Iran war likely to last four to five weeks

The U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran over the weekend that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials. This has left Iran without clear leadership.

Daniel Rothenberg, co-director of the Future Security Initiative at ASU, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the conflict.

Despite conflicting reports about why the airstrikes were carried out, Rothenberg said President Donald Trump said on Monday, March 2, 2026, there were four reasons: to destroy the country’s missile capabilities, annihilate its navy, end its nuclear ambitions, and prevent it from arming terrorists.

President Trump said he believes the war will last about “four to five weeks.”

The conflict has spread across the Middle East as Iran and its proxies launch retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. allies in the region, Rothenberg said.

As of Monday, six U.S. service members have been killed in action, and 18 others are seriously wounded.

“It hasn’t been made clear by the administration exactly what the purpose of this war is,” Rothenberg said, “…we’ve heard that it’s to make it impossible for Iran to develop nuclear weapons…to protect the Iranian people…we don’t fully know, I think we should have a clearer idea of what the purpose is.”

According to Rothenberg, some polling suggests that Americans are not in favor of a war with Iran. He emphasized that it is important to look at what the justification for the war is.

“This was a preventive war,” Rothenberg said, “…a war of choice…it was as if there was some imminent threat presented by Iran where the US responded out of self-defense. We’re in a different situation here, and I think Americans…I think we should hear greater clarity as to what the purpose is.”

Rothenberg believes that more Americans would support this war if there were further clarity as to what the true reason for the war is.