In a striking declaration, President Trump dismissed the idea of a US ground invasion in Iran, labeling it a “waste of time” and asserting that Iran has already “lost everything.” This comment came in response to remarks from Tehran’s foreign minister, who suggested that the regime was “waiting” for American and Israeli forces.
Reacting to Abbas Araghchi’s statement, Trump described it as a “wasted comment” during an interview with NBC News on Thursday night. He emphasized, “They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost everything they can lose,” indicating the extent of the damage inflicted on Iran’s military capabilities.
Backing up Trump’s statements, CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper disclosed the destruction of more than 30 Iranian warships. Among these was Iran’s significant naval asset, the IRIS Shahid Soleimani, whose sinking resulted in the loss of 87 sailors. This devastation comes as part of the US’s “Operation Epic Fury,” launched just last week.
Adm. Cooper further detailed the US military strategy, stating that B-2 bombers have been deployed to drop numerous 2,000-pound bombs on Iran’s buried ballistic missile launchers. Additionally, US forces targeted Tehran’s equivalent of Space Command, intensifying the operation’s impact.
“Our mission extends beyond current capabilities,” Cooper explained. “The US military is actively dismantling Iran’s missile production capability to prevent any future resurgence. We’re not merely addressing their current assets; we are crippling their ability to rebuild.”
In a dramatic move, the US targeted and set ablaze the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a drone carrier, as part of their broader “mission to sink the entire Iranian navy,” underscoring the comprehensive nature of the ongoing military campaign.
Israel’s military launched “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Friday in Tehran and Beirut, where forces clashed with Hezbollah after Iran fired drones and missiles into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain
Araghchi seemingly suggested Iran could “confront” American troops if the US launched a ground invasion of Iran.
“No, we are waiting for them,” he told NBC News after being probed on whether he was afraid of American forces. “Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them.”
Trump repeated his calls for Iran’s leadership structure to be fully removed.
“We want to go in and clean out everything,” Trump told the outlet. “We don’t want someone who would rebuild over a 10-year period. We want them to have a good leader. We have some people who I think would do a good job.”
On Thursday, Trump addressed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba reportedly becoming the favorite to over the Iranian regime after the 56-year-old was hospitalized four times for “impotency.”
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight,” Trump told Axios. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me.”
Earlier this week, Trump told The Post that Operation Epic Fury was “way ahead of schedule,” but didn’t rule out sending US ground troops into Iran “if they were necessary.”
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump said. “I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”
Trump told the Daily Mail on Sunday that he estimated the war would last “four weeks or so,” but hinted to The Post on Monday that the timeframe could be shortened.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also didn’t put a precise date in terms of the operation.
“We’ve only just begun to hunt, dismantle, demoralize, destroy and defeat their capabilities,” he told reporters Wednesday.
“More and larger waves are coming. We are just getting started.
“We are accelerating, not decelerating. Iran’s capabilities are evaporating by the hour, while American strength grows fiercer, smarter and utterly dominant.”
Dan Caine, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed US forces will “expand inland, striking progressively deeper” into Iranian territory as the operation evolves.
