Why are we at war with Iran? Trump has given many different reasons
Why are we at war with Iran? Trump has given many different reasons
Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAYSat, March 7, 2026 at 11:03 AM UTC
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A week into the war in Iran and the Trump administration has given several reasons for why it carried out the strikes alongside Israel.
President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have said it moved to eliminate an imminent threat, to squash missile capabilities and prevent nuclear capabilities. It also seemed to support a regime-change, though they did not call it a regime-change war.
Trump has said the U.S. will continue its military action until all its objectives are achieved and has since predicted that it will take several weeks. The death toll as of March 6 includes more than 1,200 Iranians, 10 Israelis and at least six U.S. troops.
"This is a war of choice that Donald Trump has chosen where he has now offered four different explanations of what our goals are," Sen. Mark Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on March 3. But Congress has opted not to halt U.S. involvement in the war after war powers resolution measures failed in both the House and the Senate this week.
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Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.
Why are we at war with Iran? There are many answers
Trump and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have laid out their four objectives: 1) destroy Iran's ballistic missiles; 2) take out its navy; 3) stop its "terrorist proxies" from destabilizing the region; and 4) ensure Iran never has nuclear weapons.
But it took a few days for the message to coalesce around that list of goals, and it appears to still be evolving. Here is what some of Trump and his administration said throughout the week:
Feb. 28, video update: "Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people," Trump said. He also said Iran tried to rebuild after the strikes last summer. "For these reasons, the United States military has undertaken a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We're going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated ... we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It's a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon." Trump also called on the people of Iran to take over their government when the U.S. finishes.
March 1, video update: "An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American. We cannot allow a nation that raises terrorist armies to possess such weapons, that would allow them to extort the world to their evil will," Trump said.
March 2, remarks at a Medal of Honor ceremony, where Trump listed out the four goals as echoed by Leavitt later in the week: "An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people. Our country itself would be under threat and it was very nearly under threat," Trump said.
Hegseth said on March 2: "This is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it."
Rubio told reporters on March 2 that it was Israel that was planning to attack Iran first. "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. "And then we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didn't act."
On March 3, Trump countered Rubio's narrative, saying the U.S. thought Iran was going to strike first: "They were going to attack if we didn't do it, they were going to attack first ... So, if anything, I might have forced Israel's hand, but Israel was ready and we were ready. (Rubio, pressed on it, said, "The bottom line is this: The president determined we were not going to get hit first. It’s that simple, guys,” according to Reuters.)
On March 4, Leavitt spoke at a press briefing, echoing the four objectives Trump gave on March 2: "Iran rejected the path of peace because the terrorist in charge of this regime wanted to build nuclear weapons to use against Americans and our allies. President Trump made the determination, a courageous determination and decision, that the path the United States was on with Iran had only one outcome: massive death and destruction at the hands of a nuclear-armed terroristic regime. That path of death and destruction and threats against the American people have ended with Operation Epic Fury."
On March 6, Trump posted this on Truth Social: "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER! After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), 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 before."
Iran has denied seeking a nuclear weapon and says it was attacked unprovoked, according to Reuters. National security analysts and experts previously told USA TODAY that Iran's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities are wrong or greatly exaggerated.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers, Zachary Schermele, Michael Collins, Michael Loria, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Bluesky and TikTok
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why did Trump attack Iran? He posted he wants 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!'
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