Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Trump Addresses When He Expects Iran Conflict Will End

Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

President Donald Trump said Monday the conflict with Iran could end soon.

Trump announced Feb. 28 that the United States had launched massive strikes against Iran under Operation Epic Fury, targeting the regime’s military and nuclear program after diplomatic talks collapsed. During a press conference at the Doral Ballroom at Trump National Doral Miami resort in South Florida, Trump answered whether he expected the conflict with Iran to conclude this week.

“You said it would be over soon. Are you thinking this week it will be over?” one reporter asked Trump.

“No, but soon,” Trump responded.

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“Are you talking about days?” the reporter followed up.

“I think so,” Trump said.

Trump said U.S. strikes have wiped out key layers of Iran’s leadership and severely weakened the regime’s capabilities.

“Soon. Look, everything they have is gone, including their leadership. In fact, there are two levels of leadership and, even actually, as it turns out, more than that,” Trump said. “But two levels of leadership are gone. Most people have never even heard about the leaders that they’re talking about. So it’s obviously been very, very powerful, very effective.”

Trump said U.S. strikes during Operation Epic Fury decapitated Iran’s leadership, adding that roughly 49 senior regime and military officials were killed during the opening phase of the strikes. The casualties included Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dealing a major blow to Iran’s ruling structure and triggering a leadership crisis inside the regime.

Iran’s ruling clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, selected Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader. Some reports claimed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders pressured clerics involved in the selection process to back his appointment.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)