Trump’s Warning Calling it the ‘Start of Building a New Country’ – Iran Strikes to End Soon, But Harder Hits Await
Washington. US President Donald Trump has stated that the military strikes against Iran, conducted jointly with Israel, will be over “soon.” Speaking with reporters at a press conference in Florida on Monday, when asked if the strikes could be concluded within this week, Trump replied, “No. But soon. Very soon.”
However, he delivered a message that carried two simultaneous tones—on one hand, claiming that US objectives had been largely accomplished, and on the other, supporting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s earlier warning that the “battle is just beginning.” “Well, I think you could say both,” Trump said. “It’s the beginning of building a new country.”
President Trump claimed that Iran now has “no navy, no air force, no anti-aircraft equipment. It’s all been blown up.” According to him, since the US and Israel launched massive attacks on Iran on February 28, American forces have struck more than 5,000 targets. “Some of them very major targets,” Trump said, adding that the US military is leaving “some of the most important targets for later in case we need to do it.”
He further stated, “If we hit them, it’s going to take many years for them to be rebuilt, having to do with electricity production and many other things.”
Trump expressed “disappointment” with Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, but refused to answer whether he would be targeted for a lethal assault. “I was disappointed because we think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country,” he told reporters.
Trump also mentioned that the White House would be “waiving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices,” but did not specify which sanctions would be lifted. “We have sanctions on some countries. We’re going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out,” Trump said. He also threatened that if Iran made any “attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply,” it would “get hit at a much, much harder level.”
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and US bases in the Middle East.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Monday on X that the country has “many surprises in store” for the United States, and also highlighted Iran’s readiness for any US “plot.”
