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U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that the United States has "won" the war with Iran but will continue military operations until the job is finished, while asserting the U.S. "could do a lot worse" if it chooses to escalate further.
"We're not leaving until that job is finished. And it's going to be very fast," Trump said at an event in Kentucky.
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Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump stated that the U.S. "could do a lot worse" when asked what the military must do for the operation to end.
"More of the same, and we'll see how that all comes out. Right now, they are; they've lost their navy, they've lost their air force. They have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar. Their leaders are gone," he said.
"And we could do a lot worse," Trump continued.
"We're leaving certain things that if we take them out, we could take them out by this afternoon. In fact, within an hour, they literally would never be able to build that country back," he added.
Trump said the U.S. has "won" in Iran and the war was "over" in the first hour.
"We've won. Let me tell you, we've won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won," he said.
The U.S. president described the operation as an "excursion" designed to eliminate threats. "You know what an excursion means? We had to take a little trip to get rid of some evil, very evil people. It should have been done for 47 years. They've been killing our people," Trump said, adding Iran was "all prepared."
Trump said the Iranian regime did not know "what the hell hit them" during the initial strikes. "They didn't expect anything like this," he said.
Trump said the U.S. military campaign has overwhelmed Iranian forces. "Iran is being absolutely decimated. That's all I can say," he said. "They are absolutely being destroyed."
He claimed the U.S. has destroyed Iranian naval and air capabilities. "We've knocked out all of their boats. They have some missiles, but not very many," Trump said, claiming the U.S. knocked out 58 Iranian naval ships. Another statement indicated the U.S. knocked out 54 ships in two days.
Trump said he asked his generals whether the U.S. should seize the ships for its own use. The president said he was told the vessels were not up to standard, and claimed one general told him: "Sir, it's a lot more fun doing it this way."
When asked about naming the operation "Operation Epic Fury," Trump said, "Is that a great name? Well, it's only good if you win, you know? And we've won." He joked that he was "full-on asleep" when officials suggested names until they proposed "Operation Epic Fury."
Trump also stated that the U.S. is closely watching the Strait of Hormuz, saying, "Now we're going to look very strongly at the straits. The straits are in great shape."
Trump characterized the operation as both an excursion and a war. "It's both. It's an excursion that will keep us out of a war, and the war is going to be, I mean, for them, it's a war. For us, it's turned out to be easier than we thought," he said.
Regional tensions escalated on Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran that killed more than 1,300 people, including former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Trump said the U.S. is investigating reports of a potential Iranian revenge plot involving drones launched from offshore targeting California. "It's being investigated," he said.
"You have a lot of things happening, and all we can do is take them as they come," Trump added.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state elevated its security posture following a report that U.S. authorities warned of a potential Iranian drone threat to the West Coast.
Trump said he had been briefed about potential Iranian sleeper cells inside the United States. "We know where most of them are," he said, adding, "We've got our eyes on all of them."
The U.S. president argued that some entered the country during the Biden administration's immigration policies.
Trump said Iran is "pretty much at the end of the line," but added that does not mean "we're going to end it immediately." He claimed that Iran has "no systems of control," saying "we're just riding free range over that country."
Trump said the military operation has largely succeeded but stressed the U.S. must ensure hostile forces cannot recover. "Over the past 11 days, our military has virtually destroyed Iran, tough country," he said.
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