At the Doral Golf Club in Florida, President Donald Trump stood before a crowd of Republican lawmakers and described the war in Iran as "unfinished" and in need of continued military pressure. Yet just hours earlier, in a phone interview with CBS News, he suggested that the war was "very complete, pretty much," with Iran's military capabilities largely destroyed.
A Divided Front
The mixed signals from the President underscore the uncertain trajectory of a conflict that has expanded rapidly across the Middle East, raising fears in Washington that it could deepen into a longer and deadlier war.
In the CBS News interview, Trump portrayed the war on Iran as nearly finished, arguing that Iran's military capabilities had been largely destroyed after a wave of strikes by the United States and Israel.
Contrasting Messages
However, speaking to lawmakers, Trump struck a very different tone, describing the war as unfinished and pledging continued military pressure. "We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough," he said, receiving applause from the crowd.
He added that the United States would not stop until Iran's leadership and military apparatus were fully defeated. "Now nobody has any idea who the people are that are going to be the head of the country," Trump said, referring to the recent announcement that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would assume the position.
Pentagon's Warning
The President's insistence that the war could soon be finished stands in contrast to signals from the Pentagon that the campaign may only be beginning. On Monday, the Defense Department posted a message on social media declaring, "We have only just begun to fight."
The comments reflect an Administration still struggling to define both the goals and the expected duration of a war now days into its second week.
Ramifications of a War
The war has already produced a widening humanitarian and economic toll across the region. The Iranian Red Crescent Society has said roughly 1,300 people have been killed in strikes inside the country, while Iranian attacks across the Middle East have killed more than 30 people.
Israeli strikes have also expanded into Lebanon, killing nearly 500 people, according to the Lebanese officials, and displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Humanitarian Crisis
"We're going to have a much safer world as soon as it's finished," Trump said Monday. "It's going to be finished pretty quickly."
Despite the President's confidence, many remain uncertain about the direction of the war and its consequences.
[Reporting by Chantelle Lee]
