President Donald Trump on Monday defended the U.S. military strikes on Iran that began over the weekend, saying the operation was aimed at countering what he described as a growing threat from Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its renewed efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Speaking at the start of a Medal of Honor event in the East Room of the White House, Trump said the joint U.S. and Israeli attacks were warranted by Iran’s military activities. “An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people,” he said.
The strikes, which began Saturday, targeted Iran’s military infrastructure. According to the administration, the operation has focused on missile sites and other defense assets. Trump laid out four objectives for what he described as an ongoing campaign.
“Our objectives are clear. First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities,” he said. He added that “annihilating” Iran’s navy was another goal and said that 10 ships are already “at the bottom of the sea.”
“Third, we’re ensuring that the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon. Never going to have a nuclear weapon. I said that from the beginning, they’re never going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
“And finally, we’re ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”
Trump also characterized the operation as historic in scope. “The United States military continues to carry out an historic combat operation in Iran to eliminate the grave threat posed to America by this terrible terrorist regime,” he said, in his first live, on-camera remarks since the attacks began. “We will easily prevail,” he added.
Earlier Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine briefed reporters at the Pentagon. The operation, named “Operation Epic Fury,” has resulted in the deaths of six U.S. service members, with more than a dozen others injured, according to officials.
On Sunday, Kuwait shot down three American F-15 fighter jets in what the U.S. military described as a friendly fire incident. Officials said the service members aboard the aircraft ejected safely. The incident is under review.
Hegseth said during the briefing that the campaign was not intended to remove Iran’s leadership. He contended that “Operation Epic Fury” was not a “regime change war,” though he added that the regime had indeed changed.
Over the weekend, Iranian authorities announced a new leadership structure composed of senior figures within the Islamic regime to govern the country until a new supreme leader is selected. The announcement followed reports that Iran’s supreme leader had been killed in the strikes, though further details about the circumstances were not immediately released.
Trump’s remarks echoed those made earlier by Hegseth, emphasizing that the primary goals of the operation are to dismantle Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons, and curb its support for militant groups abroad.
