¶ Trump & His Cabinet Lie About Their Endless War In Iran
Trump and members of his administration, like Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, and JD Vance, have spent the last 150 days lying to the American people and Congress about the War in Iran. They claim that the war Trump started without Congressional approval is over and have been saying that for months.
¶ The Trump administration has lied to the American people and Congress about the status of the war — and we've been keeping track.
March 2, 2026: Hegseth Said The Iran War “Is Not Iraq” And “Is Not Endless,” Calling It “The Opposite.” PETE HEGSETH: To the media outlets and political left screaming endless wars, stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both. Our generation knows better and so does this president. He called the last 20 years of nation-building wars dumb, and he’s right. This is the opposite. This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive mission: destroy the missile threat, destroy the navy, no nukes. [USA Today, 3/2/26]
March 8, 2026: Secretary Chris Wright Claimed The War With Iran “Is Not A Long-Term War” And Called It A “Temporary Movement.” In a CBS News interview, Chris Wright said, “What you're seeing is emotional reactions and fear that this is a long-term war. This is not a long-term war, it's a temporary movement.”[CBS News: Face the Nation, 3/8/26]
March 11, 2026: Donald Trump Claimed The U.S. Had “Won” The War With Iran, Saying It Was Over “In The First Hour. At a rally in Kentucky, Donald Trump said, “We won. Let me tell you we’ve won. […] In the first hour it was over, but we won. […] They gave me, like 20 names, and I am falling asleep, I don’t like any of them, then I see Epic Fury. I said, ‘I like that name. I like that name.’” [Trump Kentucky Rally, 3/11/26]
March 19, 2026: Pete Hegseth Said The War With Iran “Is Not” A “Forever War,” Suggesting “Nothing Could Be Further From The Truth.” At a Pentagon press briefing, Pete Hegseth said, “The media here, not all of it, but much of it, wants you to think, just 19 days into this conflict, that we’re somehow spinning toward an endless abyss, or a forever war, or a quagmire. Nothing could be further from the truth. [...] This is not those wars. President Trump knows better. Epic Fury is different. It’s laser-focused. It’s decisive.” [Pentagon Press Briefing, 3/19/26]
March 24, 2026: Donald Trump Declared, “This War Has Been Won,” And Blamed The “Fake News” For Suggesting Otherwise. At a White House event, Donald Trump said, “We've won this war. This war has been won. The only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news.” [White House, 3/24/26]
March 27, 2026: Marco Rubio Asserted No Ground Troops Were Needed For The U.S. War With Iran. According to Newsweek, “Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the United States can achieve its military objectives in Iran without deploying ground forces, even as thousands of U.S. troops move into the region. ‘I won’t discuss military tactics,’ Rubio said, adding that most U.S. objectives are ‘ahead of schedule’ and can be met ‘without any ground troops.’” [Newsweek, 3/27/26]
March 31, 2026: Marco Rubio Claimed The Trump Administration Could “See The Finish Line” And Was “Very Close” To Achieving Its Objectives In Iran. In a Fox News interview, Marco Rubio said, “I think we're very close to achieving our objectives. I don't want to put a timeline on it, but, but we can see the finish line. The finish line, meaning we will have achieved all of the objectives that the president outlined, and those are important because when we achieve those objectives we will make it nearly impossible for Iran to have a nuclear weapon anytime in the near future, and the world will be a safer place and the country will be safer.” [Fox News: Hannity, 3/31/26]
April 11, 2026: Donald Trump Claimed The Outcome Of Negotiations With Iran “Makes No Difference” Because “We’ve Won,” And Have “Defeated Them Militarily.” At a press gaggle, Donald Trump said, “We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily. They've dropped a couple of water mines. You call them water mines in the boat. We defeated all of their water boats too. Their navy is gone, 158 ships.” [White House, 4/11/26]
April 13, 2026: JD Vance Said Of The War With Iran, “We’ve Accomplished Our Objectives,” And That It “Is Not Going To Go On Forever.” In a Fox News interview, JD Vance said, “I do think that we're in a place where we've accomplished our objectives. We can start to wind this thing down. I'd much rather wind this thing down with a big successful negotiation. But regardless, the president said this is not going to go on forever. That's never his intention. And I think because of that, the energy prices, while painful, are not going to be around forever.” [Fox News: Special Report, 4/13/26]
April 15, 2026: Donald Trump Said He Viewed The War With Iran As “Very Close To Over.” In a Fox Business interview, Maria Bartiromo asked Donald Trump, “Is this war over?” Trump said, “I think it's close to over. I mean, I view it as very close to over. If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we're not finished. We'll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.” [Fox Business, Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, 4/15/2026]
April 17, 2026: Donald Trump Declared The Iran War To Be “Over” Following Iran’s Alleged Opening Of The Strait Of Hormuz, Calling It A “Great Victory.” According to USA Today, “President Donald Trump said the fight with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz is ‘over,’ declaring in a phone interview with USA TODAY that the deal reached Friday was ‘a great victory.’ ‘It's over, it's a great victory,’ Trump said in an April 17 phone call. Trump spoke with USA TODAY soon after Iran announced it would reopen the strait, and was upbeat about the prospects of making headway in the Iran war that has divided his party. Tehran’s stranglehold on the strait has been a key sticking point, disrupting the global economy and frustrating the Trump administration as it works to secure a peace deal.” [USA Today, 4/17/26]
