At the start of the U.S. war against Iran, President Trump released a video in which he boldly listed his goals and hopes for the military operation. Trump exhorted Iranian demonstrators to take over their government and vowed to confront the “wicked, radical dictatorship” in Tehran with devastating force.
The U.S., Trump said, would destroy Iran’s missiles and the factories that make them. Iran’s navy would be sunk, and its proxies would be so badly weakened that they could never again pose a threat to the region. Importantly, Iran would no longer have the option of developing a nuclear bomb.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said in a video he posted Feb. 28 on Truth Social.
Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which is the pathway to 20% of the world’s oil supply, causing gas prices and inflation to rise and the world’s oil reserves to dwindle. It also launched missiles and drones at American forces and U.S. allies across the Middle East.
With the signing last week of a memorandum of understanding opening the strait and setting the stage for nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, some of Trump’s key objectives have been dropped entirely or shifted. His comments on the nuclear issue have been more consistent.
To understand which of Trump’s views have changed, The Wall Street Journal reviewed his statements before, during and after the war.
Iran’s political future
When Iranian demonstrators took to the streets in January, Trump urged them to wrest control of the government’s institutions and promised that the U.S. would help, though without spelling what assistance might be provided. Trump repeated that encouragement to the regime’s opponents when American and Israeli bombs began to fall.
The Israeli airstrike that opened the military campaign on Feb. 28 killed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, and other high ranking Iranian officials. Khamenei’s son Mojtaba succeeded his father as supreme leader while Masoud Pezeshkian remained as the nation’s president, a post he assumed in July 2024. The influence of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is widely assessed to be greater than ever. That security force, which was established after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah, has played a pivotal role in training and equipping foreign proxies and in quashing dissent at home.
After four months of war, Trump has described the country’s current leaders as more pragmatic and no longer talks about helping the regime’s opponents.
Unconditional surrender
Trump said at the start of the war that he wouldn’t negotiate a deal with Iran but would insist on Tehran’s unconditional surrender, adding that he hoped to have a role in picking Iran’s next leaders.
Last week, Trump said he agreed on the memorandum of understanding to avert an economic collapse. While Trump didn’t provide details, worldwide oil inventories had been dropping following Iran’s move to close the strait.
Iran’s missile force, regional proxies and nuclear program
Trump said at the start of the war that the U.S. would destroy Iran’s missiles and its missile factories. Underscoring the point, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that unless the U.S. targeted Iran’s missile capability, Tehran would have such a large conventional arsenal that it would be able to deter the international community from taking action to halt its nuclear efforts.
Trump said the U.S. would eliminate Iran’s navy and air force. Iran’s proxies such as Hezbollah, he said, would be weakened to the point that they couldn’t present a threat to the region.
After months of conflict in which the U.S. battered Iran’s military, Tehran retained thousands of missiles. Last week, Trump said that Iran was entitled to have a missile force like other states in the region. Iran’s missiles won’t be covered under a U.S.-Iran deal. But, Trump said, they can be discussed in a parallel set of discussions involving Iran and Arab Gulf states.
Hezbollah in Lebanon remains a potent militia and has been clashing with Israel. Trump said that the U.S. will talk to Iran about its proxies. The president remains adamant that Iran can’t have a pathway to a nuclear bomb, but much will depend on nuclear negotiations that are expected to begin soon.
Money
Trump blasted former President Barack Obama for providing billions of dollars in sanctions relief as part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, including $1.7 billion at the start of the agreement to settle a dispute over American arms bought by Tehran before the 1979 revolution that were never delivered.
The current memorandum of understanding states that Iran will be able to sell oil before nuclear negotiations get under way. To facilitate the sales, the U.S. will wave sanctions on those exports and related services, such as shipping and insurance, providing an economic boost for Iran.
An unspecified amount of frozen funds also might be provided for humanitarian purposes under a plan the U.S. is discussing with Qatar as the MOU is implemented. The U.S. will also waive sanctions so at least $300 billion is provided by regional partners for economic development of Iran. Trump has said that none of those funds will come from the U.S., and American officials say this sanctions relief will be tied to progress in implementing a nuclear accord.
Write to Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com
