‘It Will End Any Time I Want’: Trump Claims Iran War Near Over As Israeli Defence Minister Vows To Press On
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his assertion that the ongoing conflict with Iran would conclude “soon,” telling Axios in a phone interview that there is “practically nothing left to target” inside the country.
“Little this and that… Any time I want it to end, it will end,” Trump said.
The remarks came even as military operations in the Middle East showed no signs of slowing. Earlier the same day, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that the joint US-Israel striking campaign would continue “as long as necessary.”
“This operation will continue without any time limit, as long as necessary, until we achieve all the objectives and decide the outcome of the campaign,” Katz was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
Katz further stated that strikes on Tehran and across Iran would press on “day after day, target after target,” adding that the campaign was intended to create conditions for Iranians to “rise up, act and remove the Khamenei-led regime.” He noted, however, that the ultimate outcome “depends on them.”
Trump’s Sweeping Claims on Iran’s Military Capacity
Trump’s Wednesday remarks followed similar statements made just a day earlier to CBS News, where he described the war as “very complete.” He claimed that Iran now had no navy, no communications infrastructure, and no functional air force.
“Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones,” Trump said, adding that Tehran had nothing left in a “military sense.”
The US President also issued a sharp warning to Iran against any further provocations. “They’ve shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute or it’s going to be the end of that country… If they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran and you’d never hear the name again,” he was quoted as saying.
Hormuz Strait Warning
On Tuesday, Trump separately warned Iran of severe military consequences over reports of mines allegedly placed in the Strait of Hormuz the world’s most critical oil chokepoint. In a post on Truth Social, he demanded their immediate removal.
“If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY! If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” Trump wrote.