Top Trump administration officials pushed back Monday on the notion that the U.S. is rapidly being dragged into another endless war in the Middle East, even as the conflict with Iran widened, America suffered its fourth combat death, and President Trump predicted the fighting could last at least another month.
Mr. Trump would not rule out putting boots on the ground amid questions about the ultimate U.S. goals in Iran and whether the White House wants full-blown regime change.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, “This is not Iraq,” and America will not embark on a “democracy-building exercise” in Iran.
“This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it,” the defense secretary said.
Those comments suggest that the U.S. may be content to leave Tehran’s government standing, albeit with a hollowed-out military and in no position to bankroll terrorist groups or foment violence across the Middle East as it has for years.
Analysts say that although many of Iran’s leaders — including the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — have been killed, it’s notable that some other key political figures are still alive. They include President Masoud Pezeshkian and other current and former prominent government officials.
That could indicate, some specialists say, that the Trump administration doesn’t want to entirely dismantle the Iranian government, as the U.S. did in Iraq. Instead, it may seek to defang the Islamic republic and end its status as a threat to U.S. interests while trying to avoid the chaotic power vacuum that could result from regime change.
Mr. Trump laid out four specific goals of the U.S. military operation during an appearance Monday at the White House: Destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilate its navy, stop its support for extremist proxy groups, and permanently end its nuclear program. The president estimated that Operation Epic Fury, which began over the weekend with a massive wave of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, could last “four to five weeks.”
Mr. Trump said the U.S. is ahead of schedule in achieving its aims, but he would not entirely rule out putting ground troops in Iran.
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Mr. Trump told the New York Post. “I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”
The U.S.-Israeli offensive has taken out at least 49 key Iranian leaders, Mr. Trump said, in strikes that have targeted military and Iranian government facilities across the country of roughly 93 million people.
Mr. Trump said the largest wave of strikes is yet to come.
At the Pentagon, military leaders said the U.S. wants to end Iran’s ability to project offensive military power outside its borders. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the U.S. struck more than 1,000 targets across Iran during the first 24 hours of the operation, pieces of which had been planned years in advance.
“This operation again demonstrated America’s reach, readiness and professionalism,” Gen. Caine said.
Early Monday, American B-1 bombers struck infrastructure associated with Iran’s ballistic missile program, CENTCOM said. Military officials said U.S. forces had entirely cleared the Gulf of Oman of Iranian ships.
“Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have zero,” CENTCOM said in a social media post.
Iran lashes out; six Americans killed
Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks across the Middle East that have at times appeared indiscriminate. Iranian forces have targeted the Israeli homeland and U.S. bases in the theater and have fired weapons toward other Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Qatar said it shot down two Iranian fighter jets Monday. British officials said an Iranian-made drone struck one of its military bases in Cyprus.
Another of Iran’s counterstrikes resulted in the deaths of four U.S. service members stationed at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, the Pentagon said. At least four more were injured.
Later Monday, CENTCOM said it recovered the remains of two other service members who died during an Iranian strike on a U.S. facility in the region, bringing the American death toll to six.
Separately, Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly shot down three American fighter jets late Sunday. All six service members on the F-15E Strike Eagles ejected safely, were recovered and were in stable condition, CENTCOM said. Still, the incident underscored the danger across the Middle East.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly targeted a U.S.-linked oil tanker sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflict has spread throughout the region, including to Lebanon, where Israel carried out fresh strikes against Hezbollah after the Iran-backed terrorist group reportedly fired rockets at northern Israel. An aggressive Israeli military campaign has decimated Hezbollah, eliminating many of its leaders. The latest attacks suggest the group is still capable of attacking the Jewish state, even if only on a relatively small scale.
Another Iran-backed extremist outfit, the Kataib Hezbollah militia, threatened to attack U.S. military outposts in Jordan.
U.S. goals in Iran
In a video address Saturday, Mr. Trump made clear that the U.S. wants the Iranian people to overthrow the regime after the military mission has had its effect.
“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” Mr. Trump said. “For many years, you have asked for America’s help. But you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let’s see how you respond.”
In the days since, Mr. Trump has indicated that he is open to talks with political leadership in Tehran.
It remains to be seen whether the Iranian regime can be overthrown without American forces on the ground inside the country.
Some specialists say the administration, broadly speaking, may want to follow the same playbook it employed in Venezuela. U.S. forces removed President Nicolas Maduro from power in Caracas but left his government intact. Mr. Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, is now in charge of the country.
It is notable that Mr. Pezeshkian is still alive, as are former Iranian Presidents Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami, as well as Ali Larjiani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
“Why not target Khatami, Rouhani or Ali Larijani? They are just as responsible for Iran’s nuclear program and terror,” said Michael Rubin, a former Defense Department official and now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
“Are they just on the B-list for elimination, or is Trump giving them a pass because he envisions a role for them in some sort of Venezuela-like interim arrangement?” Mr. Rubin told the Washington Times.
• Jeff Mordock, Tom Howell Jr. and Mike Glenn contributed to this report.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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