President Donald Trump told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Monday that the U.S. military’s “Operation Epic Fury” is “a little ahead of schedule,” and hinted at a “big wave” of military action that is “coming soon.”
Tapper’s report on his phone call with Trump came shortly after General Dan “Raizin” Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States had established air superiority over Iran. In a nine-minute phone call with Tapper, Trump added that America is “knocking the crap out of Iran” and that “We haven’t even started hitting them hard.”
“I don’t want to see it go on too long,” Trump said. “I always thought it would be four weeks. And we’re a little ahead of schedule.”
General Caine said earlier on Monday that more U.S. forces are currently being deployed to the Middle East to “provide the president with credible options should action be required.” Forces already in the region were also being strategically repositioned, Caine added.
Trump also spoke to the New York Post on Monday morning and did not rule out putting U.S. boots on the ground in Iran.
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground,” Trump said. “Like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump said. “I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”
At least four American troops have been killed in the operation so far. The U.S. soldiers were killed when an Iranian missile evaded defense systems and slammed into an area in Kuwait, where the troops were stationed. Three U.S. F-15Es were also shot down in Kuwait in a friendly fire incident, but the six crew members aboard the three fighter jets ejected safely.
The joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran has killed 49 Iranian military and political leaders, including the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. An airstrike took out the Iranian leaders as they met at Khamenei’s compound, with Trump saying U.S. officials were “shocked” to take out so many leaders in one bombing.
“They don’t even know who’s leading them now,” Trump added.
“We’re right on schedule, way ahead of schedule in terms of leadership — 49 killed — and that was, you know, going to take, we figured, at least four weeks, and we did it in one day,” Trump told the Post.
Tapper also asked Trump about who could emerge as the next leader of Iran, but the president said his administration doesn’t know who could take over next. War Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Monday morning that the Trump administration is focused on taking out Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities, not on regime change.
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