Uncertainty around the war in Iran, as Trump and his team contradict each other

US President Donald Trump and the Pentagon are offering differing opinions on the progress of "Operation Epic Fury" and the possibility of the end of the conflict. On the other hand, Iran is determined to drag out the war as long as possible to hurt the GCC countries and make the global economy bleed.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that the “excursion” is "very much complete". He claimed that the US has achieved ‘major strides’ in achieving its objectives in Iran. When asked when will the war in Iran end, he said ”very soon".

On the contrary, a Department of War run social media account, posted that, “We have Only Just Begun to Fight,” along side picture of missile with word ”No Mercy" superimposed on it.

When asked about the contradiction between the statement Trump and his Defence Secretary, he said, “it could be both”. He claimed that its a new begining for the country. Then he again claimed that they have reduced the capability of Iran to launch an offensive, Iran has “no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones.”

Trump and Rubio offered conflicting reasons for entering into war

This contradiction between Trump and his Defence Secretary, Secretary of State has been characteristic of the “Operation Epic Fury”. It has happened from the very beginning of the US war on Iran, which Trump now calls an “incursion”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the US had information to believe Israel would launch an attack on Iran, and in retaliation, Iran would target US military assets in the region. So the US attacked preemptively.

"We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action; we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties," said Rubio.

On the contrary, Trump denied these claims, saying that, “I might have forced their (Israel's) hand”. He further added that he had a "feeling" those “lunatics” (Iran) will launch an attack against the US.

Also Read: CENTCOM claims 5,000 targets hit in Iran during first 10 days of ‘Operation Epic Fury’, releases strike video

Trump and Hegseth gave conflicting accounts of the double-tap bombing at the Minab girls' school

On February 28, at the early hours of the attack at the Minab girls' school. The US forces struck the Minab Girls' school twice, 40 minutes apart, killing more than 150 children and staff members. These kinds of double-tap attacks on civilian infrastructure are considered War Crime by the United Nations. When at first confronted by reporters, Pete Hegseth said, “We are investigating”.

Then Trump claimed that the missile was from Iran, who have poor accuracy with its munitions. But when asked by Hegseth, he again said, “We are investigating”, further adding that only people who kill civilians are Iranians. When confronted with the fact that no one other than Trump is saying that, even his Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, standing on his shoulder, on his plane, did not agree with him. He said, “Because I just don't know”. Further suggesting that Tomahawk is a missile that a lot of other country including Iran, have purchased.

Uncertainty around the Iran war remains

The war in Iran has reached its 10th day, and there were mixed hints in almost every important aspect of the war. There were conflicting accounts from Trump in a few hours apart, and between Trump and his own team, from the war being over, the state of Iran's defences, depleted Iranian leadership and the bombing of the elementary school. A cloud of uncertainty has engulfed the war, US is unable to rationalise its own actions, even within its own country, to its own citizens. The war remains unpopular, and the US has almost lost the narrative.