Washington, March 7
US President Donald Trump claimed American military operations have severely weakened Iran's armed forces, saying the country's military infrastructure has been devastated amid escalating hostilities in the region.
Speaking at the White House during a roundtable on college athletics, Trump briefly addressed the situation in Iran when asked about broader global developments.
"Iran, we're doing very well," Trump said. "Somebody said how would you score it from 0 to 10? I said I'd give it a 12 to a 15."
Trump said US military actions had significantly damaged Iran's armed forces, including its navy and communications systems."Their army is gone... their navy is gone, their communications are gone, their leaders are gone," he said.
He added that the Iranian air force had also been crippled and that multiple layers of military leadership had been eliminated."They're down to their third set," Trump said, referring to Iranian leadership.
Trump further claimed that Iran's naval forces had been destroyed during the campaign. "They have 32 ships. All 32 are at the bottom of the ocean," he said.
The president praised the performance of US forces and said recent military operations had demonstrated American strength and capabilities.
"Our military is doing phenomenally," Trump said. "People are very impressed with our military."
Trump also pointed to earlier US air operations targeting Iran's nuclear capabilities.
The president said the United States had faced a choice between continuing to absorb attacks from Iranian-backed forces or responding with decisive military action.
"We had a choice," Trump said. "We could take it and go on like that for years or do something about it and we did something about it."
He accused Iranian leaders of orchestrating attacks that killed and wounded American personnel through improvised explosive devices.
"They were killing a lot of people, a lot of our people were being killed," Trump said. "They were being maimed... walking around without legs without arms, face blasted."
Trump described Iran's leadership as "a very bad and very sick group of leaders" and said US action had been necessary to stop those attacks.
The president also argued that the military campaign has strengthened global perceptions of American power.
"I think right now we're a country that's more respected than we've ever been respected before," Trump said.
He added that despite multiple international crises, he remained focused on domestic issues including reforms to college athletics.
"It doesn't sound very important compared to what's happening in Iran and other places," Trump said. "But it is very important to me."
- IANS
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