More than a week into the US-Israel war on Iran, President Donald Trump has provided little clarity on how the conflict might end. Central questions about what would constitute victory and how long the crisis might last remain unanswered, with the president’s own remarks on Air Force One revealing uncertainty about his objectives.
In an in-flight gaggle, Trump reiterated his call for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”, but offered a vague definition: “It’s where they cry uncle or when they can’t fight any longer and there’s nobody around to cry uncle – that could happen too.” When asked about the timeline, he shrugged and said, “I don’t know... Whatever it takes,” contradicting earlier predictions that the campaign would be completed in four or five weeks.
The president also caused surprise by claiming that a strike on a girls’ school in south-west Iran, which killed over 160 people, was carried out by Iran itself. “They’re very inaccurate with their munitions,” he said. However, videos of the attack show what analysts say resembles a US Tomahawk cruise missile, a weapon not known to be in Iran’s arsenal. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the incident was under investigation.
Asked whether the dignified transfer of six American service members killed in the war had made him reconsider the conflict, Trump shook his head and said, “No, we’re winning the war by a lot... deaths are a part of war.” The remark marked a shift from his earlier pledge to avoid “forever wars”, and underscored his determination to continue the campaign.
