Trump calls Strait of Hormuz 'something that we don't need'

Trump told reporters that he is talking to countries about policing the Strait.

Last Updated: March 15, 2026, 9:09 PM EDT

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.

Iran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

(Read previous Iran live updates here.)

Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Mar 09, 2026, 6:54 PM EDT

Trump says he doesn't 'know enough' about strike on Iranian girls school

President Donald Trump said he doesn't "know enough" about a deadly strike on an Iranian girls school when pressed on the incident during Monday's briefing.

The U.S. military was striking targets in Iran in an area where an elementary school was hit and dozens of children were killed on Feb. 28, sources told ABC News.

A newly surfaced video appears to show a U.S.-made missile hitting a building in Iran adjacent to a girls’ school where local officials say 168 people were killed, experts told ABC News.

A newly surfaced video appears to show a U.S.-made missile hitting a building in Iran adjacent to the girls’ school where local officials say 168 people were killed, experts told ABC News.

Asked Monday if the U.S. will accept any responsibility for the strike, Trump said the missile is "very generic."

"I will say that the Tomahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons around, is used by, you know, is sold and used by other countries," he said, adding that Iran "also has some Tomahawks."

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference at Trump National Doral Miami, March 9, 2026, in Doral, Fla.
Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Trump said the incident is being investigated.

"I just don't know enough about it," he said.

"Whatever the report shows, I'm willing to live with that report," he added.

Mar 09, 2026, 6:13 PM EDT

Trump says war will be 'ended soon'

President Donald Trump said he believes the war with Iran is "going to be ended soon."

"And if it starts up again, they'll be, they'll be hit even harder," he said of Iran during a press briefing on Monday.

Asked by a reporter what he means by "soon" and if he's thinking it will be over this week, he said, "No, but soon."

President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference, March 9, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Fla.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Trump was asked again by a reporter on the timeline of the Iran operation and how long should Americans expect, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on "60 Minutes" on Sunday that "this is only just the beginning" of the U.S. campaign.

Trump said it's the "beginning of building a new country" and that Iran has no navy or air force. 

"We could call it a tremendous success right now, as we leave here, I could call it, or we could go further, and we're going to go further," he said.

Mar 09, 2026, 5:51 PM EDT

Rubio speaks with Iraqi PM about protecting US personnel

Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a call with Iraq's prime minister on Monday, according to the State Department.

During their conversation, Rubio "strongly condemned terrorist attacks by Iran" and its militia proxies in Iraq, including the Iraq Kurdistan region, according to the department's readout.

Both Rubio and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani "reiterated the importance" of the Iraqi government doing all it could to protect U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities, according to the readout.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

Mar 09, 2026, 5:36 PM EDT

Trump on war with Iran: 'It's going to be a short-term excursion'

President Donald Trump said that the war in Iran is a "little excursion" -- adding that he thinks it will be a "short-term excursion" -- in remarks to Congressional Republicans at their retreat in Doral, Florida, on Monday.

"We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. And I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion," Trump said, referring to the war in Iran.

"Short-term," Trump reiterated as the Republicans in the room applauded. "Short-term."

Trump said the U.S. would "not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated," without providing details on how the administration will determine when that is.

He later said that the U.S. has "already won in many ways," but hasn't "won enough."

"We go forward, more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all," Trump said.

The president also defended the U.S. attack on Iran, saying, "Within a week, they were going to attack us."

-ABC News' Meghan Mistry, Noah Minnie and Michelle Stoddart

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