President Donald Trump declared on Monday that the United States has already “won” the war with Iran “in many ways,” but conceded that broader objectives of the conflict — which he described as a “little excursion” — remain unresolved.
Trump, speaking from his eponymously named golf club in South Florida during a House Republican policy retreat, addressed the state of the war, while reflecting on its human cost.
“The hardest thing to do is go to Dover,” he said, referring to his weekend visit to the Air Force base in Delaware where the remains of the first six American service members killed in action were returned to U.S. soil. “[The families] all said one thing to me, ‘Make sure you win, sir. Make sure you win.’ They weren’t playing games.”
He added: “We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough. We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long running danger once and for all.”
The Department of Defense on Monday identified a seventh U.S. service member killed in the war as 26-year-old Army Sgt. Benjamin Pennington. He died from wounds sustained in an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, on March 1.
The president subsequently held a press conference at the same venue, and outlined the next phase of Operation Epic Fury. He claimed that the U.S. has eliminated more than 90% of Iran’s missile launchers and more than 80% of its drone launchers, but added that there would be more strikes on the Islamic Republic’s remaining capabilities.
“We are ahead of our initial timeline by a lot,” Trump told reporters, asserting that the U.S. is “achieving major strides towards completing our military objective in Iran.” He noted that “some people could say they’re pretty well complete.”
The president did not say with any specificity what that military objective is, however.
“We could call it a tremendous success right now,” he said. “Or we can go further. We’re going to go further.”
Asked if the war with Iran would be over this week, the president said, “no” but added, “soon, very soon.”
Trump also sought to minimize the economic ripples emanating from his military campaign against Iran. He cast the surge in oil prices since the conflict began as both inevitable and ultimately inconsequential to Americans, arguing that it “doesn’t really affect us.”
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.
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