Washington: President Donald Trump said US forces have “totally won the war” against Iran, asserting that Tehran’s military capabilities were largely destroyed, as he granted a 10-day window for negotiations before further action. Speaking in a phone interview on Fox News’ “The Five”, Trump said the US military campaign had neutralised Iran’s ability to wage war. “We’ve already won the war. Militarily, we’ve totally won the war,” he said. He said the strikes were aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, warning against allowing hostile regimes to gain such capabilities. “You can’t let a madman, or you can’t let a mad ideology have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. Trump detailed the scale of the US operation, claiming extensive damage to Iran’s military infrastructure. “We’ve knocked out their Navy, we’ve knocked out their Air Force… we knocked out most of their missiles,” he said, adding that missile launch systems and communications networks were also targeted. He further claimed that US forces had struck Iran’s leadership structure. “We knocked out their leaders… they’re all fighting not to, we don’t want that position,” he said. Despite the strong rhetoric, Trump said he had agreed to delay further escalation following a request from Iran. “They asked me… ‘Could we have more time?’… and so I gave them a 10-day period,” he said, adding that talks were “going fairly well.” He warned that failure to reach an agreement would trigger fresh strikes. “If they don’t do what they have to do, I will knock out their power plants,” he said. Trump argued that the US intervention was not only about national security but also global stability. “We’re doing a big service to the world,” he said. The President also claimed that Iran was close to developing nuclear weapons before the US action. “If we didn’t hit them… they would have right now a nuclear weapon, and they would’ve used it by this time,” he said. In response to domestic criticism, Trump dismissed opposition voices and pointed to what he described as strong support among his political base. “The MAGA people are smart… they don’t want to see us… with a nuclear bomb over their head,” he said. He also linked the operation to broader US strategic strength, highlighting the US military’s superiority. “We have the greatest military in the world… nobody even comes close,” he said. –IANS lkj/dan
Trump claims victory over Iran, gives 10-day pause
