US President Donald Trump has told congressional Republicans that the war with Iran could be over “pretty quickly”.
The United States and Israel launched the campaign against Iran on February 28, with large-scale air and missile strikes on Iranian military infrastructure.
The first day of the operation killed Iran’s then supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and now the war has entered its second week.
Trump highlighted what he described as the successes of Operation Epic Fury and suggested that it could end soon, framing the recent military action against Iran as a “little excursion” that was necessary to eliminate “some evil”.
He explained that such a rapid conclusion would be due to the highly effective and “brilliant work” of the US military, noting that as soon as this operation is finished, it will result in a “much safer world”.
Trump also claimed that the US military sank “46 top-of-the-line” Iranian naval ships over three and a half days, and celebrated the killing of several Iranian leaders.
He connected this speech to his first-term operation that assassinated Qassem Soleimani, whom he called the “father of the roadside bomb”.
When asked whether the new Iranian leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had a target on his back, Trump said it would be “inappropriate” to say.
Trump had earlier declined to provide details about his plans for dealing with Mojtaba Khamenei, saying “Not going to tell you. I’m not happy with him”.
Source: Al Jazeera
