CNN: Trump announced the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program
Four months of war, 13 dead American soldiers, economic shock, Iran's control over Hormuz. And still, Trump stubbornly continues to talk about success and that the goals of the war have been achieved, CNN reports. However, his goals change from time to time. No one remembers the true cause of the conflict anymore.
Aaron Blake
When launching the war with Iran in February, Trump referred to the supposedly imminent nuclear threat from his side. However, this argument had a significant flaw: for 8 months before, the president had claimed that the Iranian nuclear program had already been "destroyed."
Two weeks before the start of hostilities, the president said that the US and Israeli strikes in June 2025 had deprived Tehran of even the "potential opportunity" to acquire nuclear weapons.
Now, in an attempt to get out of an extremely unpopular war, Trump is sending increasingly contradictory signals about the state of the Iranian nuclear threat.
More than 4 months of war have entailed huge costs for the American and global economies. All efforts were aimed at two goals that have not yet been achieved: obtaining Iranian nuclear materials and concluding an agreement that would permanently deprive Tehran of the opportunity to develop nuclear weapons. And in this situation, Trump suddenly makes it clear that none of this is necessary.
According to him, the war was a success because Iran was already left without nuclear weapons.
It seems that the Iranian nuclear program has magically returned to the status of "destroyed" — and just at the time of the collapse of Trump's attempts to conclude a deal.
On Wednesday, at the NATO summit in Turkey, he reiterated this thesis. When asked if the war had reached a "strategic dead end," he assured that it had not, as it had already been crowned with success. "I was there for one purpose: Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons. I call it the denuclearization of Iran," Trump said. "And that happened; they will never have nuclear weapons."
The president said that Iranian nuclear materials are now "so deep" that it is almost impossible to extract them. He also referred to the US monitoring capabilities: the US authorities can monitor nuclear facilities through cameras and ensure that no one can access them. "They have no way of having nuclear weapons," Trump added.
At another meeting, the president was asked how he planned to obtain Iranian nuclear materials. He said that the United States, in fact, already has them. "We have already received nuclear material because it is deep underground,— Trump said. "No one can get it but us." And he added, "They can't get it. I consider it a huge success."
Two circumstances should be noted here.
First of all, this is just the latest confirmation that Trump is preparing the ground for a possible exit from the Iran war without achieving the main goals. The administration has repeatedly declared the receipt of Iranian nuclear materials a prerequisite — a "red line," as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant put it just 6 weeks ago.
Trump also strongly hinted that obtaining the materials might not be necessary at all, since Iran cannot access them, and objects can be monitored from space.
More importantly, however, these statements raise even more serious questions about the original official causes of the war — and whether it was started (and continued) under false pretexts.
Trump's justifications have been chaotic since the first days of the war. And it's not just about talking about "annihilation." The administration also announced a constantly changing set of four goals. And Trump's initial threats to start a war, made back in January, focused not on the nuclear threat, but on regime change, a goal he also absurdly declared achieved after the assassination of a number of leaders, although this in no way corresponds to a real regime change.
However, Trump's recent statements that Iran has suddenly and permanently denuclearized are extremely difficult to reconcile with his previous rhetoric.
Of course, strikes during this war could have made nuclear materials even more difficult to access. However, the largest strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were carried out back in June 2025, when Trump first announced the "destruction" of the nuclear program. And the main military operations ended 3 months ago, when the first truce was announced on April 7.
If Iran's nuclear materials are now buried so deeply that the program is effectively over and no deal is required, then why didn't this happen 3 months ago? Why has the administration been pushing for a nuclear agreement all this time and claiming that it still needs to get the materials? Why not just continue to strike at nuclear facilities to bury materials even deeper if it is considered sufficient?
There is no logic here.
All of this points to a much less justifiable reason why Trump is now making arguments: he has lost patience with the war and realizes that a good deal is unlikely. (Iran, judging by the numerous violations of the truce, clearly shows no interest in concluding it.) Therefore, it remains only to begin explaining to the public why it is coming out of the war with so many unfulfilled goals.
You should also think about where this will lead the war effort. It's not just that Trump won't achieve his goals; it will mean that the war has turned into a huge cost with little to no gain.
In addition to the 13 American servicemen killed in this conflict, the economic shock of recent months and Iran's demonstrated ability to control the Strait of Hormuz will be among the main consequences. The latter circumstance is currently having a particularly serious impact on the future of the Middle East and the world as a whole.
And judging by Trump's latest statements, this may be the most significant result of the war.
