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The White House is presenting varying timelines for the ongoing military actions in Iran and when they may end.On Monday, President Donald Trump held his first news conference with reporters since the war on Iran started 10 days earlier. The president stated the war is ahead of schedule, adding the U.S. military objective is “pretty well complete.” He told reporters it would not be a matter of days until the war is over but thought it would happen “very soon.” The president’s comments appeared at odds with a Department of Defense social media account that posted hours earlier “We have Only Just Begun to Fight” above a photo of a missile with the text “no mercy.” It also was a departure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments about the war late last week that “this is only just the beginning.”Questions persist about the initial reasoning for the U.S. launching attacks against Iran. The latest explanations from Trump came Monday, asserting that the U.S. struck Iran to prevent them from attacking the U.S. and its allies. He also mentioned Iran is trying to work on a new site to develop material to build nuclear weapons in order to replace facilities bombed by the U.S. last year.”They were going to take over the Middle East and they were going to try and destroy Israel,” Trump said. “So we stopped it with good timing, and we’re very proud to be involved in this, and it’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again, they’ll be hit even harder.” Meanwhile, as gas prices rise in the U.S., Trump threatened to intensify actions against Iran if the country attempts to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, writing online, “They will be hit by the United States of America twenty times harder.” The president told reporters he’s still considering U.S. naval escorts for oil tankers in addition to offering them discounted risk insurance. AAA reports the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has skyrocketed to $3.54 from $2.98 the day the strikes on Iran began. Trump said the prices are “artificially up” but will soon fall to lower prices than before the conflict. Reflecting on the high oil prices, the president said, “This was just an excursion into something that had to be done.”The president declined to threaten Iran’s new supreme leader. Last week, Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father, killed in a U.S. airstrike at the start of this conflict, and Trump said he should be involved in choosing Iran’s next leader. On Monday, the president said about Khamenei’s appointment, “I was disappointed because we think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country. So, I was disappointed to see their choice.” The president wouldn’t say the U.S. would target Khamenei for assassination, adding he’d prefer an “internal” candidate who he didn’t specify.Reporters pressed the president about who is responsible for bombing an Iranian girls’ schools on the first day of the war. New video analysis of the strike indicates the U.S. may be responsible.Experts say the warhead involved in the airstrike that hit a compound in southern Iran, meters from the school, was likely an American Tomahawk missile. The airstrike killed at least 165 people.Trump claimed on Monday Iran has Tomahawks in its arsenal and described the American-made weapon as “very generic.”The U.S. defense contractor that makes the Tomahawk only sells them to some U.S. allies. The Pentagon says they’re investigating who’s responsible for the bombing. Trump said he’s “willing to live” with whatever the report shows. Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
The White House is presenting varying timelines for the ongoing military actions in Iran and when they may end.
On Monday, President Donald Trump held his first news conference with reporters since the war on Iran started 10 days earlier. The president stated the war is ahead of schedule, adding the U.S. military objective is “pretty well complete.” He told reporters it would not be a matter of days until the war is over but thought it would happen “very soon.”
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The president’s comments appeared at odds with a Department of Defense social media account that posted hours earlier “We have Only Just Begun to Fight” above a photo of a missile with the text “no mercy.” It also was a departure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s comments about the war late last week that “this is only just the beginning.”
Questions persist about the initial reasoning for the U.S. launching attacks against Iran. The latest explanations from Trump came Monday, asserting that the U.S. struck Iran to prevent them from attacking the U.S. and its allies. He also mentioned Iran is trying to work on a new site to develop material to build nuclear weapons in order to replace facilities bombed by the U.S. last year.
“They were going to take over the Middle East and they were going to try and destroy Israel,” Trump said. “So we stopped it with good timing, and we’re very proud to be involved in this, and it’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again, they’ll be hit even harder.”
Meanwhile, as gas prices rise in the U.S., Trump threatened to intensify actions against Iran if the country attempts to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, writing online, “They will be hit by the United States of America twenty times harder.” The president told reporters he’s still considering U.S. naval escorts for oil tankers in addition to offering them discounted risk insurance.
AAA reports the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has skyrocketed to $3.54 from $2.98 the day the strikes on Iran began. Trump said the prices are “artificially up” but will soon fall to lower prices than before the conflict. Reflecting on the high oil prices, the president said, “This was just an excursion into something that had to be done.”
The president declined to threaten Iran’s new supreme leader. Last week, Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father, killed in a U.S. airstrike at the start of this conflict, and Trump said he should be involved in choosing Iran’s next leader.
On Monday, the president said about Khamenei’s appointment, “I was disappointed because we think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country. So, I was disappointed to see their choice.” The president wouldn’t say the U.S. would target Khamenei for assassination, adding he’d prefer an “internal” candidate who he didn’t specify.
Reporters pressed the president about who is responsible for bombing an Iranian girls’ schools on the first day of the war. New video analysis of the strike indicates the U.S. may be responsible.
Experts say the warhead involved in the airstrike that hit a compound in southern Iran, meters from the school, was likely an American Tomahawk missile. The airstrike killed at least 165 people.
Trump claimed on Monday Iran has Tomahawks in its arsenal and described the American-made weapon as “very generic.”
The U.S. defense contractor that makes the Tomahawk only sells them to some U.S. allies.
The Pentagon says they’re investigating who’s responsible for the bombing. Trump said he’s “willing to live” with whatever the report shows.
Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
