'President Trump had a good feeling that Iranian regime was going to strike first': White House

The White House declined on Wednesday (March 4) to definitively rule out US involvement in a reported strike on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran, while maintaining that the United States does not deliberately target civilians. During a press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked whether the US was responsible for the strike in Minab, which Iranian state media claims left more than 100 people dead. “Not that we know of,” she responded. Leavitt added that US forces are targeting what she described as the “rogue Iranian regime,” asserting that it “uses propaganda quite effectively, and unfortunately, many people in this room have fallen for that propaganda.”

Leavitt also addressed concerns about US military readiness, stating that the country has sufficient resources to sustain a prolonged conflict with Iran, despite earlier remarks from President Donald Trump suggesting stockpiles were not as robust as he would like.

“The United States of America has more than enough capability to not only successfully execute Operation Epic Fury, but to go much further,” she said during the briefing. “And we have weapon stockpiles in places that many in this world don’t even know about.” Earlier in the week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be,” prompting questions about US weapons reserves. Defense industry executives are expected at the White House on Friday as part of efforts to boost production.

Leavitt contended that Trump’s remarks were aimed at the previous administration, arguing that he was referring to weapons sent to Ukraine. “The president was pointing out that, unfortunately, we had a very stupid and incompetent leader in this White House for four years who gave away many of our best weapons for nothing,” she said.

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On the question of deploying US ground forces in Iran, Leavitt said that option is not currently under consideration.

“They’re not part of the plan for this operation at this time, but I certainly will never take away military options on behalf of the president of the United States or the commander in chief, and he wisely does not do the same for himself,” she said. Her remarks followed statements from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, who indicated that US forces would begin “striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also cautioned that the military campaign remains in its early stages.

The administration signaled that while regime change in Iran could be a byproduct of the conflict, it is not the central aim of the operation. “The goals of this operation have been made very clear … and the president has said them in his speech when he launched this operation and released that video in the middle of the night to all of you and to the world,” Leavitt said.

She outlined the administration’s primary objectives as dismantling Iran’s Navy, missile systems, and nuclear program, and preventing Tehran from supporting proxy groups. Although she suggested that removing Iranian leaders would be welcomed, she clarified that it is not among the four principal goals. “Obviously, as the president has said numerous times, do we want to see Iran being led by a rogue terrorist regime? No, of course, not,” she said. “So any day the United States of America is taking out a terrorist is a good day for our country and a good day for our people.”

Leavitt added that Trump is “actively considering and discussing with his advisers” the US role in Iran once the conflict concludes, but emphasized that his immediate priority is “ensuring the quick and effective success of the operation.”

According to Leavitt, Trump ordered the strikes based on what she described as a strong sense that Iran was preparing to attack the United States.

“The president was faced with a choice: Does the United States of America use our military and our capabilities to strike first to take out this threat that has been threatening our country and our people for 47 years, or is he going to — as commander-in-chief, sit back and watch as the rogue Iranian regime attacks our people in the region?” she said.

She characterized inaction as an “unacceptable” course from Trump’s perspective, suggesting that this reasoning drove his decision to initiate military action. Leavitt said the specific timing of the strikes was influenced by intelligence about the whereabouts of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials.

“That obviously had an impact on the timeline of the operation, but not quite the president’s decision in its entirety,” she said.

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