Cause of Iran conflict as Donald Trump shares how long it could last
Tensions between the US and Iran reached boiling point last weekend as it was confirmed that strikes were launched against the Middle Eastern country.
While Donald Trump looked set to potentially kickstart WW3 last year when he bombed Iran, the latest missiles have been sent in conjunction with Israel, and that has since sparked conflict across the Middle East.
Iran has already launched missiles and drones across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Cyprus, with the country showing no signs of backing down despite the deaths of major senior leadership and defence figures.
Trump has already given a time frame for how long he expects this war to last, suggesting to the New York Times on Sunday that the US and Israel could maintain operations at the same tempo for four to five weeks, while the Daily Mail were told it would 'be four weeks or less'.
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The president also urged the Iranian people to overthrow the government after several senior officials were killed in the initial strikes on 28 February.
He said: "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."
Despite Iran consistently suggesting that its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful, both the US and Israel seem to be in agreement that Iran should not have access to such deadly weapons.
Why is the United States and Israel attacking Iran?
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday (28 February) that the US and Israel have started 'major combat operations' in Iran after explosions were heard in multiple cities across the country.
Following a significant buildup of US forces in the region in recent weeks, Trump declared in a video posted on Truth Social that 'we are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground'.
Alongside hundreds of civilian casualties - including at least 153 people and children after a reported strike hit a school in Minab - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed dead following Israeli missile strikes around Tehran.
According to Trump, the aim of this weekend's attacks were to 'ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon'.
Meanwhile, in reference to Israel's retaliation strikes, the country's defence minister stated that the goal was to 'remove threats against the State of Israel'.
This has come after weeks of Trump threatening military action in Iran if the Middle Eastern country did not agree to a new deal over its nuclear programme. However, Iran has insisted repeatedly that its nuclear activities are 'entirely peaceful'.
Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu providing similar reasoning, saying: “My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, a short time ago, Israel and the United States embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran."
Is the UK going to war with Iran?
This is a question that has been asked repeatedly since the major combat operation began in Iran, due to the nation being an ally of both the United States and Israel.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that British planes were 'in the sky' in the Middle East as part of a defensive operation 'to protect our people, our interests and our allies', and condemned Iran's retaliatory attacks on 'partners across the region'.
While the UK did not participate in the strikes, Starmer released a joint statement with the leaders of France and Germany, calling for Iran to 'refrain from indiscriminate military strikes'.
"Iran can end this now," Starmer said. "They should refrain from further strikes, give up their weapons programme and cease the appalling violence and oppression of the Iranian people – who deserve the right to determine their own future."
However, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Yvette Cooper, has said it is 'simply not true' that the UK is being dragged into another Iraq-style conflict in the Middle East.
While addressing a reported Iranian drone strike on a RAF base in Cyprus, she told Sky News on Monday, 2 March: "We took a very specific decision not to provide support for strikes that were taking place over this weekend. We have been clear that we believe there should be a diplomatic process, negotiations process."
James Moorhouse