2026-03-03T05:00:00-0500 / CBS新闻
在周六美国对伊朗发动军事进攻之前，特朗普总统曾对伊朗核项目谈判进展表示不满，并向中东部署了一支”舰队”。但他此前并未过多说明美国对伊朗政权发动轰炸行动的原因。
周一，特朗普先生阐述了美国对伊朗发动袭击的原因——在他所谓的持续数周的战争初期，美军轰炸了1000多个目标。
在他首次公开直播评论此次行动时，他列举了发动这场军事行动的四个原因：
- 摧毁伊朗的导弹能力；
- 歼灭伊朗海军；
- 阻止伊朗发展核武器；
- 确保伊朗政权无法继续向境外武装、资助或指挥”恐怖军队”。
一位高级政府官员表示，此次行动将持续到所有四个目标实现为止。总统称他预计战争将持续四到五周，但政府官员表示，行动可能比特朗普预计的时间提前或推迟完成。
以下是总统和其他高级官员就美国为何打击伊朗的陈述：
伊朗弹道导弹构成的迫在眉睫威胁
特朗普总统在进攻开始数小时后的周六表示，他的目标是”消除伊朗政权的迫在眉睫威胁”。
“伊朗的威胁性活动直接危及美国、我们的军队、海外基地以及世界各地的盟友，”特朗普在Truth Social上发表的简短讲话中说。
他称，在去年对伊朗核设施发动打击后，伊朗政权继续”发展能够威胁我们在欧洲的好朋友和盟友、我们在海外驻军的远程导弹，很快就能抵达美国本土”。
但去年美国国防情报局的评估显示，德黑兰要到2035年才会拥有能打击美国的洲际弹道导弹。
周六，特朗普政府高级官员告诉记者，他们”有迹象表明”伊朗可能在对美国采取任何行动时”先发制人地使用常规导弹，或者同时使用”。他们表示，总统”不会坐视等待先被攻击”，否则”伤亡和损失将远高于美国先发制人的行动”。
国防部长彼得·赫格斯泰特周一表示，此次进攻的理由是伊朗”不断扩大的弹道导弹和致命无人机库”，他说这些武器被用来”为其核勒索野心构建常规盾牌”。
国务卿马尔科·卢比奥周一提出了略有不同的理由，告诉记者特朗普政府决定发动攻击是因为以色列正计划打击伊朗，”我们知道这会引发针对美国军队的攻击”。因此，他说，美国选择”先发制人”打击伊朗，以摧毁其大量导弹。
弗吉尼亚州参议员、参议院情报委员会高级民主党议员马克·华纳周日告诉CNN《国情咨文》节目，”我没有看到任何证据表明伊朗即将对美国发动任何形式的先发制人打击。”
华纳是行动开始前卢比奥通报情况的”八人小组”成员之一。在周一卢比奥的另一次通报后，华纳表示他不认为伊朗导弹对美国构成迫在眉睫的威胁——尽管它们确实对以色列构成重大威胁。
“这仍然是一场被承认是由以色列的目标和时间表主导的选择战争，”华纳说。
伊朗核计划
围绕伊朗核计划的谈判已进行数周。在上周的国情咨文演讲中，特朗普划定了一条红线。
“我的首选是通过外交解决这个问题，但有一点是肯定的：我绝不会允许世界头号恐怖主义支持者——伊朗无疑是这一角色——拥有核武器，”他说。”这绝不能发生。”
周五，就在袭击开始前数小时，作为谈判调解人的阿曼外交大臣表示谈判取得了”实质性进展”，协议”触手可及”。他告诉CBS新闻的玛格丽特·布伦南，伊朗已同意”永远不会拥有……可制造炸弹的核材料”。
但同一天，总统告诉记者，他对谈判进展不满意。”我不高兴的是他们不愿意给我们必须得到的东西，”他说。”我对此并不兴奋。”
特朗普要求伊朗停止铀浓缩。伊朗长期拒绝放弃其浓缩能力，坚称该计划是出于和平目的，尽管近年来伊朗已将铀浓缩至接近武器级别的水平，远高于大多数和平用途所需的纯度。
“他们想稍微浓缩一点。当你有那么多石油时，你不需要这样做，”特朗普说。
政府高级官员表示，他们认为伊朗没有进行真诚谈判。他们称，”很明显，伊朗正在重建’午夜锤子’行动中被摧毁的一切”——6月那次打击伊朗核设施的行动，伊朗的意图是”保留其浓缩能力，以便随着时间推移可用于制造核弹”。他们得出结论称总统”别无选择”只能采取行动。
周六早些时候宣布对伊朗发动攻击时，特朗普强调”美国，特别是我的政府，一直有政策：这个恐怖政权绝不能拥有核武器。”
他说伊朗”拒绝了放弃核野心的每一个机会，我们不能再容忍了”。
国防情报局发布的2025年全球威胁评估称，”伊朗几乎可以肯定没有在制造核武器，但伊朗近年来采取的活动使其在选择时更有能力制造核武器。”
卢比奥上周告诉记者，伊朗目前没有铀浓缩活动。
周日，总统在第二段视频中表示，军事行动”是必要的，以确保美国人永远不必面对一个拥有核武器和众多威胁的激进、嗜血的恐怖政权。”
摧毁伊朗海军
周日当天特朗普的第一条Truth Social帖子中写道，他被告知”我们已经摧毁并击沉了9艘伊朗海军舰艇，其中一些相对较大且重要。”他补充道，”我们正在追捕剩下的——它们很快也会沉入海底！”总统称另一次袭击摧毁了伊朗政权的海军总部。
截至周一下午，美国中央司令部表示，伊朗海军在阿曼湾的12艘舰艇全部被摧毁。伊朗政权一直依赖其海军控制霍尔木兹海峡的航运——这是运输全球约20%石油和液化天然气的关键通道。
伊朗战争导致霍尔木兹海峡的油轮运输实际上停滞。航运巨头马士基和赫伯罗特宣布暂停所有通过该海峡的运输。
周一，由于对该地区原油供应长期中断可能大幅推高能源成本（包括美国汽油价格）的担忧，油价飙升。
伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队周一宣布关闭海峡，并表示将”点燃任何试图通过霍尔木兹海峡的船只”。
“我们不会让一滴油离开该地区，”伊斯兰革命卫队称。
但Clearview Energy能源分析师凯文·布克告诉美联社，”伊朗本质上有两种方式关闭海峡：一是骚扰或攻击船只，二是布雷。但没有海军的话，这两者都将难以实现。”
切断对伊朗代理恐怖组织的资助
总统周一还表示，此次进攻旨在确保”伊朗政权无法继续向境外武装、资助和指挥恐怖军队。”
伊朗自1984年起被美国国务院列为支持恐怖主义国家。2023年发布的最新国家恐怖主义报告将伊朗政权确定为”全球主要支持恐怖主义的国家”，”在国内外协助一系列恐怖主义及其他非法活动”。
报告称，伊朗通过代理和合作伙伴支持恐怖主义行为，包括黎巴嫩真主党、也门的安萨尔真主党（胡塞武装）、巴勒斯坦领土的哈马斯，以及在巴林、伊拉克、叙利亚等地活动的组织。
哈马斯在2023年10月7日发动恐怖袭击，造成1200人死亡、251人被劫持，引发了持续两年多的以巴战争。加沙停火目前处于第二阶段。
报告称，2023年底也门胡塞武装袭击红海航运通道，”严重扰乱了海洋贸易和全球贸易”。
报告还指出，其他组织对驻伊拉克和叙利亚的美军发动了无人机袭击，伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队圣城旅和情报安全部还在非洲、亚洲、欧洲和美洲支持恐怖主义招募和策划。
近年来，以色列国防军对伊朗主要代理组织领导人发动了一系列致命打击，包括真主党领袖哈桑·纳斯鲁拉、关键胡塞官员穆罕默德·加马里以及哈马斯最高领导人叶海亚·辛瓦尔、穆罕默德·辛瓦尔和穆罕默德·戴夫。
以色列国防军称，杀死伊朗最高领袖阿亚图拉·哈梅内伊的打击是”消除伊朗恐怖轴心高层领导的持续努力的顶点”。
哈马斯政治领袖伊斯梅尔·哈尼耶也在2024年的一次行动中在德黑兰被杀害，美国官员称这是以色列所为，但以色列军方尚未承认。
特朗普周一表示，已有49名伊朗高层领导人被杀害。
在周六的视频中，他敦促伊朗人完成美以开始的事业，推翻现政府。
“现在是时候掌控自己命运的时候了，”他对伊朗人民说。”这是行动的时刻。不要让它溜走。”
在今年1月伊朗政府血腥镇压抗议者导致数千人死亡期间，特朗普警告将对政权采取”非常强硬行动”，并告诉伊朗人美国”正在提供帮助”。
上周末，他告诉《华盛顿邮报》，目标是伊朗人民的”自由”。
“我想要的只是伊朗人民的自由，”他说。
梅根·塞鲁洛、魏佳江、萨拉·库克、克里斯汀·布朗和奥利维亚·加齐斯对本报道有贡献。
Why is the U.S. attacking Iran? Here’s what the Trump administration has said motivated the strikes.
