Despite a $200 billion price tag, Trump admits the Iran war could just swap one bad leader for another

As the conflict in Iran stretches into its fourth day and threatens to spill over into the wider region, the staggering financial and strategic costs the U.S. is incurring to fuel its military efforts are colliding with a sobering admission from the Oval Office. 

Since military strikes targeting Iran’s leadership began on Saturday, the Trump administration has provided several explanations to justify its campaign, although it has refrained from explicitly mentioning a change in leadership as a clear-cut goal—despite its outcome so far effectively amounting to a decapitation. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump claimed initial strikes had killed as many as 48 members of Iran’s leadership, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“This is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during public remarks Monday.

But for Trump, the attack’s sweeping scale has also been accompanied by a lack of clarity as to what comes next, specifically to plug a gaping leadership vacuum...