Mr. Trump has yet to articulate a coherent narrative explaining the objectives of his Iran policy. On January 13, after Iran cracked down on protests, Mr. Trump asked Iranians to “take over institutions” and said that “help is on the way”. But Mr. Trump did not order a strike on Iran. In June 2025, after attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, Mr. Trump had claimed that he had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme. In his State of the Union Address, Mr. Trump did not speak much on Iran.

Source: The Hindu February 26, 2026 14:43 UTC