Trump Eyes Iran Operation Wind-Down as US Claims Thousands of Targets Hit

Trump made the remarks in a post on Truth Social, listing five objectives that largely include the destruction of Iranian military infrastructure and facilities, not allowing Iran to get close to nuclear capability and protecting America's allies in West Asia, such as Israel, the UAE, Qatar, among others.

"We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran: (1) Completely degrading Iranian Missile Capability, Launchers, and everything else pertaining to them. (2) Destroying Iran's Defense Industrial Base. (3) Eliminating their Navy and Air Force, including Anti Aircraft Weaponry. (4) Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability, and always being in a position where the U.S.A. can quickly and powerfully react to such a situation, should it take place. (5) Protecting, at the highest level, our Middle Eastern Allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others," Trump said.

"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it -- The United States does not! If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn't be necessary once Iran's threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them," he added.

As this happened, US CENTCOM shared visuals from attacks on Iranian assets in a series of posts on X.

US strikes targeted the Esfahan Khomeynishahr Drone Production Plant, which produced Shahed one-way attack drones

As the security situation continues to escalate in West Asia and the Gulf region, the US Department of War shared an update on the developments in the past week, saying that thousands of Iranian targets were hit in Operation Epic Fury.

The US Central Command forces have damaged or sunk more than 120 Iranian naval vessels, including all 11 of their submarines.

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson highlighted, "To the 50,000 service members supporting this mission, and their families, we are thinking about you, and we are beyond proud of your resolve and resiliency. You are the very best of our great nation."

Earlier this week, Trump, Hegseth and Air Force Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, paid tributes to the six crew members of KC-135 Stratotanker, who, along with seven other service members, lost their lives in Operation Epic Fury.

"The targets pursued under Operation Epic Fury include command and control centres; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters and intelligence sites; air defence systems; ballistic missile, anti-ship missile and surface-to-air missile sites; weapon production and storage bunkers; military infrastructure and communications capabilities; and naval ships and submarines," the post said.

With the situation constantly evolving, Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles towards the joint US-UK military base at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.

As per the WSJ, one missile failed during flight, while a US warship launched an SM-3 interceptor at the second missile. However, it remains unclear whether the interception was successful. The report did not specify when the missiles were fired.

The attempted strike is significant as Diego Garcia is located about 4,000 kilometres from Iran. This suggests that Iran's missile range may be far greater than what it has publicly stated. According to the news report, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said last month that the country had limited its missile range to 2,000 kilometres.

The base at Diego Garcia is a key strategic facility jointly operated by the United States and the United Kingdom.

Amid the ongoing conflict, Trump said Washington is not seeking a ceasefire. Speaking outside the White House, he said, "We can have dialogue, but I don't want to do a ceasefire. You don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side. We're not looking to do that."

- ANI