The article reports escalating Iranian attacks and shifting U.S. war aims, with President Trump offering conflicting assessments of the operation. It also surveys commentators’ sharply differing views on the war’s rationale, prospects and possible exit.
Defense Secretary, contradicting the President's statements on the war's progress
ALSO MENTIONED Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader and Mojtaba Khamenei’s father; Ali Mohammad Naini, Iranian Revolutionary Guard spokesman; Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s newly selected supreme leader; Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan leader mentioned in a columnist’s comparison
