... President Donald Trump signaled Monday that US strikes on Iran could go much longer than originally predicted, as his administration sought to counter criticism about conflicting messages on the war's goals.
In his first public comments since launching the military operation, the president who long campaigned for "no new wars" laid out what he said were four key objectives for hitting Iran.
Trump also said that the timeframe he initially gave could drag out, raising fears among right-wing supporters in particular of a return the Middle Eastern entanglements he once opposed.
"From the beginning we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that," Trump said at the start of a medal presentation event at the White House.
Trump however said that the United States was "substantially ahead of our time projections", citing the killing of Iran's top leadership in the initial wave of strikes on Saturday.
The US president for the first time clearly laid out four explicit goals for Operation Epic Fury, saying it was the "last, best chance" to hit Washington's decades-long arch-foe.
"First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities... Second, we're annihilating their navy... Third, we're ensuring that the world's number-one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon.
"Finally we are ensuring the Iranian regime can't continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders."
- 'Big wave' -
Trump had previously made different and sometimes contradictory comments on the conflict in a series of telephone interviews since the strikes began on Saturday. ...
