US President Donald Trump has made his first public comments since the US attack on Iran began, insisting the military “continues to carry out large-scale combat options in Iran.”
Trump added that the US attack on Iran is meeting its goals ahead of schedule, but also warned the war could go "far longer" than his initial estimates of about a month.
"We're already substantially ahead of our time projections," Trump said at the White House on Monday, adding, "From the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that. We'll do it."
The US president highlighted Iran’s ballistic missile programme was growing “rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas.”
He framed one reason for the offensive as Iran’s potential to develop missiles capable of reaching “our beautiful America.”
Trump described the human cost of Iran’s tactics, stating that “every time you see someone with missing arms or legs” or a face that’s been “shattered” it was most likely caused by an Iranian “road side bomb.”
For the first time since the conflict began, Trump has also addressed his 2018 decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear accord negotiated under President Barack Obama. “That was a horrible, horrible dangerous document,” he said, arguing it would have given Iran “nuclear weapons three years ago.”
“Big one is coming soon”
Earlier in the day, the Pentagon confirmed additional US forces are being deployed to the Middle East, while Trump declined to rule out sending ground troops into Iran and signalled larger waves of airstrikes, signalling a widening conflict.
Separately, Trump told CNN the operation was going "well" but warned the hardest strikes were yet to come. "We haven't even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn't even happened. The big one is coming soon," he said.
The US president said the biggest surprise so far had been Iran's retaliatory strikes against Arab neighbours, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. "We told them, 'We've got this,' and now they want to fight," he claimed. "They were going to be very little involved and now they insist on being involved.”
Trump revised his earlier claim of 48 Iranian leaders killed, now putting the figure at 49. He also said the US was actively helping the Iranian people beyond military strikes, urging civilians to stay indoors for their safety.
Trump on Sunday called on Iranians to rise and "seize this moment ... and take back your country."
