President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States was close to achieving its military objectives in Iran but would continue “extremely hard” strikes for the next two to three weeks.
“We are on track to achieve all U.S. military objectives soon”, Trump said in a televised address from the White House, adding that the operation was not yet over.
“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks”, he said. “We will send them back to the Stone Age where they belong”.
Trump said Iran’s navy had “vanished”, its air force was in ruins and most of its leadership was dead after 32 days of the “Epic Fury” operation. He said destroyed weapons factories had sharply reduced Iran’s missile and drone capabilities and that U.S. B-2 bombers had devastated Iran’s nuclear facilities.
He also said talks with Iran were continuing, but warned that if no agreement was reached, the United States would strike all of Iran’s infrastructure facilities with overwhelming force, including oil sites.
Soon after the speech, Iran fired missiles toward Israel, according to reports, and on Thursday its central military command threatened further attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets.
“With faith in Almighty God, this war will continue until your humiliation, disgrace, regret and surrender”, Iran’s command said in a statement published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. “Expect our more crushing actions”.
Ebrahim Zolfakari, spokesperson for Iran’s central military command, said U.S. and Israeli assessments of Iran’s capabilities were “incomplete” and that Tehran’s next moves would be “broader” and “more destructive”.
Tasnim said Trump’s speech showed Iran was winning, comparing him to a sniper who repeatedly missed and then redrew the target to claim success. The agency said the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, which it described as proof that Iran’s navy had not been destroyed.
Meanwhile, China criticized Washington’s approach. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the “illegal military action” by the United States and Israel was behind disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and called for an immediate halt to hostilities.
“Military means cannot fundamentally solve the problem”, Mao said, urging a return to talks and warning against a “greater humanitarian catastrophe”.
European media reactions were also sharply critical. Germany’s Der Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Sueddeutsche Zeitung, along with France’s Le Monde, said Trump offered no clear strategy and tried to project victory without presenting a breakthrough. Le Monde described the speech as self-congratulatory and detached from reality.
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Source: Polish Radio, PAP, NBC