US President Donald Trump on Monday sought to justify a broad, open-ended war on Iran, offering his most extensive public comments yet on an operation whose stated aims and timeline have shifted since it began over the weekend.

Trump, who was back at the White House after a weekend in Florida, said the US and Israeli air attacks that began on Saturday had been projected to last four to five weeks but could go on longer. The military campaign has killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sunk at least 10 Iranian warships, and struck more than 1,000 targets.

“We’re already substantially ahead of our time projections. But whatever the time is, it’s okay. Whatever it takes,” Trump said at his first public event since the conflict began.

He made no mention of regime change, saying the fight was needed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and to thwart its long-range ballistic missile program, saying, “An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people.”

US Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that Trump had realized that achieving his aim “would require, fundamentally, a change in mindset from the Iranian regime” so that it would agree never to pursue a nuclear weapon.

Vance insisted that Operation Epic Fury wouldn’t drag out for years because the US has a clear goal. “There’s just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective,” he asserted.

That same day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that Washington had only launched major strikes against Iran over the weekend because it received intelligence that its assets in the region would be targeted in response to an Israeli attack.

It has been widely understood that any Israeli attack on Iran would only have taken place with Washington’s blessing.

As contradictions piled up, Trump wrote on his Truth Social website that the US munition stockpiles have “never been higher or better,” a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that the US was racing to destroy Iran’s missile and drone force before running out of interceptors.

“As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies,” Trump wrote, openly flirting with the notion of an indefinite conflict with Iran — something he campaigned against embarking on. “At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Much additional high-grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries.”

He added: “The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!”

These remarks followed days of sometimes conflicting statements from the administration, including from the president himself. Trump had discussed the attacks in two brief videos and one-on-one interviews with select journalists over the weekend, but did not give a televised address to the nation, as is customary in moments of military action.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back on suggestions that the administration’s messaging on the operation has been confusing.

On X, Leavitt said Trump had outlined “clear objectives,” including preventing Iran’s proxies from launching attacks and stopping production of roadside bombs like those used against US forces after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

On Saturday, as Trump announced the strikes, he urged Iranians to “take back your country” and implied a goal of regime change.

On Sunday, he told The Atlantic he was open to talks with whoever emerged to lead Iran and told The New York Times that his January operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was a model for Iran’s future.

In the case of Venezuela, former Maduro ally Delcy Rodriguez emerged as the new leader and has cooperated with Washington. In Iran’s case, US and Israeli strikes have eliminated many of those who could step in to take power, Trump said.

Trump’s timeline for the Iran operation has also shifted since it began. He first told the Daily Mail it could take “four weeks, or less,” then told The New York Times it would take four to five weeks. In separate remarks on Sunday and Monday, he left open the possibility that the operation could continue longer until its objectives are achieved.

In his notification to Congress about the Iran strikes obtained by Politico, Trump did not provide any timeline.

“Although the United States desires a quick and enduring peace, it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary,” Trump wrote.

Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who has served as a State Department official focused on the Middle East, said Trump appeared to have deliberately left the war’s ultimate outcome undefined.

“I’m not sure they’re committed to any particular outcome,” Alterman said.

When Trump ordered a much more limited attack against Iran during Israel’s 12-day war last June, he immediately gave a formal address flanked by senior officials. After the Maduro operation, Trump held a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida within hours, and officials appeared on television multiple times to explain the move.

This time, senior administration officials skipped the Sunday shows to avoid competing narratives and keep Trump as the main messenger, a White House official said. The official said the public framing of the operation was still under discussion.

A second official said top aides were in secure rooms all day attending national security meetings and that the White House coordinated with Republican lawmakers scheduled to appear on television programs. The official pushed back against suggestions that messaging was still being developed, saying talking points had already been circulated by Saturday.

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