Washington: Donald Trump has said the United States is performing “very well” in the ongoing military campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, even rating the war effort “15 out of 10”.
Trump made the remarks during a roundtable discussion at the White House on Wednesday (local time). Referring to the early phase of the conflict, he said American forces had exceeded expectations and that the United States was currently in a “very strong position” in the confrontation with Iran.
The comments come amid escalating tensions following the February 28 joint strikes by the United States and Israel on Iranian targets. The attacks reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei along with several key figures in the country’s leadership.
Trump said the US military had significantly weakened Iran’s defence capabilities. According to him, Iranian missiles and launch systems were being rapidly destroyed and the country’s leadership structure was collapsing as the conflict continued.
Defending the decision to launch the operation, Trump argued that Iran had posed a major threat for decades. He also repeated his criticism of the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated during the presidency of Barack Obama, describing it as one of the worst deals ever made. Trump said terminating the agreement during his earlier term prevented Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
The US President further claimed that the military action was necessary to prevent Iran from launching attacks on Israel and potentially the United States. He also referred to earlier US actions such as the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure as part of Washington’s efforts to curb Tehran’s military ambitions.
Trump added that when “dangerous regimes” possess nuclear weapons, the consequences can be severe, reiterating that the US would continue its operations while maintaining what he described as a strong strategic position.
During the same interaction, Trump also spoke about relations with Venezuela, describing ties with the government there as “really great”. He said the United States was working with Venezuelan authorities to extract hundreds of millions of barrels of oil in what he described as a mutually beneficial arrangement that could improve Venezuela’s economic prospects while also benefiting American interests.