How the war in Iran goes and what the ultimate goal is depends on the day, time, and which administration official is speaking at the time.
President Donald Trump initially said the strikes constituted “major combat operations” that would likely end within four or five weeks. But since then, he has declared that the war is already “won” and at the same time has said that the United States still needs to “finish the job.” Operations could end “soon” or the military may need to go “further.”
The Trump administration’s decision to attack Iran and enter a conflict without a definitive end date in the early hours of February 28 took many Americans by surprise, coming from a president who campaigned on an “America First” agenda and criticized foreign interventions. While Trump addressed Iran in his State of the Union address – saying that the US military had “destroyed Iran’s nuclear weapons program” in June – he did not go to Congress to ask for authorization for war, and he did not spend weeks arguing to the public that war was necessary.
Instead, the administration now finds itself in the position of having to justify the war to a skeptical public, while Americans are already seeing hits in their pocketbooks from rising gasoline prices. A new NBC News poll released last week finds that 54% of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling and say the United States should not have taken military action.
When asked for comment for this article, the White House referred NBC News to an X post by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, which said it is a “false narrative” that there have been “‘mixed messages’ about the goals of Operation Epic Fury.” He said the administration has consistently stated the goal of destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilating its navy and ensuring that “the regime’s terrorist allies can no longer destabilize the region and attack our forces.”
Here’s a look at the Trump administration’s messaging on the war.
Why did the United States attack Iran?
March 2: End a 47-year war. “For 47 long years, the expansionist and Islamist regime in Tehran has waged a savage and unilateral war against the United States.” (Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth)
March 2: Iran refused to negotiate. “Last June, Operation Midnight Hammer destroyed their nuclear program to rubble. Then we told them clearly, ‘That’s it. Now make a deal.’ I looked at it. I was there. They tried again and again serious attempts at peace. The previous regime had every chance of reaching a peaceful and sensible agreement. But Tehran was not negotiating; they were buying time to reload their missile arsenals and restart their nuclear ambitions. (Hegset)
March 2: Response to Israel planning an attack. “There was absolutely an imminent threat, and the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked – and we believe it would be attacked – they would come immediately after us, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a hit before responding, because the War Department assessed that if we did that, if we waited to be hit first after being attacked – and by someone else, Israel attacked them, they attacked us first, and we waited for them to attack us – we would suffer more casualties and more deaths. We were proactively defensive to avoid that would cause greater damage.” (Secretary of State Marco Rubio)
March 2: Nothing to do with Israel’s intention to attack. “No, it could have forced them to act… If anything, it could have forced Israel to act.” (Triumph)
March 2: Iran would have “so many short-range missiles” in about a year. “But this operation had to happen because Iran in about a year or a year and a half would cross the immunity line, which means they would have so many short-range missiles, so many drones, that no one could do anything about it because they could hold everyone hostage.” (Blond)
Mach 4: Trump had a “good feeling” Iran would attack. “I think it was important with respect to the timeline, but I think the president, before that phone call, had a good feeling that the Iranian regime was going to attack US assets and our personnel in the region.” (Leavitt)
How important is war?
February 28: ‘Major combat operations’. “Recently, the U.S. military began major combat operations in Iran… For these reasons, the U.S. military is conducting a massive, ongoing operation to prevent this radical and evil dictatorship from threatening the United States and our core national security interests.” (Triumph)
March 9: ‘A short excursion’. “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do it to get rid of some evil. And I think you’ll see that it will be a short-term excursion… This was just an excursion towards something that had to be done. We are very close to finishing that.” (Triumph)
What is the objective?
