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U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Saturday, Feb. 28, that his main objective is "freedom" for the Iranian people, speaking to The Washington Post just hours after launching joint military strikes against Iran in what a U.S. official described as a multiday operation that began with Tomahawk cruise missiles and air-launched munitions.
"All I want is freedom for the people," Trump said in a brief phone interview shortly after 4 a.m. from Mar-a-Lago, where he arrived Friday night just hours before the strikes began.
"I want a safe nation, and that's what we're going to have," he added.
A U.S. official said the operation began at about 1 a.m. Eastern time with a salvo of ship-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and air-launched munitions from U.S. Air Force and Navy jets, the official told The Washington Post, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"While operations are ongoing, no U.S. service members have been injured as of Saturday morning," the official said.
Iran quickly launched counterstrikes in response, targeting multiple U.S. military bases, including the support facility for the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, according to Iranian state media.
The Pentagon dubbed the campaign "Operation Epic Fury." Israel's concurrent operation is named "Lion's Roar."
Despite years of criticizing U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern wars, particularly the cost of American lives during efforts to topple and install new regimes, Trump made an explicit case Saturday for helping bring about regime change in Iran.
"When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations," Trump told Iranians in his 2:30 a.m. video message that he published on Truth Social.
"No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, so let's see how you respond," Trump said, noting that "America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force."
The president acknowledged the risk of U.S. casualties.
"The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we're doing this, not for now. We're doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission," he noted.
In his video address, Trump accused Iran of 47 years of "mass terror" against the United States. He invoked the 1979 hostage crisis and the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing that killed 241 Americans and said Iran was "probably involved" in the 2000 USS Cole attack in Yemen.
"It's been mass terror. We're not going to put up with it any longer," Trump stated, calling Iran "the world's number one state sponsor of terror."
He vowed to "destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground" and "annihilate their navy," while ensuring Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.
Trump cited last June's Operation Midnight Hammer, which he said "obliterated the regime's nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan." He said Iran had "rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions."
"I built and rebuilt our military in my first administration, and there is no military on Earth even close to its power, strength, or sophistication," Trump said.
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Vice President JD Vance told The Washington Post on Thursday that any operation in Iran would not result in a prolonged U.S. war.
"The idea that we're going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight—there is no chance that will happen," Vance stated.
Foreign policy experts have warned that, unlike the limited strikes last June, a wider conflict with Tehran could embroil Washington for years.
The strikes came just two days after the third round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva ended with both sides reporting progress. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi had told Vance on Friday: "Peace is within our reach."
Trump did not take additional questions about the scope of ongoing operations or the potential for U.S. ground troops.
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