Ahead of the U.S. attack on Iran, President Donald Trump received briefings that not only delivered blunt assessments about the risk of major U.S. casualties but also touted the prospect of a generational shift in the Middle East in favor of U.S. interests, a U.S. official told Reuters.
The launch of what the Pentagon called “Operation Epic Fury” on Saturday plunged the Middle East into a new and unpredictable conflict. The U.S. and Israeli militaries struck sites across Iran, triggering retaliatory Iranian attacks against Israel and nearby Gulf Arab countries.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the briefers described the operation to the president as a high-risk, high-reward scenario.
Trump himself appeared to echo that sentiment when he acknowledged the stakes at the onset of the operation, saying “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost.”
“But we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission,” Trump said in a video address announcing the start of major combat operations.