I Completely Reject the Premise!' Karoline Leavitt Scoffs at Reporter Over Iran Question

"I completely reject the premise of your question. You have had the president of the United States, the secretary of war, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the vice president of United States, the secretary of state, and now I am out here today to explain to you exactly what led the president to make the decision to launch Operation Epic Fury."

"This decision to launch this operation was based on a cumulative effect of various direct threats that Iran posed to the United States of America, and the president's feeling based on fact that Iran does pose an imminent and direct threat to the United States of America based on the fact that they are the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism."

"You listed a long list of grievances against the Iranian government, going back to the takeover of the embassy in '79, barracks bombing in the 80s, et cetera. But no one from the administration has laid out the imminent threat that was supposed to be taken care of by this."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Trump administration's military operation against Iran during a briefing, responding to criticism that the administration failed to articulate a specific imminent threat justifying the strike. When pressed by journalist Andrew Feinberg about the lack of clear articulation of immediate danger, Leavitt rejected the premise of the question and cited multiple administration officials who had explained the rationale. She emphasized that the decision was based on cumulative effects of various direct threats from Iran, including its designation as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and its ballistic missile program development. The administration framed the operation as a response to Iranian retaliation threats following Israeli strikes.

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