The 79-year-old Republican president, Donald Trump,
who has long criticized decades of U.S. military involvement in the Middle
East, has now launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran beginning
Saturday.
So far, the offensive has relied heavily on aerial
bombardments, with missiles and airstrikes targeting key Iranian assets.
However, Trump has declined to rule out deploying ground troops — a move that
would significantly raise the stakes and potential casualties.
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the
ground,” Trump said, using a golf term to describe a lack of hesitation. Unlike
past presidents who promised to avoid sending troops, Trump stated, “I don’t
say it. I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ or ‘if they were necessary.’”
In multiple interviews following the launch of the
operation, including one with the New York Post and another with CNN,
Trump suggested that a major escalation could be imminent.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big
wave hasn’t even happened,” he told CNN. “The big one is coming soon.”
Heavy Strikes and Regional Fallout
U.S. and Israeli forces have reportedly struck
hundreds of targets across Iran, including naval facilities and
command-and-control centers. Four U.S. service members have been confirmed
dead, while three fighter jets were downed — officially due to friendly fire.
Iran has responded by launching missiles at Israel,
U.S. military bases across the region, and several Arab nations, including
Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. Trump described these
retaliatory strikes as “the biggest surprise.”
War Timeline and Military Strategy
Speaking at the White House during an award ceremony,
Trump said the United States could extend the operation beyond the previously
projected four-to-five-week timeframe.
“We’re already substantially ahead of our time
projections,” he stated. “From the beginning we projected four to five weeks,
but we have capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed the president’s
stance, declining to rule out troop deployment inside Iran. “No, but we’re not
going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” Hegseth said
when asked if American troops were already on the ground. “We’ll go as far as
we need to go.”
On the war’s duration, Hegseth added: “Four weeks, two
weeks, six weeks — it could move up. It could move back.”
He emphasized that this campaign differs from
prolonged U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, stressing that it is not
aimed at nation-building or spreading democracy.
“No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building
quagmire, no democracy-building exercise. No politically correct wars. We fight
to win and we don’t waste time or lives,” Hegseth said. “This is not Iraq. This
is not endless.”
Air Superiority Achieved
General Dan Caine, the nation’s top military officer,
confirmed that U.S. forces have established local air superiority over Iran.
“Strikes by American forces resulted in the
establishment of local air superiority,” Caine said. “This will enhance the
protection of our forces and allow them to continue operations over Iran.”
Trump has defended the campaign by accusing Iran’s
clerical leadership of pursuing nuclear weapons and expanding missile
capabilities — allegations that remain disputed internationally.
“This was our last, best chance to strike and
eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime,”
Trump said.
As tensions escalate, uncertainty remains over whether
the conflict will stay limited to air power or expand into a broader regional
war.
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