President Donald Trump announced he was sending US forces into war with Iran on February 28, kicking off a multidimensional regional conflict -- and a series of contradictory declarations on the American mission's scope and timeline.
He has argued "Operation Epic Fury" aims to eliminate Iran's military installations, or push regime change, or that he was acting to mitigate the country's nuclear threat -- despite boasting that US forces had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program with a punishing air raid last year.
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