President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. military might not need to change course to achieve its objectives in Iran as the campaign, launched Feb. 28, enters its 12th day.
"More of the same, and we'll see how that comes out," Trump told reporters outside the White House when asked what more his administration needed to do to end Operation Epic Fury.
His comments aired on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform.
"Right now, they've lost their navy, they've lost their air force, they have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar," Trump said. "Their leaders are gone."
Since the start of the joint military operation with Israel, the Trump administration has repeatedly outlined the campaign's objectives. They include destroying Iran's nuclear program, ballistic missile capabilities and navy, plus degrading the Islamist regime's support for regional proxy terrorist groups.
Trump said the operation has been restrained and insisted it could be over "by this afternoon" or even "within an hour."
"We could do a lot worse," he said. "We're leaving certain things ... that if we take them out, or we could take them out by this afternoon, in fact, within an hour, they literally would never be able to build that country back."
Earlier Wednesday, Trump said the conflict could end "soon" because there is "practically nothing left to target" in Iran.
Trump described the military campaign as nearing completion and suggested the timeline for ending the conflict largely rests with him.
"Little this and that. ... Anytime I want it to end, it will end," Trump said, adding that the operation has progressed faster than expected.
"The war is going great. We are way ahead of the timetable. We have done more damage than we thought possible, even in the original six-week period," he said.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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