Washington DC [US], March 8 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States had “wiped out the entire leadership” in Iran and described the actions as removing a major “cancer” from the face of the earth.
Asked whether the US was responsible for the bombing of an elementary girls’ school in Iran, Trump denied US involvement and blamed the strike on Iran, citing the inaccuracy of Iranian munitions. “No, I don’t believe so. Based on what I’ve seen that was done by Iran. We think it was done by Iran because they’re very inaccurate as you know with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran,” he said aboard Air Force One en route to Miami.
“We’re winning the war by a lot. We’ve decimated their whole evil empire. It’ll continue I’m sure for a little while…The war itself is going unbelievably. It’s as good as it can be,” Trump added.
Marking a week of conflict, Trump said the US had achieved more than expected, claiming extensive damage to Iran’s military capacity. “We’ve wiped out their (Iranian) navy, 44 ships. We’ve wiped out their air force, every plane. We’ve wiped out most of their missiles. You see the missiles aren’t coming much anymore. We’ve also hit their manufacturing areas where they make the missiles very hard. Their drone capacity is way down and we’ve hurt them where it hurts, including about every form of leadership you can have we’ve wiped out,” he said.
On the previously mentioned six-week timeline, Trump said, “I never project time, whatever it takes. But the (Iranian) military is almost nonexistent. We could hit their military itself very hard but maybe we will, maybe we won’t, we haven’t made that determination.” He also said the US had hit missile manufacturing hard, reducing output to about nine percent of what was sent out in the first two days, and had “knocked out about 70 per cent of the rockets of the launchers.”
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, also on Air Force One, said a deal with Iran remained possible but would depend on Tehran changing its stance. “I think there is. I think that’s going to be up to the President, that’s what I think. But they didn’t seem to be very amenable in that first set of negotiations. You heard what I said. They said we have the inalienable right to enrich. They bragged about having 60 percent enriched fuel enough for 11 bombs. And they told me and Jared, we’re not going to give you diplomatically what you couldn’t take militarily. So you know I think they’re going to need a change of attitude.”
As the situation develops across West Asia, UK Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat told ANI that many are concerned about wider regional impacts, including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, and the safety of expatriates. “The challenge of energy prices is something that we all face…Resolving this challenge as quickly as possible is good not just for the global economy, but actually good for families and good for homes across the whole world…” he said.
The remarks follow a joint US-Israel strike on February 28 on Iranian territory that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran. Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, widening the conflict in West Asia and raising risks for civilians and expatriates. (ANI)
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