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Trump now claims US started war with Iran ‘because they were doing drugs’

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Scott, O. (2026, October 2). Trump now claims US started war with Iran ‘because they were doing drugs’. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iran-united-states-drug-factories-b3060239.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-10-02 · by Owen Scott

Quick Summary

Donald Trump recently claimed at a rally in Durant, Oklahoma that the US started a war with Iran because Iran was involved in drug trafficking, alongside nuclear activities. This statement comes eight months after the conflict began and adds to previous justifications like preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons or seeking regime change. Despite these claims, polls indicate that 73 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict, with only 25 percent believing he has a clear plan for it.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In June 2025, Donald Trump claimed that U.S. military strikes in Operation Midnight Hammer targeted both nuclear facilities and drug factories in Iran, during a campaign rally in Durant, Oklahoma. The president stated that B-2 stealth bombers hit these targets early one morning while flying from Missouri. Previously, the primary justification for the conflict, which began in February 2025, was to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump now suggests that drug production was also taking place at those sites, though he did not provide specifics about the types of drugs involved. This new assertion comes as tensions continue between the U.S. and Iran following an attempted hijacking of an Israeli plane earlier in the week, prompting Trump to threaten further military action against Iran if evidence links them to the incident.

Written for “Iran US War Trump Reasons” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Iran US War Trump Reasons
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Iran-US war latest: Trump gives new reason for starting conflict after threatening to hit Iran ‘very hard’ Same event
The Independent
Hedges 6 of 46 claims Outlet record 59/100
Iran-US war live: Oil prices rise after Trump says he has offered Tehran ‘nothing’ in peace talks Different event
The Independent
Hedges 3 of 43 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different statements made by Trump regarding Iran and do not refer to the same specific incident at the same time.”
Trump says Iranian nuclear sites hit in Midnight Hammer were also ‘drug factories’ Same event
Washington Examiner
Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 70/100
For Trump and Vance, Iran isn’t a forever war — or a war at all Different event
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 60 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the U.S.'s conflict with Iran, but do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Iran war live: Trump says he did not offer Tehran sanctions relief Different event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different statements made by Trump on separate dates regarding unrelated aspects of US-Iran relations.”
War in the Gulf Different event
Dawn
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 0 of 37 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles refer to different aspects and justifications of a broader conflict between the US/Israel and Iran, rather than describing the exact same incident.”
Iran-US war latest: Trump gives new reason for starting conflict after threatening to hit Iran ‘very hard’ Different event
The Independent
Hedges 10 of 45 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different statements made by Trump about reasons for the Iran-US war, occurring on different dates.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Owen Scott
81 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 “Seeing a passenger jet flying low overhead here would be quite a bad sign!
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Trump’s Air Force One flies dangerous close to White House shocking and scaring visitors
🔮 Trump has previously stated that he will accept the midterm results, under one condition.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Newsom warns Trump about interfering in state’s election ahead of midterms
🔮 William “Stone” Romberg, a beach hospitality manager who worked in Florida’s panhandle, was killed on Sunday as he swam out to untangle the bird from his lure after casting it near an inlet in the Panama City Beach area.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Florida dad dies in freak accident drowning while trying to save seagull from his fishing line
🔮 President Donald Trump has warned a federal judge that he will hold her personally responsible if anyone dies on a “highly dangerous” golf course he wants renovated.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Trump warns golf course judge will be held responsible if anyone dies on ‘highly dangerous’ site
🔮 Currently, the GOP controls both the House and the Senate, but some polls have shown that the Democratic Party could flip the balance of power in Congress.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · 39 million people have already voted in this year’s midterm as Trump makes final push to save his majority
🔮 During his show, Maher said that Trump had the “lowest approval rating of any midterm candidate ever,” poked fun at the president’s comments about Senator Jon Husted’s body and asked Leavitt what Trump could be like during the “lame-duck” phase of his presidency.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Trump savages ‘total loser’ Bill Maher in 1,300-word rant after Karoline Leavitt appearance
🔮 A DOGE affiliate who oversaw the firing of thousands of federal employees and ended USAID may not have had the authority to do so, according to a report.
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · DOGE bro who fired thousands and ended USAID may not have had authority to make changes: report
🔮 The former press secretary was asked by Finnerty if she would ever return to Hannity’s show, after her tense interview with the Fox News host.
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Ex White House press secretary Zacharia says she was not prepared for ‘hostility’ in viral interview
🔮 However, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday that his endorsement of Netanyahu turned around the latter’s campaign and may still carry him back to office. “When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a Great Prime Minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu,” Trump wrote, seemingly crediting the quote to a man named Irving C. Schwartz.
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Trump takes credit for Netanyahu election performance after endorsing Israeli prime minister
🔮 During his show, Maher said that Trump had the “lowest approval rating of any midterm candidate ever,” poked fun at the president’s comments about Senator Jon Husted’s body and asked Leavitt what Trump could be like during the “lame-duck” phase of his presidency.
2026-10-26 · assertive framing · Trump savages ‘total loser’ Bill Maher in 1,300 word rant after Karoline Leavitt appearance
Also by Owen Scott
Trump’s Air Force One flies dangerous close to White House shocking and scaring visitors
2026-10-30 · The Independent
Newsom warns Trump about interfering in state’s election ahead of midterms
2026-10-30 · The Independent
Florida dad dies in freak accident drowning while trying to save seagull from his fishing line
2026-10-29 · The Independent
Trump warns golf course judge will be held responsible if anyone dies on ‘highly dangerous’ site
2026-10-29 · The Independent
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 81 articles by Owen Scott →

