Mar 13, 2026
3 min read
From justifying Iran's "imminent threat" to the American people to aiming for the "unconditional surrender" of the Tehran regime
War on Iran: The US is changing its version to justify the conflict
Within the first 24 hours of the attack, US President Donald Trump has offered various explanations to justify the war on Iran, introducing nuances and new arguments in his version.In VerificaRTVE we analyze, with the support of newspaper archives, the different versions used by the North American executive to justify this conflict and its duration.
Three different versions of Donald Trump in the first 24 hours
The first version is offered by the US president on February 28.in this video, in which he announces the start of "military operations" in Iran to "defend the American people" by eliminating "direct threats from the Iranian regime."Trump claims the Iranian regime has been chanting "Death to America" for "47 years" and has waged a never-ending campaign of mass killing and bloodshed against the United States.
That same day, Trump changed the script in an interview with Axios digital to introduce a new reason for declaring war: to remove "the Iranians" from the negotiating table with the United States.Also on February 28, he explains the war: "I just want the freedom of the Iranian people".
Even in the first 24 hours of the conflict, the American ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, justified the start of military operations against Iran as a response to the "threats" of the Iranian regime.He does so by referring to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which protects "the right of self-defense, whether individual or collective, in the event of an armed attack against a country."
No intelligence on possible threats from Iran
On March 1, the US government signed a new version of the war.The Pentagon said in a closed meeting with senators and representatives that it has no secret to indicate that Iran is planning to attack US forces.
The sixth version, which contains new elements, comes from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, in a press conference held on March 2.He says the goal of the Epic Fury mission is "to ensure that the Iranians never have nuclear weapons" and to "destroy" their offensive missiles, missile production, military and other security infrastructure.North America's defense secretary also confirms that "the United States did not start this war.""But we will end it with President Trump," he stressed.
Marco Rubio, the American Secretary of State, puts a new twist on the script on the same day.He tells journalists that the United States launched a preemptive attack because Israel was going to "act" against Iran and that the Islamic Republic would respond by attacking North American forces.
Trump corrected Rubio: The Iranians attacked first
The next day, March 3, the US president addressed his diplomatic chief from the Oval Office and said that the United States attacked Iran because the Iranians "were going to attack first."Hours later, Marco Rubio updated his version in front of reporters. He said it was "Trump's decision" to attack Iran and "it had to happen no matter what." "The president has made his decision and his decision is that Iran will not be allowed to hide behind its missile program," he said.
Already on March 4, a new version of the battle is coming.This was provided by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Cain, who said the operation's "clear military objectives" were to "disrupt Iran's ability to project its power beyond its borders now and in the future."For his part, the Secretary of War offered a new cause of conflict: Iran tried to kill President Trump, and Trump got the last laugh.
Two days later, the president of the United States made another announcement in which he explained the war.He confirmed on his social media that there will be no deal with Iran until he demands "unconditional surrender" and an "acceptable" leader.The war with Iran has not yet reached its first week, and the administration of Donald Trump has already presented 11 different types of reasons for the attack.
Different versions of the duration of the war
US government officials have offered different versions of how long the war in Iran could last.The US president assured on March 1 that the war could last "four to five weeks".A day later, the US president says the war will continue "as long as it takes".
After various statements by the US administration, on March 10, the White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, tried to set the conditions for the continuation of the conflict: "President Trump will determine when Iran will be in an unconditional situation."
