White House sends mixed signals on Iran

12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Subscribe here.

It’s Tuesday. It’s expected to hit 80 degrees in Washington today, and it feels like the whole city is coming out of hibernation. Please, don’t let this be fool’s spring.

Mixed signals from White House over Iran

Mixed signals from White House over Iran

Hegseth says today will be ‘most intense day of strikes’

Hegseth says today will be ‘most intense day of strikes’

Iran’s ominous threat to Trump

Iran’s ominous threat to Trump

Pentagon burns through $5.6B of munitions in 2 days

Pentagon burns through $5.6B of munitions in 2 days

Trump official accused of ethical violations

Trump official accused of ethical violations

Report shares latest tea on Rubio vs. Vance in 2028

Report shares latest tea on Rubio vs. Vance in 2028

Are we gearing up or winding down?:

Henry Nicholls / AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration has given mixed messages about the timeline and outlook for the war in Iran.

The Defense Department has been gung-ho about the conflict: “We have Only Just Begun to Fight,” a Pentagon-run social media account posted on Monday. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told CBS’s “60 Minutes” over the weekend that “this is only just the beginning.”

This morning, Hegseth stressed that “we will not relent” until enemies in Iran are defeated. Hegseth also told reporters that Iran will be hit harder today than ever before. “Today will be, yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran. The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes. Intelligence more refined and better than ever,” Hegseth said.

The messaging from the White House has been more mixed.

President Trump labeled the war as an “excursion” on Monday, signaling it will end sooner than his initial four- to five-week timeline. When asked if it would end by the end of the week, Trump responded, “Very soon.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump’s closest advisers are actively looking for an “exit ramp” from the war, worrying there will be significant political backlash.

Trump even publicly acknowledged that Vice President Vance was “maybe less enthusiastic” about starting a war with Iran, noting Vance is “philosophically a little bit different” from him.

However, Trump’s team is publicly disputing that he is looking to quickly end the war. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly pushed back on the Journal’s reporting, arguing it is “full of crap.”

Meanwhile, Iran issued an ominous threat: Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary threatened Trump today. “Be careful not to get eliminated yourself,”........

© The Hill