What is the US endgame in Iran, as the war escalates?

As strikes continue across Iran, US President Donald Trump has articulated shifting goals. But how likely are they?

More than two decades after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States, alongside Israel, has launched a war against Iran that has now entered its second week. Yet as the missile strikes on Iran mount, so do the shifting and at times contradictory positions articulated by US President Donald Trump on what the United States is truly after — leading to a central question: What is Washington’s endgame?

US forces have struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran since the war began, eliminating several top Iranian officials, including the country’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Subsequent attacks have targeted nuclear facilities, civilian areas and critical infrastructure such as oil refineries and a desalination plant.

Iran has retaliated by launching hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones targeting Israel and Gulf neighbours. Tehran says the attacks were aimed at military bases used by the US, as well as energy infrastructure, US embassies and civilian areas.

So far, the US and Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,200 Iranians, including more than 160 children killed when a school was bombed. Seven American soldiers have also died. Yet, analysts argue, Trump and his administration have never clearly explained how they want this war to end.

We unpack some of the positions Trump has taken over the past 10 days of war, how they’ve played out since then, and how realistic those scenarios are: