Government officials who were given classified briefings on President Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran recently told The Intercept that Trump administration officials provided no clear vision for the war or for handling its aftermath.

“The administration doesn’t have a clue. They do not have an actual, real rationale, endgame, or plan for the aftermath of this,” one of the officials said. Another told the publication, “There is no thought process into what any of this means long term. It’s not coordinated regime change. It’s just ‘bomb them until they’re less of a threat.’”

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Trump’s war with Iran is about flexing masculinity. Any other reason he touts is a lie.

When asked about the administration’s plan for Iran after the war, the second official described the administration’s attitude in one word: “Whatever.”

Initial U.S. and Israeli military strike on schools in Iran killed at least 170 people, mostly children. At least seven U.S. soldiers have died since Trump launched his attacks a week ago. Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have claimed that Iran bombed the school. However, satellite imagery, geolocated videos, and public statements from U.S. officials all point to U.S. responsibility.

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Since then, the war has spread to Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. The conflict has already dramatically driven up oil prices, which could seriously harm the U.S. economy.

Administration officials have said the attacks were necessary to prevent Iran from creating a nuclear weapon (even though the Trump administration said it had previously destroyed the country’s capability of doing so), to prevent Iran from retaliating from a possible Israeli military strike, and to push for regime change in Iran.

Trump has said he remains open to possibly putting U.S. military troops on the ground. Reports indicate that the Pentagon is planning for the conflict to drag on until September. The conflict is costing American taxpayers approximately $890 million to over $1 billion per day.

Democratic critics have said that Trump launched the war to distract from his lagging poll numbers, inflationary economy, and his repeated mention in the federal investigatory files on his former friend, now deceased child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

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