After a confidential closed-door briefing, U.S. senators revealed: Trump's Iran war "has no plan"

Democratic Senator in the United States publicly issued a warning after attending a confidential briefing at the White House: The Trump administration has neither clear objectives nor an exit strategy for the war with Iran, and the conflict may fall into an endless military drain. Senator Chris Murphy stated to the media after attending a two-hour confidential briefing on Tuesday that the content of the briefing confirmed his judgment—"the strategy is completely incoherent." He further disclosed on social media that the war objectives do not include destroying Iran's nuclear weapons program or promoting regime change, and the main goal is limited to striking missile, ship, and drone factories. He questioned: Once the bombing stops, and Iran resumes production, the U.S. response seems to be "continue bombing"—"this is certainly an endless war." According to CCTV News, on March 11th, local time, General Cooper of the U.S. Central Command stated in a video statement that the U.S. military has struck over 5,500 targets within Iran, including more than 60 ships and several ballistic missile and drone-related facilities. Cooper stated that the U.S. military is focusing on striking Iran's missile, drone, and defense industrial system, with the goal of weakening Iran's ability to conduct military operations against the U.S. and its allies. As for the highly watched Strait of Hormuz, Murphy stated that they have no plans at all and cannot provide further details on how Iran might block the Strait of Hormuz, but it is sufficient to say they do not know how to safely reopen it. These statements have kept the market highly alert to the duration and scale escalation risks of the U.S.-Iran conflict. Democratic lawmakers have also proposed using congressional budget authority to limit war funding and called for a formal investigation into an airstrike incident on a girls' school that resulted in at least 170 deaths, further intensifying the political pressure in Washington surrounding this war. Briefing Content Causes Shock: War Objectives Vague Since the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have repeatedly provided confidential briefings to congressional members. Due to confidentiality restrictions, the information disclosed by lawmakers is quite limited. However, several Democratic senators stated after the briefing that officials failed to provide clear answers regarding the war objectives, timeline, or overall strategy. Senator Richard Blumenthal bluntly stated: "It seems there is no plan to end the war at all. The president almost in the same breath says the war is 'almost over' and then says 'it has just begun,' which is contradictory." He also warned that the U.S. seems to be heading towards sending ground troops to Iran Chris Murphy disclosed the details of the briefing one by one on social media: the war objectives clearly excluded two options: destroying Iran's nuclear weapons program and promoting regime change, while Trump had previously repeatedly listed the former as a core objective. Divisions within the Republican Party, but overall support remains Despite ongoing criticism from the Democrats, the Republican Party overall still supports this military action. The Republicans currently hold a majority in the Senate with a 53 to 47 advantage, giving them strong control over the legislative agenda. Brian Mast, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, publicly thanked Trump for launching the strikes, stating that the president was responding to the "imminent threat" posed by Iran within the constitutional authority. However, there are also sporadic dissenting voices within the Republican Party. Senator Rand Paul criticized the government's shifting justifications for the war: "We keep hearing new reasons for launching a war with Iran, but none are convincing. War should be a last resort, not the first choice." Congresswoman Nancy Mace explicitly stated her opposition to sending troops to Iran: "I do not want to send the sons and daughters of South Carolina to fight a war with Iran." Additionally, Democratic lawmakers are pressuring the government regarding the humanitarian costs and financial burdens of the war. Senator Elizabeth Warren directly linked war spending to domestic policy priorities. "The one clear point is: when 15 million Americans lose their health insurance and have no money available, yet $1 billion is spent daily bombing Iran," she said. Warren also stated that Congress could restrict war funding through budgetary authority—"Congress can stop such actions."