Elon Musk’s Latin phrase sparks debate over whether the Trump administration is preparing to move from containment to decisive confrontation with Tehran.
The phrase “Carthago delenda est” (“Carthage must be destroyed”) was famously used by the Roman statesman Cato the Elder, who reportedly ended every speech in the Senate with a call to destroy Carthage until Rome ultimately did so in the Third Punic War.
Now the expression has reappeared in a modern geopolitical storm. Elon Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, posted the phrase amid escalating tensions with Iran in early 2026.
Historically, the phrase symbolized unwavering determination to eliminate a perceived existential threat. In today’s context, many analysts interpret it as a signal that Washington may be shifting from attempts to restrain Iran’s nuclear program toward a broader objective: fundamentally weakening or even toppling the regime if diplomacy fails.