Trump claims victory over Iran, gives 10-day pause​

Washington: President Donald Trump said US forces have “totally won the war” against Iran, asserting that Tehran’s military capabilities were largely destroyed, as he granted a 10-day window for negotiations before further action.​

Speaking in a phone interview on Fox News’ “The Five”, Trump said the US military campaign had neutralised Iran’s ability to wage war.​

“We’ve already won the war. Militarily, we’ve totally won the war,” he said.​

He said the strikes were aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, warning against allowing hostile regimes to gain such capabilities.​

“You can’t let a madman, or you can’t let a mad ideology have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.​

Trump detailed the scale of the US operation, claiming extensive damage to Iran’s military infrastructure.​

“We’ve knocked out their Navy, we’ve knocked out their Air Force… we knocked out most of their missiles,” he said, adding that missile launch systems and communications networks were also targeted.​

He further claimed that US forces had struck Iran’s leadership structure. “We knocked out their leaders… they’re all fighting not to, we don’t want that position,” he said.​

Despite the strong rhetoric, Trump said he had agreed to delay further escalation following a request from Iran.​

“They asked me… ‘Could we have more time?’… and so I gave them a 10-day period,” he said, adding that talks were “going fairly well.”​

He warned that failure to reach an agreement would trigger fresh strikes. “If they don’t do what they have to do, I will knock out their power plants,” he said.​

Trump argued that the US intervention was not only about national security but also global stability.​

“We’re doing a big service to the world,” he said.​

The President also claimed that Iran was close to developing nuclear weapons before the US action.​

“If we didn’t hit them… they would have right now a nuclear weapon, and they would’ve used it by this time,” he said.​

In response to domestic criticism, Trump dismissed opposition voices and pointed to what he described as strong support among his political base.​

“The MAGA people are smart… they don’t want to see us… with a nuclear bomb over their head,” he said.​

He also linked the operation to broader US strategic strength, highlighting the US military’s superiority.​

“We have the greatest military in the world… nobody even comes close,” he said.

IANS