Direct speech from Donald Trump: US President Trump opened a press conference by praising the US rescue operation over the weekend.
Accompanied by his top national security team, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump was joined by his children Eric and Tiffany Trump along with their spouses.
Calling it “one of our better Easters,” Trump opened the press conference by highlighting the dramatic rescue of two American airmen in Iran over the weekend.
“We’re here today to celebrate the success of one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat searches, I guess you’d call it a search and rescue mission, that the military has ever attempted,” he said.
He also said, “The whole earth may be removed in one night, and that night may be tomorrow.”
The US president has threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if Tehran does not strike a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz by 8pm EDT on Tuesday (midnight GMT).
The briefing comes at a time of rising tensions, with Trump warning of possible strikes on Iran’s infrastructure if Tehran does not comply.
The development comes against a backdrop of an escalating US-Israeli-Iran conflict and ongoing domestic problems, including a prolonged government shutdown and political rifts in Washington.
During the event, we will keep you informed about the latest developments.
11:23 AM IST
“Tomorrow, even more than today” – Hegseth signals the increased blows
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the largest wave of strikes since the start of the US campaign in Iran is expected.
“Tomorrow even more than today. And Iran has a choice. Choose wisely because this president is not playing around.”
‘We Confused the Iranians’ – CIA Director Ratcliffe Describes Secret Rescue Operations
CIA Director John Ratcliffe told reporters that the agency conducted a “deceptive campaign to confuse the Iranians who were desperate for our airmen.”
“We accomplished our primary objective by finding and providing confirmation that one of America’s finest and bravest was alive and hidden in a mountain crevice, still invisible to the enemy but not to the CIA,” Ratcliffe said.
“Reduced Cliffs While Bleeding” – Trump Recounts Airman’s Dramatic Survival
“Despite the danger, the officer followed his training … climbed to a higher altitude,” Trump said.
He revealed that the officer climbed cliffs while “bleeding profusely” and treated his own injuries before he was able to contact US forces.
The airman used a “very sophisticated buzzer-type device” to transmit his location, which Trump said “saved his life.”
“Darkening terrorists” – Trump on stranded US airman in Iran
According to Trump, the injured officer — a colonel — landed far from the first rescued pilot and remained isolated in a highly dangerous environment.
“He was badly wounded and stuck in an area teeming with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorists … as well as besieged by the military, militia and local authorities,” Trump said.
Trump says the US rescue mission for the co-pilot involved 155 planes
Trump details the scope of the US rescue mission for the co-pilot
A total of 155 aircraft took part in the operation
Including 4 bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers and 13 rescue aircraft
A mission designed to recover a crew member from a downed aircraft in enemy territory
Significant use of deception tactics to mislead Iranian forces
“A lot of it was a hoax,” Trump says
The US tried to create fake sites to deflect Iranian searches
Trump threatens media with jail for leaking Iran bailout
Trump says he will seek the identity of the source of the leak from the media organization
“They put this mission at great risk. They put that man at great risk,” Trump said.
“We’re going to go to the media company that published it and say ‘national security, give it up or go to jail’… When they did that, suddenly the whole country of Iran knew that somewhere on their land there was a pilot fighting for his life.”
Trump said Iran offered a reward for the capture of the second airman after the leak
Trump claimed that once the information emerged, Iran issued a public warning offering a reward for the capture of the remaining pilot.
“The country of Iran has made a major announcement … offering a very large reward for anyone who captures the pilot,” he said.
“We had millions of people trying to get the award… in addition to a hostile, very talented, very good, very evil army.
Trump claims a second airman discovered the leak
Donald Trump said that the leak of sensitive information during the US military rescue mission in Iran made the operation significantly more dangerous.
According to Trump, details of the rescue of the first service member were released before the second missing airman was located.
“All of a sudden they know someone is there,” he said, referring to Iranian forces. “The operation has become much more difficult because the escape hatch we have has leaked, we have saved one but there is another we are trying to retrieve.
‘Do what was necessary’: Trump on bold US rescue operation
“I ordered the American armed forces to do whatever was necessary to bring our brave warriors back home. A risky decision because we could have ended up with 100 dead, as opposed to one or two,” Trump told reporters.
“It’s a tough decision, but we leave no American behind in the United States military. We don’t.”
Trump describes in detail the dramatic rescue of a downed American airman
Donald Trump says downed weapons officer followed protocol after crash
– He says the officer moved away from the crash site to avoid detection in enemy territory
“You want to be as far away as possible,” Trump says of the survival strategy
Airman was “bleeding profusely” but able to move in mountainous terrain, Trump says.
Trump says the airman successfully contacted US forces to share his location
The US used deceptive tactics during the mission to mislead Iranian forces, Trump said.
Trump repeats Tuesday’s Iran deadline at 8 p.m
“We’re here today to celebrate the success of one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat searches, I guess you’d call it a search and rescue mission, that the military has ever attempted,” Trump said.
He also said, “The whole earth may be removed in one night, and that night may be tomorrow.”
