Washington, D.C., March 21 — President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States is approaching the end of its military campaign against Iranian targets, outlining a set of goals and providing updates on recent strikes.
On his Truth Social account, Trump summarized five core objectives for the campaign: (1) fully degrading Iran’s missile systems, launchers and associated capabilities; (2) dismantling Iran’s defense industrial base; (3) neutralizing its navy and air force, including anti-aircraft defenses; (4) preventing Iran from approaching nuclear weapons capability and preserving the ability to respond rapidly and forcefully if it does; and (5) protecting U.S. partners in the Middle East such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Trump also said the Strait of Hormuz would be guarded by the nations that use it rather than by the United States, adding that U.S. assistance could be provided if requested but should not be necessary once the Iranian threat is removed. He characterized the required regional operations as comparatively straightforward military tasks.
U.S. Central Command has released imagery on X showing strikes on Iranian facilities, including attacks on the Esfahan Khomeynishahr drone production plant, which reportedly produced Shahed one-way attack drones. The Pentagon and a U.S. entity identified as the Department of War say the campaign, called Operation Epic Fury, has struck thousands of Iranian targets. U.S. Central Command forces are also reported to have damaged or sunk more than 120 Iranian naval vessels, including all 11 of Iran’s submarines, according to those statements.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson offered a message of support for the roughly 50,000 service members involved, praising their resolve and resilience. Earlier in the week, President Trump, Fox host Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, paid tribute to six crew members of a KC-135 Stratotanker and seven other service members who lost their lives during the operation.
The Department of War described the types of targets struck under Operation Epic Fury as including command-and-control centers; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters and intelligence sites; air-defense systems; ballistic, anti-ship and surface-to-air missile sites; weapons production and storage bunkers; military infrastructure and communications nodes; and naval vessels and submarines.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported that Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles toward the U.S.-U.K. base at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago. One missile reportedly failed in flight, and a U.S. warship launched an SM-3 interceptor at the other; officials have not publicly confirmed whether the interception succeeded. The attempted strike drew attention because Diego Garcia lies roughly 4,000 kilometers from Iran, a greater distance than Iran’s public statements about limiting missile range to about 2,000 kilometers.
Amid the escalation, President Trump said Washington is not pursuing a ceasefire. Speaking outside the White House, he said dialogue remains possible but that he does not want a ceasefire while U.S. forces are conducting operations intended to “obliterate the other side,” and that he does not seek a ceasefire at this time.
This account draws from syndicated reporting and official posts; the original publisher disclaims responsibility for independent verification of every detail.