2026-03-03T05:00:00-0500 / CBS News
Before the U.S. launched its military offensive against Iran on Saturday, President Trump had expressed frustration with the progress of talks about Iran’s nuclear program and deployed an “armada” to the Middle East. But said he had not said much about the reasons why the U.S. would conduct a bombing campaign against the regime.
Mr. Trump on Monday articulated the reasons the U.S. launched its attack on Iran, bombing over 1,000 targets in the opening days of what he has said he expects to be a weeks-long war.
In his first live public remarks on the operation, he offered four reasons for the campaign:
- Destroying Iran’s missile capabilities;
- Annihilating Iran’s navy;
- Preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons;
- Ensuring the regime can’t continue to arm, fund or direct “terrorist armies” outside its borders.
A senior administration official said the operation would continue until all four objectives are achieved. The president has said he expects the war to last four or five weeks, but administration officials say the operation could be completed sooner or later than the timeline estimated by Mr. Trump.
Here is what the president and other top officials have said about why the U.S. is striking Iran:
Imminent threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missiles
President Trump said Saturday, hours after the offensive began, that his objective was “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
Iran’s “menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world,” Mr. Trump said in a brief address he posted on Truth Social.
He said that after the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year, the regime continued “developing long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American homeland.”
But a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment from last year indicated that Tehran would not have intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. until 2035.
On Saturday, senior Trump administration officials told reporters that they “had indicators” that Iran could potentially use conventional missiles “preemptively, but if not, simultaneous” to any U.S. actions against the regime. The president “was not going to sit back and wait to get hit first” and if he had, the “amount of casualties and damages would be substantially higher” than if the U.S. acted preemptively, they said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated Monday that the justification for the offensive was Iran’s “swelling arsenal of ballistic missiles and killer drones,” which he said they were using to “create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a slightly different rationale on Monday, telling reporters the Trump administration decided to attack because Israel was planning to strike Iran, and “we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces.” For that reason, he said, the U.S. chose to strike Iran “preemptively” to take out many of its missiles.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, “I saw no evidence that Iran was on the verge of launching any kind of preemptive strike against the United States of America.”
Warner is one of the “Gang of Eight” members of Congress who was briefed by Rubio before the operation began. After another briefing by Rubio on Monday, Warner said he didn’t believe Iran’s missiles posed an imminent threat to the U.S. — though they did pose a significant threat to Israel.
“This is still a war of choice that has been acknowledged by others was dictated by Israel’s goals and timelines,” Warner said.
Iran’s nuclear program
Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program had been underway for weeks. During his State of the Union address last week, Mr. Trump laid down a red line.
“My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror — which they are by far — to have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “Can’t let that happen.”
On Friday, hours before the strikes began, the Omani foreign minister, who was the mediator of those talks, said “substantial progress” was being made and a deal was “within our reach.” He told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan that Iran had agreed it will “never, ever have … nuclear material that will create a bomb.”
But the same day, the president told reporters he wasn’t happy with how the talks were progressing. “I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have,” he said. “I’m not thrilled with that.”
Mr. Trump demanded Iran stop enriching uranium. Iran has long refused to give up its enrichment capabilities, insisting the program is intended for peaceful purposes, though in recent years, Iran has enriched uranium to near weapons-grade level, well beyond the purity levels required for most peaceful uses.
“They want to enrich a little bit. You don’t have to enrich when you have that much oil,” Mr. Trump said.
Senior administration officials indicated they did not believe Iran was negotiating in good faith. They said that “it was clear to us that they were in the throes of rebuilding all that had been destroyed in Midnight Hammer,” the June operation that struck the regime’s nuclear facilities, and that Iran’s intent “was to preserve their ability to do enrichment, so that over time, they could use it for a nuclear bomb.” They concluded the president “had no choice” but to act.
