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Welcome back to Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Situation Report. It\u2019s been a big week in the world\u2014there\u2019s a new war in the Middle East that\u2019s rapidly impacted the entire region and beyond.<\/p>\n On that note, we\u2019ve got a lot of news for you today. Here\u2019s what\u2019s on tap: Trump\u2019s shifting goals<\/strong> in the Iran war<\/strong>, Kristi Noem<\/strong>\u2019s ouster as Homeland Security chief<\/strong>, and a new U.S. military operation<\/strong> in the Western Hemisphere<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Iran war is less than a week old, but the Trump administration\u2019s stated objectives in the fight have shifted repeatedly\u2014as have its justifications for launching the conflict (read more on the latter from John here<\/a>).<\/p>\n In many ways, the administration\u2019s messaging on the war, nicknamed Operation Epic Fury, was muddled before it even began. U.S. President Donald Trump initially threatened strikes on Iran in January over the regime\u2019s bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, but then he started warning Tehran that an attack could come if it didn\u2019t reach an agreement with Washington on the Iranian nuclear program.<\/p>\n Since the United States and Israel began dropping bombs on Saturday, Trump and his advisors have added objectives beyond preventing Iran from building a nuclear bomb. In the process, they\u2019ve often contradicted one another on what the United States is trying to accomplish. Unsurprisingly, a recent CBS News poll<\/a> suggests that Americans are confused about the war\u2019s aims, with a majority (62 percent) stating that the administration has not yet explained its goals clearly.<\/p>\n Regime change?<\/strong> The Trump administration has fluctuated on whether one of the goals is to bring down the Iranian regime. The war has already seen a number of top Iranian leaders killed, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran is now in the process of selecting a new leader, and Trump has signaled that he expects to have a say. He\u2019s also expressed support for a popular uprising and for opposition groups to take the fight to the regime.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,\u201d Trump said in a video announcing the war on Saturday. \u201cWhen we are finished, take over your government.\u201d<\/p>\n But in a press briefing<\/a> on Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that this is \u201cnot a so-called regime change war.\u201d Yet Trump continues to make statements that undermine this. On Thursday, the president told Reuters<\/a> that the United States must be \u201cinvolved in the process of choosing the person who is going \u200bto lead Iran into the future.\u201d Trump also said that he would be \u201call for it\u201d if Iranian Kurdish militias were to take the fight to the regime. Asked by Reuters if the United States would provide or had offered such forces with air cover, Trump said, \u201cI can\u2019t tell you that,\u201d but he added that \u200cthe objective \u2060for the Kurds would be \u201cto win.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an indeterminate approach to regime change, with the president apparently open to a range of outcomes\u2014as long as they are favorable to what he perceives as U.S. interests.<\/p>\n Fluid goals, contradictory assessments.<\/strong> Trump has zeroed in on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon as one of the primary goals of the war. But his continued and exaggerated assertion that the United States obliterated the Iranian nuclear program with strikes last June weakens his contention that the country posed an imminent nuclear threat.<\/p>\n Trump on Wednesday said Iran was just two weeks from having a nuclear weapon. The day prior, however, Rafael Grossi, the head of the U.N.\u2019s nuclear watchdog, said, \u201cThere has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the administration has also said the objectives include destroying Iran\u2019s navy and eliminating ballistic missile and drone capabilities. The latter could be difficult to achieve for a number of reasons, including concerns over dwindling U.S. munitions (which Trump denies is a problem) and the fact that some of Iran\u2019s arsenal is believed to be underground. Actually getting the job done could therefore necessitate ground forces, which is also the case regarding eliminating Iran\u2019s nuclear program. Notably, Trump has not ruled out troops on the ground.<\/p>\n The administration has also offered conflicting assessments of progress on these goals. For example, both Trump and Hegseth have claimed that Iran\u2019s navy is destroyed. \u201cThey have no navy,\u201d Trump told Reuters on Thursday. But Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine on Wednesday said that the United States \u201cwill continue to strike infrastructure and naval capability\u201d over the next 24 to 48 hours, suggesting that the effort to destroy the navy was ongoing. The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command did not respond to requests for comment on these contradictory statements.<\/p>\n Caine has also said that a goal of the war is to \u201cdismantle Iran\u2019s ability to project power outside of its borders both today and in the future.\u201d This is an extremely broad and ill-defined objective that could be impossible to achieve, particularly if they\u2019re hoping to eliminate all of Iran\u2019s proxy groups in the region.<\/p>\n The Defense Department has named all six service members believed to have been killed in a drone attack on a U.S. operations center in Kuwait on Sunday, releasing<\/a> the last two names<\/a> on Wednesday in addition to the four it had released<\/a> earlier.<\/p>\n They are Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan<\/strong> (pending official identification), Maj. Jeffrey R. O\u2019Brien<\/strong>, Capt. Cody A. Khork<\/strong>, Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens<\/strong>, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor<\/strong>, and Sgt. Declan J. Coady<\/strong>.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command has also asked more military intelligence officers to support operations against Iran and is asking the Pentagon to send them to its Tampa, Florida, headquarters for at least 100 days but possibly until September, Politico<\/em> reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile on the domestic front, Trump abruptly announced<\/a> on Thursday that he was replacing Kristi Noem<\/strong> as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security with Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin<\/strong>, with the latter set to take over the role at the end of this month. Noem \u201cwill be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida,\u201d Trump added in his post on Truth Social. (It is not clear how the switch will actually take place in practice, given that Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate, after which his own Senate seat would become vacant.)<\/p>\n What should be high on your radar, if it isn\u2019t already.<\/em><\/p>\n Iran war expands.<\/strong> The conflict in Iran kick-started by Saturday\u2019s joint U.S.-Israel attack expanded beyond the territory and assets of those three countries from Day 1\u2014with Arab Gulf countries Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates facing a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones\u2014but has since expanded even further.<\/p>\n A U.S. submarine on Tuesday attacked and sank an Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka \u201cthat thought it was safe in international waters,\u201d Hegseth announced<\/a> in a press briefing.\u00a0The ship, a navy frigate that was returning from an international naval exercise hosted by India, was carrying almost 130 sailors, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post<\/a> on X, calling the attack an \u201catrocity.\u201d At least 87 people were reportedly killed<\/a> in the attack and 32 others were rescued, according to Sri Lankan authorities.<\/p>\n Iran, meanwhile, carried out drone attacks against the Azerbaijan-controlled territory of Nakhchivan on Thursday, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement<\/a>, damaging the local airport and injuring two civilians.<\/p>\n NATO air defenses in the Mediterranean Sea also shot down an Iranian missile launched at Turkey, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement<\/a>, raising questions about whether the trans-Atlantic alliance will get involved in the war (NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte indicated<\/a> on Thursday that it will not, at least as of now). The Iranian missile was reportedly<\/a> bound for a military base that hosted the U.S. Air Force in Turkey. \u201cWe remind that our right to respond to any hostile act against our country remains reserved,\u201d the Turkish Defense Ministry said. Iran has denied<\/a> responsibility<\/a> for both the Azerbaijan and Turkey strikes.<\/p>\n Ecuador operation.<\/strong> Even as it continues to fight a rapidly expanding war with Iran, the U.S. military launched a joint operation with the Ecuadorian military against alleged \u201cnarco-terrorists\u201d in the South American country. That\u2019s according to an announcement<\/a> from U.S. Southern Command on Tuesday that was accompanied by a 30-second video of troops getting into military helicopters. \u201cWe commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country,\u201d Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said in a statement. The Pentagon has not shared additional information about the operation, including the role of U.S. troops.<\/p>\n