Trump's goals for the Iran war and what he's saying now

Washington — Hours after the U.S. launched its war against Iran in late February, President Trump laid out an aggressive list of war aims. He pledged to "destroy their missiles," prevent the regime from rebuilding its nuclear program and set the stage for Iranians to "take over" the country's government. Now, as the Trump administration touts a newly signed memorandum of understanding to extend the U.S.-Iran ceasefire and jumpstart nuclear talks, the president has backed off some of those ambitions. Mr. Trump told reporters this week it's "OK" for Iran to keep some of its ballistic missiles. He said he isn't in a hurry to recover Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and isn't vying for "regime change" in Iran. The memorandum of understanding also leaves most specifics on the fate of Iran's nuclear program to be determined in additional negotiations over the next 60 days. The president also shared some praise for Iran's current leadership. "We're dealing with people that I think are very rational people, and they were nice to deal with," Mr. Trump said of Iran's current leadership during an event at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday, noting that some prior Iranian leaders were killed during the war. "They were strong people, smart people. … They're not radicalized and they're looking to help their country." Here's what the president and top administration officials have said about key issues related to Iran, then and now: Eliminating ballistic missiles Trump, Feb. …