An impulsive Donald Trump is no stranger to throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks. But so far, none of his remarks, be it the justification for the Iran war, the US’s goals or the timeframe, seem to have stuck. Trump initially spoke of seeking regime change in Iran. Then, of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He has also repeatedly changed the war timeline. The result: Trump now finds himself entangled in a jumbled and self-contradictory mess. The latest in self-contradictions is Iran and the US’s weapons stockpile.
Ever since the US and Israel dropped the first bombs on Iran on February 28, Trump has been issuing statements that appear to be contradictory. Over the past few days, his contradictions have become more brazen and more pronounced. All this while undertaking perhaps the most fraught military operation of his career.
TRUMP CONTRADICTIONS ON US WEAPON STOCKPILE
The latest came on Tuesday. In his usual chest-thumping style, Trump declared emphatically that the US possessed an “unlimited supply” of munitions and could fight wars “forever”.
In the same breath, he declared that Iran was “running out of launchers”, even as Tehran continued to rain missiles on Israel and across the Gulf.
Hours later came a Trump classic. While he repeated his “forever” war claim, the President went on to add that US defence companies were under emergency orders to amplify weapons production. What about the “unlimited supply” you had, Mr Trump?
Foreign media reports, as well as remarks by US senators, have indicated that there was a shortage of interceptor stockpiles, which are used to stop incoming missiles. The sustained low-cost missile barrages by Iran are already straining Western defences.
Over the years, Iran, with extensive help from China, has built a deadly arsenal of ballistic missiles and drones. That doesn’t seem to be getting exhausted.
TRUMP CONTRADICTIONS ON IRAN LEADERSHIP
But Trump seems to be in a world of his own. The eccentric US President also boasted that the military strikes on Iran had eliminated much of the theocratic regime’s anticipated leadership succession bench. Apart from Supreme Leader Khamenei, Trump said 48 top Iranian leaders were eliminated.
If that is so, then why and how is Iran still pounding US military assets in the Gulf? Over the past four days, US military sites in Bahrain, Iraq, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait were struck.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Assembly of Experts selected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader. Clearly, Iran has prevented the kind of vacuum that could have destabilised the regime.
It also reflects the mess inside the Trump team.
“Trump himself admitted that the US had a plan to replace Khamenei. We had a No. 2 and 3, he said. But they were killed in the initial bombing. They killed the people they wanted to replace Khamenei. They are all over the place,” journalist Mehdi Hasan told India Today.
Trump seems to have got his calculations wrong. Wake up and smell the coffee, Mr President!
TRUMP CONTRADICTIONS: ON IRAN NUCLEAR THREAT
Equally baffling has been Trump’s description of the nuclear threat Iran poses.
Last June, after the 12-day brief Iran conflict, Trump said the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities “obliterated” its nuclear programme.
Cut back to March 2, Trump said the US’s objectives in the conflict were “clear”, which included destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities and ending its nuclear ambitions. If the US already “obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear programme last June, then what else was left to destroy?
TRUMP CONTRADICTS RUBIO: WAS IRAN ABOUT TO STRIKE?
At the top of the list has to be the contradiction between Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on whether Iran was about to strike first.
On Tuesday, Trump said he ordered US forces to join Israel’s offensive on Iran because he believed Tehran was about to strike first. “They were going to attack if we didn’t do it. They were going to attack first,” Trump said.
The explanation directly contradicted what Rubio said to reporters less than 24 hours before. Rubio clearly underlined that an imminent Israeli attack forced the US to join the war to prevent retaliatory strikes against American forces.
Adding further to the confusion, the Pentagon, in its briefing to the US Congress, said there was no intel suggesting Iran planned to attack US forces first.
So, clarity on why the US chose to attack Iran now has gone for a toss. So has the public backing for Trump’s misadventure. A recent survey by Reuters found that only one in four Americans supported the strikes on Iran.
US CONTRADICTIONS ON IRAN REGIME CHANGE
The other major contradiction in the messaging by Trump and his team has been on regime change.
Immediately after the first wave of strikes on Iran, Trump categorically said that regime change was the goal.
“To the great, proud people of Iran, the hour of your freedom is at hand… When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” Trump said.
However, since then, Trump and his team seem to have cold feet on the issue. The narrative was trashed by Trump’s Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. “This is not a so-called regime change war… But the regime sure did change. And the world is better off for it today,” he said.
US CONTRADICTIONS REGARDING TIMEFRAME OF IRAN WAR
Apart from this, there have also been inconsistencies in the potential timeframe for the war. Trump initially said it would last two-three days, then increased it to a week and ramped it up to anywhere between “four to five weeks”.
His latest remark puts no timeframe, suggesting that the US military had the “capability to go far longer”.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” Trump said in an interview.
We hope some clarity is also coming soon on the several puzzling and unanswered questions mentioned above. Thanks for your attention to this report!
