President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US and Israel have continued to “totally demolish” Iran’s weapons capabilities, claiming the campaign was progressing ahead of schedule.
Speaking at an event at the White House, Mr Trump said Iran’s navy and air defences had been destroyed.
“The United States military, together with our wonderful Israeli partners, continues to totally demolish the enemy – far ahead of schedule and at levels people have never seen before,” Mr Trump said.
“The navy is gone – 24 ships in three days. That’s a lot of ships. Their anti-aircraft weapons are gone. They have no air force, no air defence. All of their airplanes are gone. The communications are gone. Missiles are gone.”
Mr Trump made the remarks while welcoming Inter Miami CF, the 2025 champions of Major League Soccer.
His comments came on the sixth day of US–Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran has fired salvos of missiles and drones at targets across the region, including US bases and embassies.
During a media briefing, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said a large Iranian drone carrier had been struck and was “on fire as we speak".
Admiral Cooper said that since the start of the conflict, Iran's ballistic missile attacks had decreased by 90 per cent and drone attacks by 83 per cent, adding that Mr Trump had ordered US forces to strike the country's ballistic missile industrial base.
“We’re not just hitting what they have, we’re destroying their ability to rebuild,” he said, describing the effort as the “next phase” of the war aimed at disrupting Iran’s missile production.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Trump said he believed Washington should be involved in selecting Iran’s next ruler after the death of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He acknowledged that Mojtaba Khamenei, the assassinated leader’s son, is widely regarded as the most likely successor but dismissed that possibility, calling him a “lightweight".
Mr Trump also appeared to voice support for Kurdish forces launching an offensive against Iran. He added that he had ordered his administration to offer political risk insurance to tankers transiting the Gulf.
“Further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent,” he said at the White House. “And the oil seems to have pretty much stabilised. We had it very low, but I had to take this little detour.”
