When will the Iran war end? Tracing the Trump administration's timelines

President Donald Trump has repeatedly revised his timeline for concluding the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began in late February, most recently stating that military objectives would be achieved within two to three weeks. While shifting war timelines is common among US presidents seeking public support—as seen with Johnson during Vietnam, Clinton in Yugoslavia, and Bush in Iraq—Trump's situation is notably different due to the frequent and sometimes contradictory statements from both him and his cabinet members. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has suggested this fluidity may be intentional strategy to avoid revealing plans to adversaries, even as Trump has alternated between declaring victory already achieved and predicting several more weeks of combat.