Trump now says Iran started the war; in February he announced U.S. combat

President Donald Trump held a rally Monday night, Oct. 26, in Corinth, Mississippi, eight days before the midterm election. He told the crowd that the United States did not start its war with Iran ¹¹⁰. He was there to campaign for Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who faces an unexpectedly strong challenge from Democrat Scott Colom ⁴.

We didn't start the war with Iran. Iran started the war with us.

His own words from the start of the war say something else. Trump spoke on Feb. 28, 2026, the day the U.S. and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran ⁵. He opened by announcing an American attack, not an Iranian one ².

A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran.

What he said then

In that February speech, Trump said the goal was "eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime." He also said "this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon" ². He called it "a massive and ongoing operation" and warned Americans that "we may have casualties" ².

He also spent part of that speech on Iran's long record of hostility. He noted that Iran's proxies carried out the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, which killed 241 Americans ². On Monday he leaned on the same history, saying Iran had been "killing our people for years" ¹.

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That matters because the history is real, and Trump is entitled to argue that it justified the strikes. But that is not what he said Monday. He said Iran started this war. Two days after the strikes began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a similar claim: Al Jazeera reported that he said Washington did not start the war but that under Trump the U.S. was finishing it ⁸.

The 'two weeks away' claim

Trump also told the Corinth crowd he had no choice, because Iran was "two weeks away from having a nuclear missile" ⁹. Compare that with what he told the country in a televised address on June 21, 2025, after U.S. B-2 bombers struck Iran's nuclear sites ³.

Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.

That night he called the strikes "a spectacular military success" ³. The pattern is hard to miss. In June 2025, Iran's nuclear program had been wiped out. Eight months later, the same president says Iran was weeks from a nuclear missile. None of the coverage we reviewed shows him explaining how both can be true.

The cease-fire he now calls a waste

On April 7, 2026, Trump announced a two-week cease-fire meant to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane that carries much of the world's oil, while the two countries negotiated ⁷. At the time, he called Iran's 10-point plan a "workable basis on which to negotiate." He also said the two sides were "very far along with a definitive" agreement ⁷.

On Monday he described that cease-fire very differently. "We did a little ceasefire, which I never liked very much. I considered it a waste of time," he told the rally ¹. He also said of the war that it "'ll be over soon" ⁴. The war began more than half a year ago, and talks on ending it have stalled ⁵.

What Democrats said from the start

Four days after the bombing began, House Democrats held a news conference calling for a War Powers Resolution. That is a measure under a 1973 law that lets Congress limit a president's use of military force. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar said it was "critical that we pass a War Powers Resolution to limit more military action in the Middle East" ⁶.

And this is a war of choice by Donald Trump.

At the same event, Rep. Ted Lieu said, "Only Congress can declare war, and this war right now is illegal because Congress never approved it" ⁶. In April, when the cease-fire was announced, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said "we shouldn't be in this illegal war in the first place" ⁷.

Why it matters at the pump

The war is costing families money. As of Monday, regular gasoline averaged $4.29 a gallon nationally, up from $2.98 before the war. Diesel, which drives the cost of trucking food and goods, was $6.35, up from $3.76 in February ⁵. Trump told the Mississippi crowd he had expected oil prices to rise even higher ⁴⁹.

Voters appear to have noticed. As of Oct. 22, national polling averages put Trump's approval near 36% and his disapproval above 61%, Newsweek reported ⁹. Even in Mississippi, a state he won by about 23 points in 2024, Civiqs measured his approval at 41% and disapproval at 52% as of Oct. 21 ⁹.

The AP reported that Democrats have widened the map of competitive races partly because of voter frustration over inflation and the Iran war ⁴. Colom, a district attorney, would be Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction if he wins ⁴. Trump's new version of how the war started is aimed at voters who will decide that race and others like it on Nov. 3.

The Record

1. Jun 21, 2025After U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, Trump says the enrichment facilities were "completely and totally obliterated." ³
2. Feb 28, 2026The U.S. and Israel launch joint airstrikes on Iran; Trump announces "major combat operations" ²⁵
3. Mar 4, 2026House Democrats call for a War Powers Resolution and say Congress never approved the war ⁶
4. Apr 7, 2026Trump announces a two-week cease-fire and calls Iran's plan a "workable basis on which to negotiate" ⁷
5. Oct 26, 2026At a Corinth, Mississippi, rally, Trump says Iran started the war and calls the cease-fire a waste of time ¹¹⁰

Sources

1. Israel National News, “Trump on Iran war: We had no choice, we didn't start the war” (2026-10-27). israelnationalnews.com/news/435207
2. Miller Center, University of Virginia, “February 28, 2026: Remarks on the U.S. Military Operations Against Iran” (2026-02-28). millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/februa
3. FOX 2 Detroit, “US bombs Iran: Read Trump address here” (2025-06-21). fox2detroit.com/news/us-bombs-iran-trump-remarks-nuclear-pro
4. Mississippi Free Press / AP, “Trump Campaigns in Mississippi, Highlighting Republicans' Challenges” (2026-10-27). mississippifreepress.org/trump-campaigns-in-mississippi-high
5. AOL / The Mirror US, “Desperate Trump tries to claim Iran started war as GOP midterm hopes fade” (2026-10-27). aol.com/articles/desperate-trump-tries-claim-iran-235108000.
6. House Democrats, “Chairman Aguilar: The American People Don't Want This War” (2026-03-04). democrats.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/chairman-aguilar
7. Al Jazeera, “US politicians react to Trump's Iran ceasefire with caution, relief” (2026-04-08). aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/8/caution-relief-as-us-politicians
8. Al Jazeera, “Hegseth: US didn't start war with Iran but we are finishing it” (2026-03-02). aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/3/2/hegseth-us-didnt-start
9. Newsweek, “Donald Trump Holds Mississippi Rally as GOP Anxiety Grows in Deep South” (2026-10-26). newsweek.com/donald-trump-holds-mississippi-rally-as-gop-anx
10. Middle East Eye, “Trump claims Iran 'started' war with US” (2026-10-27). middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/trump-claims-ir

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