Iran leadership terminated in an hour: Trump says US ahead of Tehran op schedule

Trump said the United States continues to conduct "large-scale combat operations" inside Iran, describing the offensive as America's "last, best chance" to eliminate what he called grave threats from Tehran.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said American forces are running ahead of their operations timeline against Iran, claiming the country’s military leadership was neutralised far faster than expected.

“We also projected four weeks to terminate the military leadership. And as you know, that was done in about an hour. So we're ahead of schedule there by a lot,” Trump said while providing an update on the ongoing campaign dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said the United States continues to conduct “large-scale combat operations” inside Iran, describing the offensive as America’s “last, best chance” to eliminate what he called grave threats from Tehran. He asserted — without presenting evidence — that the danger from Iran had been imminent.

Trump said the military action aims to dismantle Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities and curb its regional influence.

“Our objectives are clear,” he said. “First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities... Second, we're annihilating their navy... Third, we're ensuring the world's number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon.”

He added that US forces had already sunk multiple Iranian naval vessels and were steadily degrading Tehran’s ability to produce new missiles. Trump maintained that an Iran equipped with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would pose an “intolerable threat” to both the Middle East and the United States.