President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran is "begging to make a deal" after nearly three weeks of U.S. military operations under the name Operation Epic Fury. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, the president outlined a series of assessments about the effect of the campaign on Iranian forces and reiterated the stated aim of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Trump attributed sweeping losses to Iranian military capabilities to the U.S. strikes, saying the operation had "destroyed most of Iran’s military capabilities." He provided a list of specific impacts that, according to his remarks, have been inflicted on Iran's armed forces and industrial base.
"Over the past three weeks, we’ve been hitting Iran’s military capabilities at a level that few people have ever seen before," Trump said. "We’re crushing their missiles and drone stockpiles, destroying their defense industrial base. We’ve wiped out their navy completely. Their air force completely."
Among the figures and claims offered by the president:
- He said the U.S. had eliminated Iran’s navy and air force.
- He estimated that approximately 90% of missile launchers had been destroyed.
- He said a large percentage of missiles and drone manufacturing facilities had been wiped out.
- He stated the Iranian navy, which he said consisted of 154 ships, was sunk in less than a week and described that loss as "the largest elimination of a foreign navy that has taken place, maybe ever. But certainly since World War Two."
Trump disputed media accounts that suggested the U.S. was seeking to negotiate. Instead, he said Iran had been "decisively defeated" in the campaign and that Tehran was the party seeking talks.
"They are begging to make a deal, not me," the president said. "They should have done that four weeks ago. They should have done it two years ago, or they should have done it when we first came into office."
The president framed Operation Epic Fury as an initiative to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He also said Iran had fired missiles at Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Oman, which he presented as evidence of an Iranian strategy to expand its influence across the region.
Regarding the operation's timeline, Trump offered an estimate for its duration and its current progress. He said he expected the campaign to take four to six weeks in total and noted that the U.S. was "ahead of schedule at 26 days in."
"The Iranian regime is now admitting to itself that they have been decisively defeated," Trump said. "They can’t make a comeback. We’re free to roam over there cities and towns and destroy all of their crazy nuclear weapons and missiles and drones that they’re building."
Trump said Tehran now had an opportunity to "make a deal and permanently abandon nuclear ambitions." He added that if such a deal were reached, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen.
The president also said that all 22 Iranian mine-dropping vessels had been destroyed, adding that the weapons used in those strikes were the same as those used to stop drug trafficking by sea.
Separately, Trump expressed disappointment with NATO, saying its members had not assisted the U.S. during the operation. "NATO has done absolutely nothing," he said, adding: "We’ll come to their rescue, but they will never come to ours."
Those were the public assertions made by the president at the Cabinet meeting. He characterized the strikes as comprehensive and contended that they had forced Iran to seek negotiations on terms he described as favorable to U.S. objectives, including the cessation of nuclear ambitions and the reopening of a key regional shipping route.