NEW YORK, February 20. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has failed to make a good case for why he wants to attack Iran, The New York Times writes, comparing the current situation to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where, it argues, right or wrong, at least then President George W. Bush made it clear to the public why the country was going to war.
According to the newspaper, "when President George W. Bush began preparing the country for the invasion of Iraq, he traveled the country making the case that Saddam Hussein’s government, and its weapons, posed an unacceptable threat to the United States." However, most of his arguments "turned out to be fanciful, based on selective intelligence and in some cases outright false claims. The war that followed is now considered by many historians as one of the gravest American strategic errors of modern times."
"But if Mr. Bush made a false case, President Trump, facing a decision about whether to unleash a second major military assault on Iran in less than a year, has made almost no case at all," the newspaper writes. "With two carrier groups, dozens of fighter jets, bombers, and refueling aircraft now massing within striking distance of Iran," the US president "is threatening another attack." He is doing so without providing assessments about the urgency of the threat or any explanation of why he needs to strike again after claiming the nuclear sites he targeted had been "obliterated."
The US administration offers various rationales, ranging from "protecting the protesters" to destroying Iran's missile arsenal and "ending Tehran’s support for Hamas and Hezbollah." However, most of Iran's near-bomb-grade uranium was already destroyed in strikes in June 2025, and "it is not clear how airstrikes would immediately aid protesters around the country or persuade Iran to stop funding terror," the NYT writes. According to the publication, the American leader "has given no speeches preparing the American public for a strike on a country of about 90 million people, and sought no approval from Congress. He has not explained why he has chosen this moment to confront Iran."
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier citing sources that "President Trump is weighing an initial limited military strike on Iran to force it to meet his demands for a nuclear deal, a first step that would be designed to pressure Tehran into an agreement but fall short of a full-scale attack that could inspire a major retaliation." According to the sources, the assault "could come within days." "If Iran still refused to comply with Trump’s directive to end its nuclear enrichment, the US would respond with a broad campaign against regime facilities—potentially aimed at toppling the Tehran regime," the sources said.
CBS reported earlier that the US administration is considering striking Iran on February 21.