May 5, 2026: Rubio Declared Operation Epic Fury In Iran Was Over. According to ABC News, “In his first turn at the White House briefing room podium, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Operation Epic Fury in Iran is 'over' and that the U.S. is moving on to 'Project Freedom' and efforts to move traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. ABC News asked Rubio on whether, 10 weeks into the conflict, the administration is any closer to getting rid of Iran's nuclear material -- given that President Donald Trump's primary objective in the war has been to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. In response, Rubio only touted the military successes of Operation Epic Fury. 'Their ability to build a shield behind which they could hide their nuclear program was wiped out. That's a very substantial achievement. And that was the purpose of this operation from Day 1,' he said.” [ABC News, 5/5/26]
May 19, 2026: JD Vance Said The Conflict In Iran Was Not Going To Be “The Sort Of Thing That Lasts Forever” Would Not Be A “Forever War.” At a White House press briefing, JD Vance said, “Well first of all, the president said it’s going to be a short-term operation, and I think that is proven out to be true. The active period of conflict lasted about five, five and a half weeks. And now we’ve been in the cease fire where we’re trying to get a negotiated settlement that gets the American people the things that we need for our national security. So, I’ve said before that we’re going to go one of two options here. We’re going to have a good settlement that actually gets the American people what they need, or we’re going to go back to a kinetic operation. Obviously, the president prefers to get that settlement. I think the Iranians prefer to get that settlement. But regardless of what direction the president ultimately goes down, whatever he ultimately decides, I think its important for the American people to know two things. Number one, it will be for their security and their prosperity. That’s why we’re doing this. And number two, it will not, it will not, this is not going to be, be, the sort of thing that lasts forever.” [White House Press Briefing, 5/19/26]
May 19, 2026: JD Vance Said The Iran War Was Not A “Forever War.” At a White House press briefing, JD Vance said, “I think a lot of Americans, especially in my generation, who are worried about forever endless conflicts. We have to remember, I think you said 11 weeks, a big chunk of that has been a cease fire. This is not a forever war. We are going to take care of business and come home. That’s what the president’s promised and that’s exactly what he’s going to deliver. [White House Press Briefing, 5/19/26]
June 2, 2026: Marco Rubio Testified To Congress That The War With Iran Was “Over.” At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Senator Cory Booker said, “Mr. Rubio, you keep telling us how we're winning this war. The president keeps saying completely annihilated.” Marco Rubio said, “Well, the war is over. BOOKER: The war is not over. And yet the American people see how we're losing at the pump and with their costs. And yet this thing still hasn't been resolved. Every day he tweets out, Oh, we've obliterated them. We've annihilated them. They're gonna surrender. But yet we still find ourselves spending billions of dollars a week on war abroad.” [Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 6/2/26]
June 14, 2026: Donald Trump Announced On Truth Social That The Deal With Iran “Is Now Complete,” Adding, “Congratulations To All!” On June 14, 2026, Donald Trump posted Truth Social, “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” [Truth Social, @realDonaldTrump, 6/14/26]
June 11, 2026: Donald Trump Said, “We Ended The War With Iran Today.” According to CNN, “President Donald Trump claimed that the United States had ‘ended the war’ with Iran today, after asserting earlier that the two sides had agreed to a ‘very strong memorandum of understanding’ to stop the fighting. ‘I don’t know if you heard, but we ended the war with Iran today,’ President Donald Trump said on a telerally supporting Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones, who is running for governor. ‘They have agreed never to have a nuclear weapon, something that we insisted on; that was the whole purpose. That was 95 percent of it.’” [CNN, 6/11/26]
July 8, 2026: Donald Trump Claims The U.S. Had “Already Won” The War With Iran “Militarily.” In a meeting with reporters on Air Force One, a reporter asked Donald Trump, “Are we returning to a full scale military conflict?” "I don't know. I don't know, but we’ll win it very quickly is another way of doing it. We have many ways we can win, but we've already won militarily. They have very little. They have very little left, and they want to make a deal so badly, they called a little while ago, they want to make a deal so badly. I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to honor the deal. That's the problem.” [Air Force One press gaggle, 7/8/26]
July 8, 2026: Donald Trump Claimed That Iran’s Leaders “Want To Make A Deal, Badly” While Declaring The End Of The Ceasefire. According to NBC News, “President Donald Trump declared this week that the ceasefire with Iran is ‘over’ after the country attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz, while also insisting its leaders are desperate to make a deal with him. ‘They’re sort of crazy. They’re a little bit out of control, but they want to make a deal, badly,’ Trump told reporters on his flight back from Turkey on Wednesday.” [NBC News, 7/10/26]
July 28, 2026: Trump Told Reporters He Had “A Lot of Patience” And “Plenty Of Time” To End The War With Iran. In a meeting with reporters on Air Force One, a reporter asked Donald Trump, “How much patience do you have left?” Trump said,”I have a lot of patience. I have plenty of time, plenty of time. Their whole shoreline's wiped out. The, strait is in very good shape, and we're talking right now, you know, they wanted to talk.” [Air Force One, 7/27/26]