Sign Up Account Profile Log Out

Newsletters Morning Report 12:30 Report Evening Report Business Defense Health Care Technology Newsletter Energy & Environment Whole Hog Politics The Gavel The Movement

Technology Newsletter

NEWS Senate House Administration Courts Future America Media Campaign News Education In The Know Latino LGBTQ DC News Race & Politics State Watch Print Edition People in the News

POLICY Defense Health Care Energy & Environment Technology Transportation International Cybersecurity National Security Space Sustainability

BUSINESS Budget Taxes Personal Finance Lobbying

OPINION Columnists Congress Blog All Contributors Opinions – Campaign Opinions – Civil Rights Opinions – Criminal Justice Opinions – Cybersecurity Opinions – Education Opinions – Energy and Environment Opinions – Finance Opinions – Healthcare Opinions – Immigration Opinions – International Opinions – Judiciary Opinions – National Security Opinions – Technology Opinions – White House Submit Opinion Content

All Contributors Opinions – Campaign Opinions – Civil Rights Opinions – Criminal Justice Opinions – Cybersecurity Opinions – Education Opinions – Energy and Environment Opinions – Finance Opinions – Healthcare Opinions – Immigration Opinions – International Opinions – Judiciary Opinions – National Security Opinions – Technology Opinions – White House

Opinions – Civil Rights

Opinions – Criminal Justice

Opinions – Cybersecurity

Opinions – Energy and Environment

Opinions – Healthcare

Opinions – Immigration

Opinions – International

Opinions – National Security

Opinions – Technology

Opinions – White House

Submit Opinion Content

EVENTS Upcoming Events About

Sign Up Account Profile Log Out

Trump's retirement proposal

State of the Union Takeaways

Content from Google Cloud

Harris: Trump’s State of the Union speech ‘full of lies,’ reminded her of ‘show-and-tell’ Campaign | 3 minutes ago

Trump builds case for war with Iran ahead of pivotal talks International | 6 minutes ago

Trump State of the Union piles pressure on Johnson for second reconciliation push House | 8 minutes ago

Apple rolls out age verification tool Technology | 34 minutes ago

Trump’s atypical surgeon general pick faces Senate scrutiny: Key takeaways Health Care | 40 minutes ago

DOE loans Southern $26.5B Energy & Environment Newsletter | 50 minutes ago

Omar says her State of the Union guest was arrested for standing during Trump’s speech House | 53 minutes ago

Trump’s surgeon general nominee weaves through contentious Senate hearing  Health Care Newsletter | 58 minutes ago

Trump builds case for war with Iran ahead of pivotal talks

President Trump used Tuesday’s State of the Union address to touch on the myriad reasons why an attack on Iran might be justified, from the regime’s history of attacks on Americans to its violent suppression at home, alleged nuclear ambitions and plans to build a missile that could reach America. 

The speech amplified warnings coming from the administration as it seeks to justify America’s massive military buildup in the region. But even Trump’s supporters say he could be making a stronger case for urgent action against the longtime foe. 

“I think there’s a lot of justification for action, I’m not sure he’s verbalizing all of it,” said Michael Makovsky, President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, which wants the U.S. to pursue regime change in Tehran. 

“I think he could do a better job of explaining all the reasons he should proceed with the strike if that becomes necessary.”

Senior Senate Democrats emerged on Tuesday from a closed-door briefing on the administration’s war plans for Iran urging the administration to make its case to the American public. 

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are scheduled to join negotiations with Iranians on Thursday in Geneva, viewed as a make-or-break opportunity to avoid a massive military conflict. Last week, Trump said Iran had 10 days to make a deal or “bad things happen.”

Witkoff accused the Iranian regime this weekend of being a week away from developing nuclear-weapons-grade enriched uranium.

However, Trump is stepping on his own message with his nuclear warnings, given that he insisted U.S. bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities over the summer obliterated its capacity to build a nuclear bomb. 

Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, said Trump on Tuesday was clearly trying to outline the building blocks for making the case for military action, “but he did not lay them out in a way that would box him in.”

However, he said both the political and military challenges would be difficult, particularly compared to the successful operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro last month. 

“Trump himself has set an impossible standard because not a single American got killed in the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and whatever he does here is going to be compared to that,” he said. 

“At least in the Venezuela case he could make the argument — it wasn’t valid — but it was an argument, that this had to do with fentanyl. He has no such arguments he can make about this. Particularly after having reiterated that he already obliterated their [nuclear] program.” 

There’s bipartisan agreement that Iran poses a significant long-term threat to the security of the U.S. and its allies. One of the few moments where some Democrats stood and applauded Trump’s speech Tuesday night was in reaction to his statement that he will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. 

But many Americans are not convinced that a military attack against Iran serves U.S. interests. An Economist/YouGov poll conducted late last week recorded nearly half of Americans somewhat, or strongly opposing, a military attack against Iran. 

In a poll conducted in early February by the University of Maryland, only 21 percent of respondents supported a U.S. attack against Iran under the current circumstances. Among the 1,000 people surveyed, 40 percent of Republicans supported an attack. 

