U.S. Conducts Airstrikes on Iranian Nuclear Sites During Active Diplomatic Talks

U.S. military operation launched two days ago. The attacks occurred while negotiations between Washington and Tehran were still underway.

There was no vote in Congress about the desirability of conflict with Iran, and administration officials have yet to articulate a specific vision for how the war will end. S. President Donald Trump is prioritizing flexibility instead of employing decisive force in the war with Iran.

Trump stated that the objective of the war with Iran was 'to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime'. Trump has said that the goal of the war is regime change in Iran. He has also said that he is planning to negotiate with the leadership that replaces the supreme leader in Iran.

Tehran was neither enriching uranium nor in possession of missiles capable of reaching the United States. In last week’s nearly two-hour State of the Union address, Trump talked about Iran in only a few sentences.

U.S. Attacks on Iran took place in 2025 and 2026 as negotiations were ongoing. Trump destroyed key Iranian nuclear sites last year, and Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow and Natanz no longer exist. In 2025, Trump boasted about obliterating Iran’s nuclear sites.

In 2026, Trump cited the danger of Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon as a casus belli. S. forces killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in 2020, who ran the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Trump launched a war against the Houthis in Yemen last year.

When announcing attacks on the Houthis, Trump said, 'We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective'. The objective of attacks on the Houthis was to end Houthi attacks on American vessels in the Red Sea. Trump said later that the Houthis would be 'completely annihilated'.

A month into the bombing campaign against the Houthis, the administration cut a deal with the group to end its attacks. Trump attacked militants in northern Nigeria last year. Trump's administration invaded Venezuela this year to seize its president Nicolás Maduro.

Trump said at first that pressure on Venezuela was necessary to stop drugs and gang members from entering the United States. Trump later explained that the goal in Venezuela was to bring Maduro to justice. Trump said that he wished to take back oil stolen from the United States in Venezuela.

Trump said that the operation in Venezuela was consistent with a new corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The Caribbean military buildup was attested by the Trump administration to be to stop drug boats not to prepare for regime change in Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro is now gone from Venezuela, but Maduro's regime remains in place in Venezuela.

The Trump administration issued no public ultimatums to Qasem Soleimani or Nicolás Maduro. Congress has not voted to authorize any conflicts during Trump’s presidencies. Trump ordered missile strikes against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria in 2017 and 2018.

The United States launched strikes in Syria in 2017 in response to Assad’s use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians. Assad used chemical weapons again in 2018. S. military operations in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State including the raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

U.S. Navy sailors were on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in February 2026. This approach contrasts with the Powell Doctrine, developed during the Gulf War from 1990 to 1991 by General Colin Powell.

Colin Powell later served as secretary of state. The Powell Doctrine built on criteria established by Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger in the 1980s. The George W. Bush administration sought to apply the Powell Doctrine in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

U.S. S. invasion of Iraq occurred in 2003. S.

Demands. The George W. Bush administration received congressional authorization for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. S. forces combined a lean on-the-ground presence with air attacks and support for fighters in the Northern Alliance.

The Northern Alliance entered Kabul and overthrew the Taliban in Afghanistan. S. troops launched a ground invasion to topple the regime. The article was published on March 2, 2026.

Richard Fontaine is CEO of the Center for a New American Security. S. S.

Senator John McCain. S. military strategy.