President Donald Trump acknowledged that Americans will likely die in his new military campaign against Iran, telling reporters that casualties “often happen in war” as U.S. forces commence what the administration calls “major combat operations” across the Middle East.
The 79-year-old leader announced the strikes in a Truth Social video posted early Saturday morning, Feb. 28, 2026, wearing a white “USA” trucker hat, promising that American forces plan to “raze their missile industry to the ground” and “annihilate their navy.” The remarks mark a striking reversal for someone who campaigned on ending foreign wars.
“I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars,” Trump declared in his November 2024 victory speech, pledging to shift national resources toward domestic priorities rather than foreign engagements.
Now that the U.S. appears to be involved in a widening conflict, the president has claimed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes. Even with that high-profile target, Trump said “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue in Iran “as long as necessary.”
When ABC News’ Jonathan Karl asked what comes next, Trump dismissed the question. “Forget about ‘next,’” he replied, adding, “I hope you are impressed. How do you like the performance? I mean, Venezuela is obvious. This might be even better. How do you like the performance?”
CNN’s chief political correspondent Dana Bash told News Central she had a five-minute talk with President Donald Trump about the Iran conflict, during which he switched the subject to Cuba without prompting.
Per Bash, Trump said the U.S. military is performing remarkably — “better than anybody could have dreamed.” She said he also asserted he rebuilt the military during his first term and is now using it in his second.
“And then he quickly turned to Cuba. He said, without her asking him, “Cuba is going to fall pretty soon, by the way, that Cuba is going to fall. They want to make a deal so badly.’”
Trump, who calls himself a “Peace President,” has hinted the U.S. might pursue regime change in Cuba once the Iran conflict — which shows no clear end — concludes, raising the possibility of a future conflict with Cuba.
The casual tone contrasts sharply with rising casualties. Within hours of the initial U.S. strike, explosions were reported in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Iraq, and Jordan — all locations of major U.S. bases. Iranian retaliation has already been deadly: seven US service members have been killed.
In his Saturday video, Trump acknowledged the cost in human lives, warning that “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost.”
When Time’s Eric Cortellessa pressed him on whether Americans should fear retaliatory attacks on U.S. soil, Trump gave a troubling response. “I guess,” he said. “But I think they’re worried about that all the time. We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”
The conflict has already left dozens of U.S. service members severely wounded and represents America’s first new full-scale war since 2003. Historical echoes are notable: 110 service members suffered traumatic brain injuries when Iran struck Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq after Trump’s 2020 killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani. About 7,000 U.S. troops died in earlier wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The war contradicts explicit promises Trump made during his 2024 campaign to scale back U.S. military involvement overseas. This is his second strike on Iran after targeted attacks on its nuclear facilities in June 2025, and follows military actions in Nigeria on Christmas Day 2025 and the January invasion of Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump has also threatened force against Panama, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory and NATO ally. His more aggressive military posture followed being passed over for last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which instead went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
In a January letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump wrote that “considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace.”
The White House has posted videos on social media mixing real combat footage with clips from video games and action movies featuring Tom Cruise, treating the conflict like spectacle. One clip was captioned “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.”
Narges Bajoghli, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins who studies Iran, told Democracy Now! that Iran appears prepared for a “war of attrition” against what she called “the biggest military superpower in world history.” Reported deaths in Iran have surpassed 1,000, including many children.
Public opinion on U.S. military involvement has shifted recently; a 2024 survey found only 56% of Americans believed the U.S. should play an active role in world affairs. The new war may test those views as operations continue from the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, with no indication the president plans to deploy ground troops in what remains largely an air-and-sea campaign.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance have supported the president’s choice, while commentators highlight the sharp contrast between Trump’s “America First” campaign promises and the expanding military commitments of his second term.
