The president says American forces would remain engaged to complete the mission in Iran, and he could end the war 'any time'.
Washington: President Donald Trump has stressed that the United States had effectively won the war with Iran, saying the outcome was decided within hours of the opening strikes, but added that American forces would remain engaged to complete the mission.
Speaking at a rally in Hebron, Kentucky, Trump declared that the US military had already secured victory but stressed that Washington would not withdraw prematurely. “You never like to say too early you won. We won,” Trump told supporters. “In the first hour, it was over.”
The President credited US forces with crippling Iran’s naval power during the campaign. “We knocked out 58 Iranian naval ships,” Trump said, highlighting what he described as a decisive blow to Tehran’s military capability.
Trump also spoke about the military campaign’s name, joking with the crowd about how “Operation Epic Fury” was selected. “Is that a great name? Well, it’s only good if you win and we’ve won,” he said, prompting cheers from supporters. The President said he initially disliked several proposed names for the operation. “They gave me like 20 names, and I’m falling asleep. I didn’t like any of them. Then I saw ‘Epic Fury.’ I said, ‘I like that name,’” Trump said.
Trump’s comments come as the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues to dominate the Middle East. The war began nearly two weeks ago with large-scale strikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure and nuclear program.
Despite claiming victory, the President acknowledged that the United States intends to remain involved until its objectives are fully achieved. “We don’t want to leave early, do we? We’ve got to finish the job,” he said.
Trump has also suggested the campaign inflicted massive damage on Iran’s military capabilities, at one point saying there was “practically nothing left to target.”
Speaking separately in an interview with WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, Trump said the administration could tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease pressure on energy prices caused by the conflict.
“We’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down. I filled it up once and I’ll fill it up again,” Trump said. He acknowledged that global markets had reacted to the war but predicted stability would return soon. “We’ll be back on track in a pretty short while, oil will be coming down,” Trump said.
The war has triggered volatility in oil markets and heightened tensions across the region, even as the White House signals confidence that the military campaign is nearing its end.
Earlier, Trump also commented on Iran’s leadership, suggesting the United States had severely weakened Tehran’s command structure during the conflict. Speaking to reporters during a stop in Ohio, the president claimed American strikes had eliminated senior Iranian leaders.
|
Iran sets 3 conditions to end war Iran has set three conditions for ending the conflict, including guarantees against future attacks even as the US and Israel continued their air strikes in the country. “Talking to leaders of Russia and Pakistan, I reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to peace in the region,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote in a social media post. “The only way to end this war — ignited by the Zionist regime and the US — is recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression,” he said. During nuclear talks ahead of the war, Iran had consistently argued that, as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), nuclear enrichment is “a legitimate right”. This was also the first time a senior Iranian leader called for reparations as a condition to end the war. Since the US and Israel began this war on February 28, assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader and several other top officials, Iran has maintained that it would not talk to the U.S. and accept a ceasefire. According to Trump, he could end the war at any time. “Practically, there is nothing much left to strike,” he said, while the US and Israel continued to carry out air strikes in Iran. |
