In the opening hours of the war with Iran, President Donald Trump described its goals as the destruction of the Islamic Republic’s missiles, its missile industry, and its navy; the end of its proxies’ abilities to destabilize the region and the world; and the guarantee that Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon. On the question of regime change, he struck a balanced tone, saying in essence that it would be a fine outcome, but don’t grade him on it. This campaign would be for limited objectives, and would end on a timeline of his choosing.
What a difference five weeks makes. Tuesday morning, Trump warned that if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to the free flow of commerce, “a whole civilization will die tonight.” This followed his Sunday threat of large-scale bombing on Iran’s infrastructure—specifically, its power plants and bridges. And only an hour and a half before an 8 p.m. deadline, he announced that negotiations in Pakistan had borne fruit, and he would “hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!”
