Donald Trump has claimed that American forces could strike “every single target” in Iran within two weeks, while insisting that the Islamic republic had already been “militarily defeated.”
Trump made the remarks during an interview with independent journalist Sharyl Attkisson which aired on Sunday.
According to the US president, Iran’s military capabilities had been significantly weakened during the ongoing conflict involving American and Israeli military operations.
“They’re militarily defeated. In their own minds, maybe they don’t know that. But I think they do,” Trump said. “That doesn’t mean they’re done.”
Trump further suggested that the United States still had additional military targets it could strike inside Iran if the conflict escalates further.
“We have certain targets that we wanted, and we’ve done probably 70 percent of them, but we have other targets that we could conceivably hit,” he said.
“But even if we didn’t do that, you know, that would just be final touches.”
The remarks come amid reports that Iran has responded to a recent US proposal aimed at ending the conflict, which reportedly began on February 28 following American and Israeli strikes on Iranian positions.
Trump also criticised NATO during the interview, accusing allied nations of failing to adequately support Washington’s military efforts.
“NATO has proven to be a paper tiger. They weren’t there to help,” he said.
The latest comments are expected to further raise tensions surrounding the conflict as diplomatic efforts continue alongside ongoing military operations in the region.