In announcing the attack on Iran early Saturday, Mr. Trump emphasized that “it has always been the policy of the United States, in particular, my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon.”
He said Iran had “rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore.”
The 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment published by the Defense Intelligence Agency said, “Iran almost certainly is not producing nuclear weapons, but Iran has undertaken activities in recent years that better position it to produce them, if it chooses to do so.”
Rubio told reporters last week Iran was not currently enriching uranium.
On Sunday, in a second video, the president said the military operation is “necessary to ensure that Americans will never have to face a radical, bloodthirsty terrorist regime armed with nuclear weapons and lots of threats.”
Destroying Iran’s navy
In his first Truth Social post of the day Sunday, Mr. Trump wrote that he’d been told “we have destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian Naval Ships, some of them relatively large and important.” And, he added, “We are going after the rest — They will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also!” The president said that another attack had destroyed the regime’s naval headquarters.
By Monday afternoon, CENTCOM said that all 12 of the ships the Iranian navy had in the Gulf of Oman had been destroyed. The regime had relied on its navy to throttle ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for transporting about 20% of the world’s oil and liquified natural gas.
The Iran war has brought oil tanker traffic through the strait to a virtual standstill. Shipping giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said they were suspending all shipments through the strait.
Oil prices spiked Monday on concerns that a prolonged disruption of crude supplies in the region could sharply boost energy costs, including U.S. gas prices.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Monday that the strait would be closed and said it would “set on fire any ship that tries to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”
“We will not allow a single drop of oil to leave the region,” the IRGC said.
But as energy analyst Kevin Book of Clearview Energy told the AP, “Iran has essentially two ways to close the strait. One is to harass or attack ships, and the other is to lay down mines. And without a navy, both of those things would be difficult.”
Cutting off funding to Iran’s proxy terrorist groups
The president also stated Monday that the offensive was intended to ensure “the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”
Iran was designated a state sponsor of terror by the U.S. State Department in 1984. The department’s most recent country report on terrorism, published in 2023, identified the regime as the leading state sponsor of terrorism, “facilitating a wide range of terrorist and other illicit activities in the United States and globally.”
It stated that Iran supports terrorism acts through proxies and partners that include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ansar Allah (known as the Houthis) in Yemen, Hamas in the Palestinian territories, and groups that operate in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.
Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostage, initiating a war with Israel that lasted a little over two years. A ceasefire in Gaza is now in its second phase.
Houthis in Yemen in late 2023 attacked shipping lanes in the Red Sea, “significantly disrupting maritime commerce and global trade,” the report said.
Other groups conducted drone attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, the report said, and also noted that Iran’s IRGC Quds Force and Intelligence and Security Ministry supported terrorist recruitment and plotting in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
In recent years, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of fatal strikes on leaders of major Iranian proxy groups, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, key Houthi official Mohammed al-Ghamari and top Hamas leaders Yahyah Sinwar, Mohammed Sinwar and Mohammed Deif.
The IDF called the strike that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei “the culmination of a sustained effort to eliminate the senior leadership of the Iranian terror axis.”
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was also killed in Tehran in a 2024 operation that a U.S. official attributed to Israel, though the Israeli military has not taken responsibility.
Deaths of Iranian protesters and regime change
Regime change is not among the reasons for the military operation listed by Mr. Trump on Monday, but the U.S.-Israeli offensive has targeted dozens of Iran’s top leaders, including Khamenei, who was killed on the first day. While the U.S. has said that Israeli forces carried out that strike, they did so after receiving intelligence about his location from the CIA.
Mr. Trump said Monday that 49 top Iranian leaders had been killed.
In his Saturday video, he urged Iranians to finish what the U.S. and Israel started and overthrow the government.
“Now is the time to seize control of your destiny,” he told the Iranian people. “This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.”
Amid the Iranian government’s bloody crackdown on protesters in January, in which thousands were killed, Mr. Trump warned of “very strong action” against the regime and told Iranians that U.S. “help is on its way.”
Over the weekend, he told the Washington Post the goal is “freedom for the people” of Iran.
“All I want is freedom for the people,” he said.
Megan Cerullo, Weijia Jiang, Sara Cook, Kristin Brown and Olivia Gazis contributed to this report.