“From the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that, we'll do it," Trump said on Monday. "Whatever somebody said today, they said, Oh, well, President wants to do it really quickly. After that, he'll get bored. I don't get bored.”
Trump said while the campaign was initially expected to last four to five weeks, Washington is prepared to sustain operations as long as necessary.
His remarks come after he told the New York Post he would not rule out deploying American ground troops “if they were necessary,” while describing the military operation — dubbed Operation Epic Fury — as already “way ahead of schedule.”
The operation, launched Saturday in a joint US-Israel strike on Tehran, killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and targeted key military and leadership infrastructure.
Speaking Monday, Trump framed the campaign as a decisive effort to neutralize what he called an existential threat posed by Tehran.
“This was our last best chance to strike what we're doing right now and eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime and they are indeed sick and sinister,” he said.
Trump outlined four primary objectives: destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, dismantling its naval forces, preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and stopping the regime from arming and directing proxy groups abroad.
“First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities, and you see that happening on an hourly basis,” he said. “Second, we're annihilating their navy. We've knocked out already 10 ships. They're at the bottom of the sea.”
He added, “We're ensuring that the world's number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon. Never going to have a nuclear weapon.”
In remarks to CNN earlier, Trump said the US military is “knocking the crap” out of Iran but warned a larger phase of operations may still be ahead, urging civilians inside Iran to remain indoors because conditions were unsafe.
US service members killed
The White House address also struck a somber tone as Trump confirmed four US service members were killed following Iranian attacks in the region.
“Today, we grieve for the four heroic American service members who have been killed in action, and send our love and support to their families,” he said.
“In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people.”
US Central Command confirmed the fatalities Monday, underscoring the growing regional escalation as Iran launched new waves of attacks on US bases, according to Iranian state media.
Regional tensions intensified further after the United Arab Emirates said its air defenses intercepted nine Iranian ballistic missiles, six cruise missiles and dozens of drones, while Qatar announced it had shot down two Iranian Su-24 bombers.
Energy markets were also shaken as drone strikes forced shutdowns at a major Saudi refinery and oil and gas facilities in Israel and Iraq’s Kurdish region, pushing global oil prices sharply higher.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described the campaign as “limited and decisive,” saying the objective is to destroy Iran’s missile and nuclear threats rather than launch an open-ended war.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday it had no indication Iran’s nuclear facilities suffered major damage, though Tehran’s envoy claimed the Natanz enrichment site was struck.
Iranian state media also reported that Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the wife of Ali Khamenei, died following the US-Israeli airstrikes.
Trump insisted the United States holds overwhelming military advantage.
“We have the strongest and most powerful by far military in the world, and we will easily prevail,” he said. “We're already substantially ahead of our time projections. But whatever the time is, it's okay. Whatever it takes, we will.”
