Archive photo: US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US campaign against Iran had exceeded expectations, rating it “about a 15” on a scale of 10, and vowed to press ahead with operations alongside Israel.“We’re doing pretty well on the war front, to put it mildly,” Trump told White House technology executives. “Someone said on a scale of 10, where do you rate us? I said about 15.”He claimed that the Iranian leadership had been eliminated. “We are in a very strong position now, and their leadership is deteriorating rapidly. Anyone who seems to want to be a leader ends up dead,” he said, adding that Tehran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles is “quickly being eliminated.”
Justification for war
Trump reiterated that the attack was aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. “When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen,” he said, describing the previous Obama-era nuclear agreement as “the worst agreement ever” and “the path to a nuclear weapon.”
He pledged to “continue moving forward” in the joint air campaign that, according to Agence France-Presse, killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the conflict.
The White House said Iran’s clerical leadership had been “completely crushed” and “badged in blood,” but press secretary Carolyn Levitt declined to confirm whether Trump was seeking regime change. She added that he is “actively studying” an American role in Iran after the end of the current operation.
Expanding conflict and global repercussions
An American submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters, while Israel launched new strikes on Tehran and Hezbollah sites in Lebanon.
Iran launched missiles at Israel and the Gulf states.The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 50 in Lebanon, and about a dozen in Israel, according to officials cited by the Associated Press news agency. The United Nations said that 100,000 people fled Tehran in the first two days alone.Oil prices rose after Iranian attacks on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, shaking global markets.
Internal and diplomatic pressures
Trump’s position has drawn criticism, especially in light of his pledge during his election campaign earlier not to start “new wars.”
The US Senate is preparing to vote on a war powers resolution that seeks congressional approval for further action, although it faces long-term difficulties.Levitt rejected reports that Trump agreed to arm Kurdish separatists in Iran as “false,” although she confirmed that he had spoken to Kurdish leaders about US bases in Iraq.Trump also mentioned Venezuela, saying that US involvement there “has been really great” and that oil extraction would benefit both countries.
Despite mounting casualties and regional instability, Trump insisted that the United States was “in very good shape right now” and would continue its military campaign.
