Friday marked six months since the Iran war began, and President Trump's plan for ending it looks nothing like what he first promised. What was supposed to be a short military campaign has instead evolved through several different strategies, from outright victory to a negotiated peace deal to, most recently, an economic siege aimed at squeezing Tehran into submission. Trump originally projected the war would last just four to five weeks. Six months later, according to a report from Axios, his stated path to ending the conflict has shifted repeatedly, from claims of military triumph to a peace agreement centered on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The fight has now settled into an open-ended economic pressure campaign, even as the U.S. moves more oil out of the strait, which chips away at Iran's negotiating leverage. Right now, there are no active talks between Washington and Tehran, according to Trump himself. Instead, the administration is focused on weakening Iran economically while continuing to block any path toward it acquiring a nuclear weapon. Separately, Iran and Oman are reportedly discussing a framework to make commercial shipping through the strait safer, and regional mediators are pushing for a broader resolution. Here is how Trump's own words have tracked the war's shifting goals since it began on February 28. "Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities and their capacity to produce brand new ones. Second, we're annihilating their navy. Third, we're ensuring that the world's No. 1 sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon. And finally, we're ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders," Trump said on March 2. In the war's early weeks, Trump went even further, at times hinting he might play a role in shaping Iran's political future. "We have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran," Trump said on April 7. That statement set off a new round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran that carried on through the spring. "We reached an agreement with Iran that achieves everything we set out to accomplish. Everything and much more," he said on June 17. That same day, the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding, a one page document containing 14 points. It called for an immediate halt to hostilities, reopening the strait, and 60 days of follow up negotiations toward a permanent nuclear agreement. On paper, it checked every box Trump had set out to achieve. "I don't want to deal with them anymore. As far as I'm concerned, it's over," he said on July 8, according to remarks reported by ABC News. With the settlement collapsed, Trump lost the exit strategy he had spent months building toward. "There's a military exit where we just keep going just the way we are, or there's a smarter strategy and that's you make a deal," he said on July 24. Just days later, Trump reportedly used far blunter language, saying the U.S. planned to "beat the fucking shit out of" Iran. Around this same period, a third strategy began taking shape quietly in the background, one focused less on combat and more on crippling Iran's economy. "I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale," Trump posted on August 19.