Goals of war remain murky amid Trump administration's mixed messages
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As the US tells American citizens to evacuate the Middle East in a warning posted on X, Magid discusses the mixed messaging about the war with Iran from Trump administration officials across a range of statements and press conferences on Monday.
US President Donald Trump spoke about the need to rid the Iranian regime of its nuclear capabilities, to destroy its missiles and navy, and then bring about regime change, reports Magid, as well as mentioning possible negotiations with the successors to leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed Saturday in a strike.
Trump's stated goals were followed by comments made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, each of whom offered their own takes on the goals of the war, says Magid.
During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's interview with Fox News, the premier laughed off the idea of Washington being dragged into the war, reports Magid, insisting that Trump believed the US needed to strike Iran to address the threat posed by the regime.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
‘Depart now’: US tells its citizens to urgently leave almost all Mideast countries, including Israel
As war widens, Trump says US has yet to launch largest strikes on Iran
Rubio cites planned Israeli attack as a key reason US launched strikes against Iran
Netanyahu: Iran’s nuclear program would have been ‘immune within months’ absent war
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
Image: President Donald Trump speaks at the Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. It is Tuesday, March 3rd, and I'm Jessica Steinberg. |
| 0:08.9 | I'm speaking today with U.S. Bureau Chief Jacob Magid. Hey, Jacob, how are you doing? Speaking from |
| 0:14.8 | reporting from Washington, right? Yes, you're from D.C. Good to be with you, Jessica. |
| 0:19.3 | Good to be with you as well. So here in Israel, |
| 0:23.3 | there has been a wave of strikes against Chazbalah in Lebanon, as well as a night of suspected |
| 0:30.0 | drone infiltration alerts in the north and center, reportedly from Chzbollah. And amid all of that here in Israel, |
| 0:38.4 | there have been a host of messages |
| 0:40.4 | that are emerging about the war against Iran |
| 0:43.6 | from Israel and the U.S. |
| 0:46.1 | Jacob is going to take us through all of it. |
| 0:48.5 | We'll talk about the stated aims and goals of the war, |
| 0:52.6 | as well as the messages that we're hearing, stay with us. |
| 1:00.0 | This episode is brought to you by Jewish Communal Fund, the preferred donor-advised |
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