During an address from the White House this evening, President Donald J. Trump told Americans that the U.S. military, as part of Operation Epic Fury, was nearing completion of operational objectives in Iran.
Over the next few weeks, the president said, the U.S. would intensify operations in Iran, permanently disabling its ability to project power outside its own borders and to keep it from ever having a nuclear weapon.
"I've made clear from the beginning of Operation Epic Fury that we will continue until our objectives are fully achieved," he said. "I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly, very shortly. We're going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks — we're going to bring them back to the Stone Age, where they belong."
The United States kicked off combat operations against Iran Feb. 28, with specific goals: destroy Iranian offensive missiles and missile production, destroy the Iranian navy and other security infrastructure, and ensure that Iran never has nuclear weapons.
Trump told the nation that the U.S. military has been masterful in how it has decimated one Iranian military capability after another.
"We are systematically dismantling the regime's ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders," the president said. "That means eliminating Iran's navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting their air force and their missile program at levels never seen before, and annihilating their defense industrial base. We've done all of it; their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their missiles are just about used up or beaten."
The president said that, taken together, these actions have crippled Iran militarily and crushed its ability to support terrorist proxies.
According to U.S. Central Command, since the start of operations, over 12,300 sites have been struck in Iran, over 13,000 combat flights have been launched and over 155 Iranian military vessels have been damaged or destroyed.
Even though the U.S. military continues to lock down Iran's ability to project power outside, Trump asked Americans to remember the military personnel who have lost their lives during the conflict.
"We think especially of the 13 American warriors who have laid down their lives in this fight to prevent our children from ever having to face a nuclear Iran," the president said. "Twice this past month, I have traveled to Dover Air Force Base, . ... I wanted to be with those heroes as they return to American soil. And I was with them and their families, their parents, their wives, their husbands. We salute them, and now we must honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives."
The president also thanked allies in the Middle East, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, for providing support to American forces.
"They've been great, and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form," he said.
The president added that it's important for Americans to keep Operation Epic Fury in perspective, offering that World War II lasted nearly four years, the Korean War more than three years, the Vietnam War almost 20 years, and Operation Iraqi Freedom lasted well over eight years.
"We are in this military operation — so powerful, so brilliant — against one of the most powerful countries, for 32 days," he said. "And the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat. They were the bully of the Middle East, but they're the bully no longer."
The president noted that because of the U.S. military, Americans can now look forward to a world free from Iranian aggression and the fear of nuclear blackmail.
"Because of the actions we have taken, we are on the cusp of ending Iran's sinister threat to America and the world," he said. "And I'll tell you, the world is watching. And when it's all over, the United States will be safer, stronger, more prosperous and greater than it has ever been before."
