is “preparing to attack Israel, they are getting ready to attack others,” he later said.
Asked what the worst-case scenario for war would be, Trump suggested, “If we do this and somebody takes over as bad as the previous guy,” Trump suggested.
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