Yet its continuation is still being actively encouraged by Israel. This is because the Israeli goals remain unfulfilled, while Washington's strategic interests are not a consideration in Tel Aviv.

When US President Donald Trump declared via Truth Social that a two-week ceasefire was being implemented to allow negotiations with Iran, the typical bravado that has characterized the administration's attitudes toward the war prevailed. Both US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Trump claimed "victory."

In reality, none of the war's goals—as published by an official White House release—have been fulfilled. For example, Donald Trump is quoted in that release as saying:

"Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities… and their capacity to produce brand new ones — pretty good ones they make. Second, we're annihilating their navy… Third, we're ensuring that the world's number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon… And finally, we're ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders."

Other US officials, who appear to note different objectives, were also directly quoted in the White House release. These include the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, who stated:

"The Operation was again launched with clear military objectives designed to dismantle Iran's ability to project power outside of its borders, both today and in the future. First, we are targeting and eliminating Iran's ballistic missile systems to prevent them from threatening the U.S. forces, partners, and interests in the region. Second, we are destroying the Iranian navy, degrading its capacity capability and ability to conduct operations… Third, we're ensuring Iran cannot rapidly rebuild or reconstitute its combat capability."

Operation Epic Fail?

While the above-quoted US objectives are far from the only reasons cited by Trump administration officials (including the President himself), they are the most consistently mentioned ones.

The reasoning behind the motivations for the war has also shifted repeatedly. One of the most prominent has been the alleged killing of tens of thousands of Iranian protesters back in January. Just prior to the war, Trump claimed that 32,000 Iranian protesters were killed. In early March he began claiming the number was really 35,000, before continuing to increase that number up to 45,000. After each contradictory number, the President has consistently insisted that the death toll was "perhaps much more," leading some MAGA influencers to begin claiming the number was "over 100,000."