February 28: No nuclear weapons. “It has always been the policy of the United States, particularly my administration, that this terrorist regime will never be able to have a nuclear weapon… They have rejected every opportunity to give up their nuclear ambitions, and we cannot take it any longer. Instead, they have attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and continue to develop long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed abroad, and which could soon reach the American homeland.” (Triumph)
March 2: No regime change. “This is not a so-called war of regime change, but the regime did change, and the world is better for it.” (Hegset)
March 2: Eliminate missiles, the navy and the threat of nuclear weapons. “This operation is a clear, devastating and decisive mission: destroy the missile threat, destroy the navy, no nuclear weapons.” (Hegset)
March 2: Prevent Iran from having “the ability to project power outside its borders.” “As the secretary laid out, our military objectives are clear: our mission is to protect and defend ourselves and, together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from having the ability to project power beyond its borders and be prepared for follow-up actions, as appropriate.” (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine)
March 2: No nuclear weapons. “Iran can never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. That is the goal of this operation and President Trump will see it through to completion.” (Vice President JD Vance)
March 4: Eliminate missiles, the navy and the threat of nuclear weapons. “The stated military objectives of Operation Epic Fury are as follows: eliminate Iran’s ballistic missile threat, destroy its naval capabilities, disrupt missile production infrastructure and areas, cut off its path and end its path to nuclear weapons. And I can report, as you all saw today from the Pentagon, that so far, this operation has been remarkably successful.” (Leavitt)
March 4: Eliminate missiles, the navy and the threat of nuclear weapons. “Operation Epic Fury’s mission is laser-focused: destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons.” (Hegset)
March 6: Unconditional surrender. “There will be no agreement with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER! After that, and the selection of a GREAT AND ACCEPTABLE Leader, we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better and stronger than ever. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE.” (Triumph)
March 9: Keep the Strait of Hormuz safe. “So the Strait of Hormuz will still be safe. We have a lot of Navy ships there. We have the best equipment in the world. Again, most of their ships are sunk to the bottom of the sea. But we will hit them so hard that neither they nor anyone else will be able to help them take back that section of the world… do anything.” (Triumph)
March 11: Prevent Iran from projecting power and keeping the Strait of Hormuz secure. “For years, the Iranian regime has threatened commercial shipping and U.S. forces in international waters. Our mission is to end its ability to project power and harass shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.” (CENTCOM Commander Admiral Bradley Cooper)
Is the war over?
March 8: It’s just the beginning. “What I want your viewers to understand is that this is just the beginning.” (Hegset)
March 9: ‘Practically’ complete. “I think the war is quite complete.” (Triumph)
March 9: Both complete and just getting started. “Well, I guess you could say both (very complete and just the beginning).” (Triumph)
March 9: Still not enough wins. “We have already won in many ways, but not enough. We move forward more determined than ever to achieve the definitive victory that ends this long-standing danger once and for all.” (Triumph)
March 9: Will go further. “We could call it a tremendous success right now (as we get out of here, you could call it) or we could go further, and we’re going to go further.” (Triumph)
March 11: The United States already won. “You know, you never want to say too soon that you won. We won. The first hour is over.” (Triumph)
March 11: America needs to “finish the job.” “We don’t want to leave early, do we? We have to finish the job.” (Triumph)
How long will the war last?
March 2: Four to five weeks or more. “From the beginning, we projected four to five weeks. But we have the ability to go much further… Someone said today, ‘Oh, well, the president wants to do it very quickly, after that he’ll get bored.'” I don’t get bored. There is nothing boring about this.” (Triumph)
March 2: More or less two, four or six weeks. “President Trump has all the freedom in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take: four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. He could move forward or backward.” (Hegset)
March 2: “How far we have to go.” “We will go as far as necessary to advance American interests. But we are not stupid about it. You don’t need to bring 200,000 people there and stay for 20 years.” (Hegset)
March 10: It’s up to Trump. “From the beginning, from this podium, we have not said how long it will take. Our will is infinite. Ultimately, the president determines the end state of those goals, right? But what he has said continually, I want the American people to understand, is that this is not endless. It is not protracted. We are not going to let the mission slip. The president has set a very specific mission to accomplish, and our job is to accomplish it relentlessly.” (Hegset)
March 10: It’s up to Trump. “We know that the U.S. military and our brave warfighters are quickly and expeditiously executing these objectives well ahead of schedule. But ultimately, operations will end when the commander in chief determines that the military objectives have been met, fully realized, and that Iran is in a position of complete and unconditional surrender, whether they say so or not.” (Leavitt)
March 11: Coming soon. “President Trump told Axios in a brief phone interview Wednesday that the war with Iran will end ‘soon’ because ‘there’s virtually nothing left to target.’” (Trump)
