SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The U.S. and Israel are attacking Iran. Strikes have hit several Iranian cities in what President Trump calls major combat operations. This as more talks were planned over Iran's nuclear program next week in Vienna. NPR's Ron Elving joins us now. Ron, good to have you today.
RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: Just a few days ago in his State of the Union address, President Trump said he would prefer diplomacy to military action. And we'd heard the last round of talks between the two countries may have been productive, more planned for Vienna next week. And yet today, the president's calling for the overthrow of the Iranian government. What's the figuring here?
ELVING: Different rhetoric for different moments. Not surprising that Trump would tell Congress and 32 million TV viewers that he would prefer diplomacy. If he had told them what he was apparently planning, there would have been no other news from that speech. We did get a couple of indicators yesterday that perhaps the tone of the talks had improved. There was also a report that Iran's missile program was not so far along or as big a threat as once thought, and that program appears to be a major target of these strikes.
SIMON: What kind of support does President Trump have for these strikes?
ELVING: It's far from certain at this hour, but war with Iran was not high on the priority list for much of Trump's support base. He was elected promising more focus on matters closer to home. But there are always Iran hawks in Washington, people who think its behavior on the world stage - Iran's behavior - should not be tolerated - and also, people who see the regime's crimes against its own people, Iranians, as crying out for response. Recent street protests there have been met with extreme violence by the regime. Untold thousands have been killed, perhaps tens of thousands.
SIMON: President Trump also brought up the 1979 U.S. hostage crisis when some Iranian revolutionaries took U.S. Embassy staff hostage for 444 days. For those who don't recall that history, that's an event that really shaped how almost every U.S. administration has viewed Iran, hasn't it?
ELVING: Yes, indeed. And it made clear just how angry many Iranians had become with America, our relationship with their deposed dictator, the shah. This anger included Islamist fundamentalists, to be sure, but it was widespread in Iran. But speaking of those who don't recall, that's a clear majority of Americans. Scott, it happened almost 50 years ago, and the average age of an American today is 40. But of course, Trump remembers it well because he's soon to be 80.
SIMON: And, Ron, how - politically, how pivotal might this moment be for the administration?
ELVING: We will only know when we are looking back on it. Will it be successful? How will success be defined? Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu says the goal here is regime change. Will that be the goal for the U.S. as well? And what if it is not achieved?
SIMON: And, Ron, for the moment, there seems to be no plans whatsoever for ground troops being committed to Iran. Is...
ELVING: Yeah.
SIMON: ...That your indication?
ELVING: Yes. That is everything that we are hearing, both from the administration and from sources within the military. This is not to be another Iraq. That is repeated over and over, but almost nothing starts out to be a disaster. Usually, when we get into a situation overseas, it's with limited goals. And what happens after that determines just what those limits will actually be.
SIMON: NPR's Ron Elving. Thanks so much for being with us today.
ELVING: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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