According to the
report, President Donald Trump and his top officials have offered
shifting objectives and reasons for the US-Israeli war on Iran, which
critics say shows a lack of planning for the conflict and its aftermath.
Stated
objectives and expected timeline have varied, including toppling
Iran's government, weakening Iran's military, security and nuclear
capabilities and its regional influence, as well as supporting Israeli
interests.
Here is how Trump described his war goals and timeline:
FEBRUARY
28: CALLS FOR IRANIANS TO TOPPLE THEIR GOVERNMENT
The Iranian people should "take over" governance
of their country, Trump said in a video on social media as the US and Israel
launched their attacks. "It will be yours to take," he added.
"This will be probably your only chance for generations."
Trump described the attacks as "major combat
operations."
FEBRUARY
28: WEAKEN IRAN'S MILITARY, INFLUENCE
Trump said Washington would deny Iran the ability to have a
nuclear weapon, although Tehran has insisted its nuclear program is for
peaceful purposes. Iran does not have nuclear weapons while the United States
does. Israel is also widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country
with nuclear weapons.
Trump insisted he would end what he described as Tehran's
ballistic missile threat. "We're going to destroy their missiles and raze
their missile industry to the ground," he said. "We're going to
annihilate their navy."
Trump claimed Iran's long range missiles "can now
threaten our very good friends and allies in
Europe, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American
homeland."
His remarks echoed the case of President George W. Bush for
the Iraq war, which had false claims. Neither experts nor US intelligence
support Trump's assertions and both assess that Iran's ballistic missile
program was years from threatening the US homeland.
MARCH
2: SHIFTING TIMELINE
Trump said the war was projected to last four to five weeks
but could go on longer.
"We're already substantially ahead of our time projections.
But whatever the time is, it's okay. Whatever it takes," Trump said at the
White House. In a social media post, Trump said there was a "virtually
unlimited supply" of US munitions and that "wars can be fought
'forever,' and very successfully, using just these supplies."
In a notification to Congress, Trump provided no timeline.
Trump earlier told the Daily Mail the war could take "four weeks, or
less," then told The New York Times four to five weeks and subsequently
said it could take longer.
MARCH
2: RUBIO SAYS US ATTACKED IRAN BECAUSE ISRAEL DID
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Israel's
determination to attack Iran forced Washington to strike.
"We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action,
we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we
knew that if we didn't preemptively go
after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher
casualties," Rubio said.
MARCH
3: TRUMP CONTRADICTS RUBIO
Trump said he ordered US forces to join Israel's attack on
Iran because he believed Iran was about to strike first.
"I might have forced their (Israel's) hand," Trump
said. "If we didn't do it, they (Iran) were going to attack first."
MARCH
04: CALL TO 'DESTROY' SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the goal was to
"destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production,
destroy their navy and other security infrastructure."
MARCH
06: 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' CALL
"There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL
SURRENDER," Trump wrote on social media.
MARCH
8-11: JUST THE START BUT ALSO 'PRETTY MUCH COMPLETE'
Hegseth told CBS News in an interview aired March 08 strikes on Iran were
"only just the beginning."
A day later, Trump told the same network "I think the
war is very complete, pretty much."
"We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won
enough," Trump told reporters later on the same day. When asked if the war
was beginning or complete, he said: "Well, I think you could say
both."
On March 11, Trump again said he thought the US had won but:
"We've got to finish the job."
MARCH
13: SOFTENS CALL FOR INTERNAL UPRISING
In a March 13 interview, Trump told Fox News the war will
end "when I feel it in my bones."
Trump softened his call for Iranians to topple their
government. "So I really think that's a big hurdle to climb for people
that don't have weapons," Trump said.
MARCH
19: HEGSETH SAYS NO TIME FRAME
Hegseth said Washington was not setting a time frame for the
war and Trump would decide
when to stop.
"We wouldn't want to set a definitive time frame,"
the Pentagon chief said. "It will be at the president's choosing,
ultimately, where we say, 'Hey, we've achieved what we need to.'"
MARCH
20: TRUMP CONSIDERS WINDING DOWN BUT NO CEASEFIRE
Trump posted on Truth Social, "we are getting very
close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military
efforts" in the Iran war. Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters
"I don't want to do a ceasefire" when asked about the war.
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