As a volley of strikes pounded Tehran, President Donald Trump warned Iran against disrupting global oil supplies while also suggesting the war was “very complete.”
Speaking after an event with Republicans in Florida, Trump said Washington would respond with far stronger force if Tehran tried to halt the flow of oil through key shipping routes.
“They would get hit at a much, much harder level,” Trump said at a news conference, adding that the United States would not allow Iran to “hold the world hostage” over energy supplies.
The president said U.S. and allied operations had inflicted heavy losses on Iran’s military, claiming American strikes had sunk dozens of Iranian naval vessels and degraded the country’s missile capabilities through sustained attacks on launch sites and other military infrastructure.
Trump added that although the United States had already achieved significant gains, the campaign’s objective had not yet been fully realized.
“We have already won in many ways, but not enough,” he said, explaining that the goal was to ensure Iran no longer had the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, residents in Iran’s capital Tehran reported hearing more than 20 powerful explosions late Monday as airstrikes hit parts of the city in what witnesses described as the heaviest bombardment since the start of the war.
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The strikes around midnight were followed by the sound of bombers and warplanes flying overhead for nearly half an hour. Witnesses said blasts were heard in western areas of the city, while electricity was cut in several neighborhoods.
Iran has also continued retaliatory attacks against Israel, launching missiles and drones toward Israeli territory in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes on its military and nuclear facilities.
Many of the projectiles have been intercepted by Israeli air defense systems, though some have caused damage and casualties.
Trump earlier suggested the war with Iran could be nearing its end, saying the military campaign was largely complete and progressing faster than expected.
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“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” Trump told CBS News, adding that U.S. forces were “very far ahead of schedule.”
He claimed Iran’s military capabilities had been severely degraded, saying the country now has “no navy, no communications” and “no air force,” while its missiles were “down to a scatter.”
Meanwhile, Israeli forces also carried out strikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut, with casualties reported.
Iftikhar Ali is a veteran Pakistani journalist, former president of UN Correspondents Association, and a recipient of the Pride of Performance civil award
