Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the “big wave” of the Iran conflict was yet to come, CNN reported.
“We’re beating the crap out of them,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I think it’s going very well. It’s very strong. We have the greatest military in the world and we’re using it,” Trump said in an interview with CNN.
President Donald Trump, who has opposed the involvement of US troops in protracted overseas wars, told CNN the operation was “a little ahead of schedule” because he thought it would last four weeks.
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“We haven’t started hitting them hard yet. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” Trump told CNN.
Iran continues its missile attacks on the Middle East in retaliation for a weekend attack that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Explosions were reported in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The attacks triggered the biggest rise in oil prices in four years, led airlines to suspend flights and caused major disruptions at some of the world’s busiest airports.
Qatar and the UAE are reportedly urging allies to persuade President Trump to seek a diplomatic solution, hoping to prevent further escalation and a long-term rise in energy prices.
On Sunday, Trump urged Iran’s military leaders to hand over power to the Iranian people and indicated he would be willing to deal with any new leadership, according to The Atlantic. In response, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said Tehran would not negotiate with the US and denied reports that he had contacted US officials through Omani intermediaries.
Larijani also told Agence-France Presse that Iran was ready for a “long war”.
Tehran is scrambling to name a new supreme leader after Khamenei was killed in the opening salvo of strikes. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said he was “hopeful” that his successor would be chosen “within the next few days”.
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The US-Israeli operation began after three rounds of negotiations with Iran on an agreement to curb Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
The Iranians lost “a lot in terms of leadership” because of the initial strikes, Trump said, according to CNN. “They were getting a little arrogant” by having everyone in one place, he added. “They thought they were undetectable. They weren’t. We were shocked by it.”
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On Monday, the UN nuclear watchdog expressed frustration at the diplomatic breakdown, noting that satellite images indicated Iran’s nuclear facilities had largely escaped damage in the current strikes.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday condemned the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, calling them “blatant violations” of international law and saying Turkey stands with the Iranian people amid the escalating conflict, Reuters reported.
Turkey, a NATO member that shares a border with Iran, has repeatedly urged Washington and Tehran to reach a deal during recent talks, warning that the region cannot withstand further instability.
“As their neighbor and brother, we share the pain of the Iranian people,” he said at a Ramadan dinner in Ankara, adding that the US-Iran dispute escalated into war after provocations from Israel, Reuters reported.
(With input from agencies)
