A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump has provided little justification for launching a war against Iran with Israel. Lawmakers want answers, including Senator Chris Coons. We'll hear from him in just a few minutes. First, NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports on the questions the president has answered and the many he has not.
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: Speaking at the White House yesterday, Trump said the war could last weeks or go much longer.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that. We'll do it. Whatever somebody said today - they said, oh, well, the president wants to do it really quickly. After that, he'll get bored. I don't get bored. There's nothing boring about this.
KURTZLEBEN: Trump made the remarks before a ceremony to honor three service members with the Medal of Honor. It was his first time appearing live since the weekend strikes, and Trump spoke for roughly six minutes about Iran, listing his reasons for the attack.
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TRUMP: Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities - and you see that happening on an hourly basis - and their capacity to produce brand-new ones. And pretty good ones they make.
KURTZLEBEN: Beyond that, he said, the U.S.' objectives include annihilating Iran's navy, stopping them from funding terrorism in other countries, and ensuring that Iran can't get a nuclear weapon. Trump had previously said that the U.S. obliterated Iran's nuclear capabilities last year.
In addition to videos posted to social media, President Trump has meted out scattershot information on the attacks in phone interviews. He told CNN's Jake Tapper that the attacks will intensify, saying, we haven't even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn't even happened. The big one is coming soon. In a call with Fox News' Bret Baier, Trump said that he sees Venezuela as a template for how things will proceed in Iran. And speaking to the New York Post, he wouldn't rule out putting boots on the ground.
But all of this leaves many questions open - for example, what the U.S. plan is for Iran's next leadership. Trump has called for Iranians to take over their government, but he did not say whether the U.S. will support them in that. And he did not address on Monday the three U.S. warplanes shot down in an apparently friendly fire incident. After talking about Iran, Trump turned to other matters, including White House renovations.
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TRUMP: We have a lot of great service members here with us, too, in this beautiful building. Isn't it beautiful? We're adding on to the building a little bit. We're improving the building. See that nice drape?
KURTZLEBEN: He did not take any questions from reporters.
Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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