Trump says US ready to fight Iran for ‘far longer’ than four weeks and he won’t get ‘bored’ if it drags out

Donald Trump assured the American public on Monday that the United States is equipped to fight a long war with Iran if necessary, but boasted that Operation Epic Rage is already ahead of schedule.

The President also emphasized that he “will not get bored” if the war lasts longer than expected.

Trump was in the East Hall for the Medal of Honor ceremony when he made his first public comments about this weekend’s Iranian attacks that left four U.S. soldiers dead.

‘Today, we mourn the four heroic American soldiers killed in action and send our love and support to their families,’ the President said. ‘In their memory, we continue this mission with fierce and dogged determination to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people.’

“We have by far the strongest and most powerful military in the world, and we will prevail easily,” Trump said.

On Sunday, Trump told the Daily Mail in an exclusive phone interview that the military action was expected to be a ‘four-week process’ but has since said it could take up to five weeks.

Trump reiterated his expected program later the same day in a speech in the East Room, where Hegseth joined Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and Chief of Staff Dan Caine.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bristled when asked about that timeline at a press conference Monday morning.

An Iranian man works amid the rubble following weekend US and Israeli attacks on Tehran

“We are already significantly ahead of our time projections,” Trump said from the podium on Monday. ‘We anticipated four to five weeks from the outset, but we have the capacity to last much longer than that. We will do this.’

The President later criticized an unnamed member of the media for claiming that he would get bored if the Iran war went on for too long, recalling: ‘They said, ‘The President wants to do this really fast, he’ll get bored after that.”

‘I don’t get bored. “There’s nothing boring about that,” he protested, then looked at Hegseth for approval.

The President continued: ‘Actually, someone in the media said, ‘I think you’ll get bored after a week or two.’ ‘No, we won’t get bored. I never get bored. If I were bored I wouldn’t be standing here right now, I guarantee that. To go through what I had to go through.’

Back in the message, Trump reiterated that the military operation to eliminate nuclear capabilities was ahead of schedule.

‘We also planned the end of military leadership for four weeks, and as you know, it happened in about an hour,’ the president boasted. ‘So we’re way ahead of schedule there.’

Hegseth defended Trump’s timeline at a briefing earlier Monday, when a reporter pressed him on whether the four-week timeline was accurate.

‘President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long this may or may not last; four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. “It could move up, it could move back,” Hegseth retorted to the NBC reporter.

‘Under his command, we will fulfill the goals we set out to achieve.’

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth attends the Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House on Monday, March 2, 2026, after holding a press conference at the Pentagon earlier in the day regarding weekend military strikes in Iran.

On Monday, Trump thanked the troops currently fighting in Operation Epic Fury and noted the active-duty soldiers sitting in the room for the Medal of Honor ceremony.

“We have a lot of great service people with us in this beautiful building,” Trump said. ‘Isn’t it beautiful? ‘We’re adding a little bit to the building.’

He then talked for a few minutes about the White House ballroom.

Part of Trump’s remarks were dominated by a hammering sound, which the President described as a “beautiful sound” that “means money.”

Three veterans who served in three different wars were honored at Monday’s ceremony.

Retired Staff Sergeant Terry Richardson was presented with the medal for his actions in the Vietnam War, where he was credited with saving the lives of 85 other soldiers.

Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013 and was posthumously awarded a medal. And Staff Sergeant Roderick Edmonds, who died in 1985, was posthumously recognized for leading the resistance captured as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II.

President Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to retired U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Terry Richardson during a ceremony for three recipients; the other two were given to family members after his death.

The medal ceremony came just after Trump faced the first military operational casualties of his second term.

It was revealed on Sunday that three Army soldiers were killed in the attacks. U.S. Central Command said Monday morning that a fourth soldier died following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

“They are great people,” the president told the Daily Mail in a telephone interview on Sunday when asked about the fallen troops.

The identities of the fallen have not yet been determined.

He acknowledged there could be more deaths in the conflict, which he said could last up to four weeks. ‘You know, unfortunately we expect this to happen. ‘It could happen constantly, it could happen again.’

Trump also acknowledged that these three losses were the first of his second term, saying: ‘We did a pretty good job.’

The military operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in January and the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities in June were carried out without a single American death.

While he told the Daily Mail that he had spoken to the families of the three fallen soldiers, he said, “But they are wonderful people, they have extraordinary backgrounds, they are extraordinary.”

“And I will meet with their families at the appropriate time,” the president added.

He also floated the idea of ​​’perhaps’ going to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a solemn and dignified transfer of the troops’ remains.