Topics

Independent Iran Iranian the Islamic Republic the United States

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Iran GPE · 5× Iranian NORP · 2× the United States GPE · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Durant PERSON · 1× Independent NORP · 1× Oklahoma GPE · 1× Tehran GPE · 1× the Islamic Republic GPE · 1×

Narrative

Although this appears to be the first mention of drugs as being a factor in attacking Iran, Trump previously has used drugs as the justification for military action against other countries during his second term. The Trump administration has launched dozens strikes on vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean that it has claimed were transporting drugs into the United States. And in January the U.S. abducted Venezuela’s then-President, Nicolás Maduro, who now faces charges of narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine to the United States, among other charges - all of which he denies.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
2026-10-02 · The Independent
Trump now claims US started war with Iran ‘because they were doing drugs’ · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 0 hedged)

Donald Trump has added Iran “doing drugs” to the list of reasons for starting his unpopular war eight months ago. asserted
Iran → add → war
The president has long said the ongoing conflict with the Islamic Republic, which began at the end of February, was launched to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. asserted
which → say → weapon
He has also previously hinted at the possibility of regime change in Iran, calling for the Iranian people to overthrow the country’s rulers following protests earlier this year. asserted
people → hint → protests
However, speaking at a rally in Durant, Oklahoma, Thursday, Trump unveiled a new reason for the war as he boasted of destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities in Operation Midnight Hammer, which was launched in June 2025. asserted
which → speak → June
“They went from Missouri and then at one o’clock in the morning, with no moon, dark as can be, these unbelievable machines led by the most incredible pilots in the world, they unloaded every single bomb, went right down air chutes into this, uh, drug factories, really,” Trump said. “ asserted
Trump → go → factories
That’s what they were doing. asserted
they → ’ → what
They were doing drugs, but they were doing the nuclear. asserted
they → do → nuclear
These drug factories/nuclear factories were hit so hard.” asserted
factories → hit → ?
In the early days of the war, which saw the death of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump called for the Iranian people to “take over your government.” asserted
people → see → government
When this failed to happen, and with Iran closing the key shipping route the Strait of Hormuz, the war has dragged on with no end in sight. asserted
war → fail → sight
Repeated polls show it to be deeply unpopular among American voters, with a CNN/SSRS poll found that 73 percent disapproved of the president’s handling of the conflict. asserted
percent → show → conflict
Some 75 percent of respondents said that Trump does not have a clear plan in the war compared to just 25 percent who thought he did. asserted
he → say → percent
The survey was carried out between September 16-17 using a representative sample of 1,206 people. asserted
survey → carry → people
Although this appears to be the first mention of drugs as being a factor in attacking Iran, Trump previously has used drugs as the justification for military action against other countries during his second term. The Trump administration has launched dozens strikes on vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean that it has claimed were transporting drugs into the United States. And in January the U.S. abducted Venezuela’s then-President, Nicolás Maduro, who now faces charges of narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine to the United States, among other charges - all of which he denies. asserted
he → appear → which
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