U.S. President Donald Trump declared that military operations against Iran will continue. He asserted that it will take Iran decades to recover from the blows it has taken so far.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House, Trump said, "If we were to withdraw now, it would take 20, 25 years for Iran to rebuild. And we're not done yet... we're not withdrawing right now."
The conflict between the two countries escalated into a full-scale war after the brief June ceasefire ended. It expanded beyond the Strait of Hormuz, taking on a regional dimension that now involves Gulf states, proxy groups, and economic disruptions.
The U.S. military, under CENTCOM coordination, carried out airstrikes inside Iran for the tenth consecutive night. The latest operations hit command centers, radar systems, air defense batteries, and drone launch sites in Shiraz, Chabahar, and Bandar Abbas.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded with drones and missiles against U.S. assets in the region. These attacks targeted power grids and desalination plants in Kuwait, accommodation facilities at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, and military infrastructure in Jordan.
The fighting has also taken a toll on U.S. forces. According to U.S. officials, 17 American soldiers have been killed in the large-scale clashes that began on February 28. Trump warned that Tehran would pay "many times over" for every U.S. soldier killed and ordered the deployment of additional warplanes to West Asia.
The Pentagon also disclosed that nearly 100 U.S. soldiers have been wounded in connection with the conflict since July 7, most of them diagnosed with mild concussions.
