Mojtaba Khamenei, and the younger hawks around him, think that Iranian restraint only encouraged American aggression. Trump could come to regret his regime change, writes Iranian-American Vali Nasr.
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard admitted that there are key differences in the Israeli and U.S. goals in their joint war on Iran.At a House hearing on Thursday, Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro asked Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and a panel of other intelligence operatives if the U.S. and Israel are “aligned” on the war. Gabbard used a lot of words to confirm that the answer was essentially “no.”“The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government,” Gabbard testified. “We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership and taking out several members, obviously beginning with the ayatollah, the supreme leader, and they continue to focus on that.” “How does that differ from our goals?” Castro continued. “The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile–launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability, and their navy, the IRGC navy, and mine-laying capability,” Gabbard replied.While both options are destructive, it seems that the stated Israeli objective is a long, drawn-out regime change war—as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing for for decades—while the United States, at least initially, seemed to leave the option of an off-ramp open. These two competing aims can only coexist for so long. lots of squirming from Gabbard and Ratcliffe in response to Castro's line of questioning about how the goals of Israel and the US aren't aligned pic.twitter.com/YFv5NwB7h6— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 19, 2026
Donald Trump claimed Thursday that $200 billion more going to an unpopular, illegal overseas war wasn’t all that big a deal. During a White House meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Trump was asked about the Pentagon’s request to Congress for $200 billion to support the ongoing war in Iran. The request was first reported on Wednesday by The Washington Post.After waffling about how good U.S. anti-air equipment was at shooting Iranian missiles down, Trump said that the money was “a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy-top.”Trump on $200 billion Pentagon request: It's a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top. pic.twitter.com/1j8LGciLvM— Acyn (@Acyn) March 19, 2026The Pentagon’s request may struggle to pass Congress, as even some Republicans are beginning to balk at the amount being spent on the unpopular war.The first six days of the war cost taxpayers over $11.3 billion. In addition to this $200 billion request, Trump has petitioned Congress to increase the defense budget by $500 billion to $1.5 trillion in 2027, which would be by far the highest figure ever. (The Pentagon has yet to submit its official 2027 budget request.)It all looks like a slap in the face for average Americans, who face a struggling economy at home: Inflation is rising, job creation is low, and gas prices are through the roof. Trump has blown through the money saved by cutting medical research grants and food bank programs, leaving “America First” feeling more and more like a pipe dream.