Trump says US has knocked out many Iranian naval and air targets
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US President Donald Trump (right) speaking at the White House on March 3, ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
PHOTO: EPA
- President Trump claimed US military successfully "knocked out" many Iranian naval and air targets.
- He ordered the attack based on "a feeling" Iran would strike amid stalled nuclear programme talks, offering no evidence.
- Trump predicted Iran would eventually lose its missile capability despite current attacks, due to sustained US assault.
AI generated
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said on March 3 that the US military had been successful against many Iranian naval and air targets, saying “just about everything has been knocked out”.
He made his comments in the Oval Office ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Mr Trump, answering questions from reporters, said he ordered the attack against Iran because “I had a feeling” that Iran would attack the United States as negotiations over its nuclear programme stalled.
He presented no evidence to support the view. Iran had been anticipating another round of talks with US envoys after negotiations were held in Geneva on Feb 26.
Mr Trump said Iran was still lobbing missiles but predicted Tehran will eventually lose this capability due to a sustained assault against them.
“They’ve shot a lot of them, and we’re knocking out a lot,” he said.
Meanwhile, the US military commander in the Middle East said om Feb 3 that American forces had struck nearly 2,000 targets so far in Iran as part of the largest firepower build-up in the region in a generation.
“We’ve already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones,” Admiral Brad Cooper of US Central Command said in a video message.
“The first 24 hours of this operation were nearly double the scale” of the first day of shock-and-awe strikes on Iraq in 2003, “and we continue with 24/7 strikes into Iran,” he added. REUTERS, AFP