That’s a far cry from the over 70 percent of American voters who supported the Bush administration’s 2003 invasion of Iraq. And the fallout from that war has dramatically shaped the isolationist foreign policy views of Trump’s MAGA movement, most strongly represented within his administration by Vice President Vance. 

Vance on Wednesday said diplomacy is preferred, echoing the president’s remarks from the State of the Union. But he said that if military action is taken, it’s to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon.

“The president has been as crystal clear as he could be. Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon, that would be the ultimate military objective if that’s the route that he chose,” he told Fox News. “That is, of course, what we’re trying to accomplish, as the president said, through the preferred route of diplomacy.”

Nicholas Carl, a fellow with the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, said Trump had been clear about his readiness for war, but less so when it comes to his goals.

“What’s missing yet from his public statements is a clear articulation of US objectives in the event that we launch strikes into Iran,” he said, noting public comments ranging from a desire for regime change to the need to degrade Tehran’s weapons programs.

“Trump must decide what is needed to satisfy his desire to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. In either case, the United States would need to conduct an extensive bombardment campaign across Iran and should expect significant Iranian retaliation.”

Iran maintains its nuclear capabilities are for peaceful purposes, but it possesses a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that can fuel a bomb. 

Saeid Golkar, Senior Nonresident Fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, predicted that Trump would seek a limited option if he attacks Iran.

“What Trump said so far, in particular during the State of the Union, is that they’re [Iran] continuing to work on the nuclear program, continuing on ballistic missiles and he talked about the human rights situation. But how they are going to do it, that’s a very good question. Nobody knows exactly,” he said. 

“My sense of what I’m seeing, we’re not going to see Iraq and Afghanistan and not going to see Venezuela,” he continued. “We are going to see something in between. You will see abduction and killing and targeting of a lot of military and security elite, and trying to convince the remaining elite it’s time to stop the program.” 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine has reportedly warned Trump that a small or medium strike on Iran carries a high potential for American casualties and depletion of American weapons stockpiles. 

Parsi said Iran has also signaled it would engage in a larger-scale retaliation against the U.S. in the event of an attack, compared to what was considered a limited response to the American and Israeli strikes this summer. After Trump hit Iranian nuclear sites, he forced Israel to end its strikes against the country and declared a ceasefire with Iran. 

“The reason the attack hasn’t happened yet is because the Iranians have rejected that they will respond politely,” he said. 

“They believe they have a better chance at military confrontation than diplomacy, not because they believe they can win the war, but the belief they can inflict so much damage on the U.S. that Trump backs off.”

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More International News

Wall Street Journal: ‘Smart play’ would have been for Trump to forgo, pause ...

Gorsuch takes aim at fellow Supreme Court justices in tariff decision

Crockett up by double digits in Texas Senate Democratic primary poll

Pennsylvania Democrats win state House special elections, keeping majority ...

Trump’s atypical surgeon general pick faces Senate scrutiny: Key takeaways

Durbin whistleblowers accuse Patel of jet usage, decisionmaking that hindered ...

Senate Democrats emerge from secret Iran briefing warning of ...

Bessent on new Trump retirement plan: ‘We can do it through reconciliation’

Platner holds double-digit lead on Mills, Collins in Maine Senate race: Poll

Omar says her State of the Union guest was arrested for standing during ...

Cornyn: Democrat winning Senate race in Texas would be ‘first crack in the ...

5 takeaways from President Trump’s State of the Union address

Fetterman on Democrats ‘yelling and screaming’ during Trump ...

Vance, Oz announce pause in Medicaid funds to Minnesota amid fraud probe

House appears on track to defeat resolution curbing Trump’s war powers in Iran

Cuba says 4 shot dead on US registered speedboat

Pam Bondi thought grand jurors were stupid. They showed her a thing or two.

Colbert on ‘silent defiance’ of Jeffries at State of the Union: ‘Bold ...

2024 Election Results

2024 Election Forecast

Regulation - Administration

Energy & Environment Video Clips

Health Care Video Clips

Technology Video Clips

Transportation Video Clips

International Video Clips

Cybersecurity Video Clips

National Security Video Clips

Contributors to The Hill

Submit Opinion Content

PRIVACY POLICY 09/30/2025

Advertise with Nexstar

Journalistic Integrity

THE HILL 400 N CAPITOL STREET NW, SUITE 650 WASHINGTON DC 20002

© 1998 - 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

Provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Sign in to create a free account. No password needed.

By clicking on any of the sign up options below, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use, which includes a jury trial waiver and class action waiver, and that you have read our Privacy Policy detailing our collection, use and sharing of your personal information.

By clicking on any of the sign up options below, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use, which includes a jury trial waiver and class action waiver, and that you have read our Privacy Policy detailing our collection, use and sharing of your personal information.

The Hill is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.

Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.

The Hill is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is a leading, diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports, and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms. The My Nexstar sign-in works across the Nexstar network—including The CW, NewsNation, The Hill, and more. Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.

Provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Check your email inbox

Provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Thanks for registering!

Provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Are you sure you want to log out?

© The Hill