Washington DC, March 11
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the ongoing war with Iran would end "soon", claiming that there is "practically nothing left to target" after sustained military strikes.
In a brief phone interview with Axios, Trump said the military campaign had progressed faster than initially anticipated and inflicted more damage than expected.
"The war is going great. We are way ahead of the timetable. We have done more damage than we thought possible, even in the original six-week period," Trump said as quoted by Axios.
Speaking about the timeline of the conflict, Trump said it could conclude whenever he decides to bring it to an end.
"Little this and that... Any time I want it to end, it will end," he told Axios during the five-minute call.
Trump also alleged that Iran's actions extended beyond its confrontation with Israel and the United States, claiming that Tehran had posed a broader threat to countries across the Gulf region.
"They were after the rest of the Middle East. They are paying for 47 years of death and destruction they caused. This is payback. They will not get off that easily," Trump said as quoted by Axios.
Trump has previously offered varying timelines for the end of the conflict; however, on Monday, he said that the military operation in Iran would be over "very soon", but did not give any details of the timeline.
When asked by a reporter about his previous remarks of calling Iran an excursion and when the military operation would end, Trump said, "Very soon."
"Everything they have is gone, including their leadership. In fact their two levels of leadership and even actually as it turns out more than that, but two levels of leadership are gone. Most people have never even heard about the leaders that they're talking about. So it's obviously been very, very powerful, very effective," the US President said during a press conference in Florida.
Trump's comment has significantly contradicted the administration's remarks on the timeline of the ongoing war.
On Tuesday, his Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, said that the US will continue its operations until its objectives are achieved, while asserting that the campaign is being carried out on Washington's own timeline.
"We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated. But we do so on our timeline and at our choosing," he said.
Hegseth made his remarks in a briefing at the Pentagon along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.
- ANI
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