Trump says ‘likely more’ deaths of US troops to come before Iran conflict ends | Donald Trump
Donald Trump recorded a new video speech on Sunday, vowing to avenge the deaths of three Americans following joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran and accusing the Iranian regime of “waging war against civilization itself.”
Referring to the deaths, the US president said, “We grieve for the true American patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as they pursued the righteous mission for which they gave their lives,” and called for prayers for the “full recovery” of the five other people who were seriously injured.
But he warned: “Unfortunately, there will probably be more before it’s over. There’s likely to be even more that way. But we will do everything possible in cases where that won’t be the case.”
U.S. Central Command (Centcom), which oversees military operations in the Middle East from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. announced Early Sunday, as of 9:30 a.m. ET, three U.S. soldiers were reportedly killed and five seriously injured in what the Pentagon is calling Operation Epic Rage. The US military did not say when or where the casualties occurred, but they marked the first US casualties since Trump ordered an attack on Iran early on Saturday.
The statement also stated that “several people suffered minor shrapnel injuries and concussions” and would return to duty.
“Major combat operations are ongoing and our response efforts continue. The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will retain additional information, including the identities of our fallen combatants, until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified,” Centcom added.
The president’s six-minute edited speech posted for the first time On Trump’s Truth Social platform, he sought to steel US public opinion for a military campaign that could be longer than expected. He told the Daily Mail he expected the conflict to last “about four weeks”.
Although there is no credible evidence that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, Trump said, “An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a grave threat to every American.” “We cannot allow a nation that raises terrorist armies to have weapons that will allow it to usurp the world for its own evil intentions. This will not happen.”
Trump claimed that Iran’s “entire military command is gone” and that “many want to surrender, many want immunity, thousands have called.”
But the Iranian military’s Revolutionary Guard has threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation ever” targeting Israeli and American military facilities. Counter-strikes targeted US bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
European allies are also taking action to protect their interests in the Middle East. The United States has agreed to allow Iran to use two British military bases to attack its missile sites, British prime minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday, as Iran’s retaliation in the Gulf region became more reckless and put British lives at risk.
“The US has requested permission to use British bases for this specific and limited defense purpose,” Starmer said. “We have decided to accept this request to prevent Iran from launching missiles into the region, killing innocent civilians, risking British lives and striking countries not involved.”
In his speech, Trump said the joint US-Israeli attack was “one of the largest, most complex, most overwhelming military attacks the world has ever seen.” Nobody’s seen anything like this.”
He said the combined forces “hit hundreds of targets in Iran, including Revolutionary Guard facilities and Iranian air defense systems.” He said it had just been announced that we disabled all nine ships and their naval buildings in a matter of minutes.
Trump ended his speech with a warning to Iran’s leaders and military.
“We are the greatest and most powerful nation in the world,” he said. “These unacceptable threats will not continue any longer. I once again call on the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to lay down their weapons and receive full immunity, or face certain death. It is certain that death will not be pleasant.”
And he called on “Iranian patriots who long for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, to be daring, to be heroes and to take back your country. America is with you.”
