President Donald Trump made his first speech at the White House after the start of the war with Iran this Monday (2), in which he outlined four US objectives in the conflict: destroy Iran’s missile capabilities; annihilate the Iranian Navy, which, according to him, is already “at the bottom of the sea”; prevent the production of a nuclear weapon; and prevent Iran from arming and financing terrorist groups outside its borders.
The Republican leader also declared that attacks against Iran represent the “last and best opportunity” to halt the development of Tehran’s missile program and eliminate “intolerable threats” to the United States. According to him, the regime’s program was growing “rapidly and drastically, and this represented a clear and colossal threat to the United States and our forces stationed abroad.”
Trump reported that the American military “continues to execute large-scale combat options in Iran” this Monday. On Sunday, he had said that the fighting could last “four to five weeks”, however in this afternoon’s speech the president stated that the country has the capacity “to go much further than that”.
He first spoke about withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal during his first term, which was negotiated by former Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump said the document was “horrible and terribly dangerous” and would have given Iran “nuclear weapons within three years.”
The president also made mention of the four American soldiers killed in an Iranian airstrike against US targets in Kuwait. This afternoon’s event at the White House was in honor of veterans who fought and died in the American wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
Regarding the possibility of resuming dialogue with Iran, the White House leader signaled that he is not yet willing to go down this path again, after the failure of negotiations.
Trump’s first speech about American and Israeli operations in the Middle East indicates that the specific war could escalate throughout the region. Earlier, Qatar announced that it had shot down two SU-24 fighter jets of Iranian origin, in addition to having successfully intercepted seven ballistic missiles and five drones that were “attacking several areas of the country.”
The Pentagon reported on Monday that it is sending more American forces to the Middle East, despite so far ruling out sending ground troops to Iran.
Earlier, President Trump said in a short interview with CNN that the US military is “giving a beating” to Iran, but that the “big wave” is yet to come.
