Why is the U.S. at war with Iran? A look at the shifting explanations

U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have offered shifting explanations for why the war is necessary — and what the endgame is.

Ever since the United States and Israel began striking Iran on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have offered shifting explanations for why the war is necessary — and what the endgame is.

On Tuesday, Trump offered a new rationale, suggesting Iran was preparing to attack Israel and potentially other Gulf nations, requiring the U.S. — which has thousands of military and diplomatic troops in the Middle East — to strike first.

That appeared to contradict suggestions a day earlier that Israel was planning to attack Iran pre-emptively, requiring the U.S. to act and avoid a deadly Iranian retaliation.

Officials have cited the “imminent” threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, despite claiming that last June’s strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities. Efforts were underway to rebuild those facilities, officials have claimed.

While the stated objectives of the war so far appear to be strictly military and security-based, Trump has openly called for regime change.

He has also swayed between setting a clear four-week timeline for U.S. operations and saying the operations could last “as long as we want it to,” and has not ruled out American troops on the ground in Iran.

“I certainly hope that the endgame is well defined by the president and the administration so that Congress can do what Congress is supposed to do: to hold the president accountable, which has not been happening to this point,” said retired U.S. major-general Randy Manner, who served as the deputy commanding general of the United States 3rd Army in Kuwait.

Here’s how the message has evolved since Saturday.