Trump signals weeks of fighting in war with Iran
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What recent events have escalated the conflict between the U.S. and Iran?
With U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, followed by Tehran's retaliation across the region, the U.S. is now engaged in open conflict with Iran. The question many Americans are asking is, are we once again at war in the Middle East? Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026. What does an open conflict with Iran mean for the U.S. in terms of military commitment and risk to American troops serving overseas? Joining me now to share her insights on what is quickly becoming a widening conflict in the Middle East is USA Today White House correspondent Francesca Chambers.
What does an open conflict with Iran mean for U.S. military commitments?
It's good to speak with you, Francesca. Thanks, Dana. Francesca, for months, President Donald Trump has ratcheted up pressure on Iran for a new nuclear deal. Has the Trump administration made clear both why the U.S. decided to strike Iran and why now? In his first public remarks from the White House since the war began, President Trump said on Monday that the Trump administration tried to negotiate with Iran that nuclear pact that you were referring to. But Iran did not heed the United States warnings not to rebuild its nuclear program. So in justifying the strikes, the president brought up both that nuclear program, but he also talked about Iran's ballistic missiles. missile program. He said that it was growing, quote, rapidly and dramatically, and it posed a very clear, colossal threat to the United States, as well as U.S.
What justifications did President Trump provide for the strikes on Iran?
bases and forces that are overseas. And he said, again, that Iran was making ballistic missiles that would soon have had the capability of reaching what you described as our beautiful America in those remarks. Now, experts have pushed back on some of the things that President Trump has said in the last few days, as well as what U.S. officials have said in the lead up to these strikes. One of them, including being how soon it was that Iran could have had ballistic missiles that could have reached the continental United States. The War Powers Act of 1973 was intended to limit unilateral military action by a president. Has Congress been briefed or asked for authorization? So Secretary of State Marco Rubio first began briefing top congressional leaders on the day of the State of the Union Address last week on Tuesday.
We knew that already. That was publicly known. But then since then, U.S. officials have said that Rubio also called top congressional leaders as a bipartisan group called the Gang of Eight. And it includes the House Speaker, the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader, the House Minority Leader, as well as the chair and vice chair of both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. They say that he called them to give them a heads up on the strikes. He also spoke to armed services members, we're told. Then, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also briefed those top congressional leaders on Monday on Capitol Hill. Rubio was expected on Tuesday to give a wider briefing to members of Congress.
How did this strike come together, Francesca? So we heard from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a briefing at the Pentagon on Monday.
How has Congress responded to the military actions against Iran?
Talk about this as well as General Dan Kaine. Talk about this also. They said that the president on Friday at 3.38 p.m. gave the final green light for these strikes to go ahead. Now, we know that the Israelis struck first and then the United States came in swiftly behind the Israelis to conduct these strikes. This was a massive operation on the U.S. side that involved fighter jets as well as B-2 bombers. It had refueling stations involved in this as well. This was something that they detailed during that initial briefing that they gave at the Pentagon. This is, of course, a rapidly developing story, but what's been the impact on US bases, including, of course, the four American lives lost over the weekend?
Iran has struck at least six U.S. military facilities in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Iraq, UAE, also Kuwait. Now, Kuwait is where those American service members that you referred to before died.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What recent events have escalated the conflict between the U.S. and Iran?
0:02–0:44
2
What does an open conflict with Iran mean for U.S. military commitments?
0:44–1:42
3
What justifications did President Trump provide for the strikes on Iran?
1:42–3:34
4
How has Congress responded to the military actions against Iran?
3:34–5:08
5
What is the timeline for the current military operation in Iran?
5:08–6:49
6
Are there any ongoing diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Iran?
6:49–8:51
7
How have international allies reacted to the U.S. strikes on Iran?
8:51–11:20
8
What are the potential implications of the conflict for American public opinion?
11:20–14:50
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