SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
President Trump has called the U.S. actions in Iran a massive and ongoing operation, and he's calling for regime change. This is an action that may be at odds with how he presented himself to the American people in 2024 as a president who keeps the country out of international conflicts. NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben joins us. Danielle, thanks so much for being with us.
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: Of course, Scott.
SIMON: What's the case the president is making now to the American people?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, he said that this is about defending the American people. That's how he opened that video statement. And he tried to make that case by first saying, Iran is a bad actor. He talked about Iran's behavior toward the U.S. going back to the 1979 hostage crisis. And he also cited Iran's allies in the region, including Hamas and its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
But then Trump said, we can't let a country like that have nuclear weapons. And by the way, you may remember that last year, after U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, the White House said the U.S. had then destroyed Iran's nuclear program. But now Trump seems to be saying, well, that program is still there and is still dangerous. And to that point, Trump also said that Iran is trying to develop long-range missiles that could threaten Europe, U.S. troops overseas and eventually the U.S. itself. But we should add here, both the U.S. and Israel assert that Iran is developing those long-range missiles, but there's not conclusive evidence of that, and certainly not that they can reach the U.S. soon.
SIMON: What did the president say Americans might expect of this operation?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, first and most notably, the president said American soldiers may die.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: 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.
KURTZLEBEN: So he's saying those casualties may happen, but beyond that, he didn't give any indication of what further operations will look like. And some of what he said there raises questions about how big this operation is going to be. He said the U.S. is not only going to attack the nation's nuclear capabilities, but also Iran's navy. And then he brought other actors beyond Iran into this, saying that the U.S. is going to, quote, "ensure that the region's terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world." That includes, for example, Hamas and Hezbollah.
SIMON: And, of course, the President mentioned regime change. Does he indicate how that would be expected to come about?
KURTZLEBEN: Not entirely. He did call on Iran - the Iranians to overthrow the current government once this bombing ends, and he really frames this as a gift he was giving to the Iranian people.
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TRUMP: For many years, you have asked for America's help, but you never got it. 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.
KURTZLEBEN: So in his mind, Iranians are going to be instrumental here, but that doesn't mean the U.S. forces won't also be a part of this. It's just that Trump didn't say what part they'll play.
SIMON: Danielle, President Trump campaigned on a policy of keeping the U.S. out of foreign conflicts. He's also been openly campaigning for a Nobel Peace Prize.
KURTZLEBEN: Right.
SIMON: What do you make of this attack, given all of that? Well, that's all correct. Trump talked a lot on the 2024 campaign trail about how he would be the peace president, how he, in his first term, started no new wars, and a lot of people voted for him because they liked his America First vision. And now this is another case, like with those earlier attacks on Venezuela, where it may not be immediately apparent to people how his actions are America First.
And not only that, but like you said, he has been campaigning openly for that Nobel Peace Prize. He likes to talk about how he has inserted himself into conflicts around the world, trying to end them. And so, yeah, this seems to conflict with that. But look, here in Venezuela, Trump also did not build a case to the American people, and, you know, we did not see him do that like past presidents did with their interventions. So he's going to be spending American money and potentially lives without having really laid this all out to the public. So this just reinforces to his critics and his supporters, Trump just does what he wants.
SIMON: NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben, thanks so much for being with us.
KURTZLEBEN: Of course. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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