U.S. President Donald Trump announced the possibility of continuing strikes against Iran for “four to five weeks,” he said in an interview with The New York Times. The American leader also published a new address on his social network Truth Social, in which he called on Iranian security forces to lay down their weapons.
According to Trump, it would be “no difficulty” for Israel and the United States to maintain the intensity of combat operations for the period he named — up to four to five weeks.
“We have an enormous amount of ammunition. You know, we have munitions stored all over the world, in different countries,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Trump also described how, in his view, a transfer of power in Iran could occur. Among the scenarios he mentioned was one similar to Venezuela, where after the capture of Nicolás Maduro most of the government remained in place and began cooperating with the United States.
The U.S. president added that he also has “three very good options” for candidates to lead Iran, but refused to disclose their names.
In his Truth Social address, Trump called the joint strikes with Israel against Iran one of the “most powerful military operations in world history.” He said “hundreds of targets” had been hit across Iran, including the country’s air-defense systems, nine ships, and buildings belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The former leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is dead. The hands of this brutal man are stained with the blood of hundreds and thousands of Americans, and he is responsible for the deaths of countless people in different countries. Last night we heard the joy of people in the streets of Iran celebrating his death,” Trump said.
Trump again described the prospect of Iran obtaining intercontinental missiles and nuclear weapons as a threat “to every American.” Last week, speaking before Congress, he claimed Iran would soon present a missile capable of reaching U.S. territory, a statement not confirmed by intelligence data. At the end of his address, Trump called on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian military forces, and police to lay down their arms.
Since the start of hostilities, at least three American servicemembers have been killed and five wounded. As Axios notes, Trump’s address appeared a couple of hours after this information was officially confirmed. In his video statement, Trump said that “unfortunately, this will probably happen again before it is all over.”
