President Donald Trump pursued military action against Iran, on February 28, 2026, and American citizens are already reassessing the legitimacy of the decison. Gas prices have risen as high as $5 a gallon in some places, prompting citizens to question the reasoning behind the decision.
The primary reason Trump made this decision was to stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons. According to the official Congress website, U.S. Intelligence has assessed that Iran has the capacity to produce nuclear weapons. In the early 2000s, Tehran constructed several gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facilities to produce low-enriched uranium, which can be used to fuel nuclear power reactors, and highly enriched uranium, used in nuclear missiles. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) requires Iran to implement various restrictions on its nuclear program, as well as accept monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, the IAEA has reported that Iran’s nuclear activities began exceeding JCPOA-mandated limits in 2019. As of 2025, the U.S. intelligence assessments show that Tehran has not made a decision to pursue nuclear weapons yet. Nevertheless, the possibility that they could in the future has led Trump to pursue military action anyway.
“U.S. estimates concerning Iranian nuclear weapon development account for the time necessary to produce a sufficient amount of weapons-grade HEU and also complete the remaining steps necessary for an implosion-style nuclear device suitable for explosive testing,” Paul Kerr said on Congress’s official website on June 24, 2025.
The secondary reason Trump made this decision was to change Iran’s regime. The supreme leader of Iran was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, until he was killed by the U.S. and Israeli militaries. Ali Khamenei had ruled Iran since 1989, leading it towards more extreme State-sponsored terrorism and the development of nuclear weapons. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named his successor on March 8. Khamenei has made only two public statements since his rise to power: one thanking the Iraqi government for its support in the war and another predicting victory in the war. According to the New York Times, Trump is skeptical of pursuing a diplomatic route with Iran.
“Seems like that would be the best thing that could happen,” Trump stated when asked by reporters if he wanted a regime change on March 2, 2026.
Trump’s reasoning behind pursuing military action was to prevent the development of nuclear weapons and reshape Iran’s troublesome government. If the U.S. is victorious in this war, it would result in the termination of Iran’s nuclear weaponry program and the induction of a more American-friendly Iranian government.
