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Donald Trump says Iran's navy, air force gone; missiles used up or beaten. Top quotes
Donald Trump in his speech said that US has destroyed Iran's missile production and Navy, ensuring its proxies can no longer destabilize the region.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday addressed the nation in a televised speech, stating that the country's forces have “delivered swift, decisive victory," adding that Iran's ”navy is gone, their air force is in ruins" and the country's leaders, "are now dead.” In his speech, Trump gave an update on the progress made toward achieving his goals in the ongoing war with Iran.
Speaking in the Cross Hall at the White House, Trump said that Operation Epic Fury's actions over the past month have led to Iran's “ability to launch missiles and drones being dramatically curtailed,” adding that their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces."
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US strategic objective 'nearing completion’
Praising the American military for a "decisive" blow against the Iranian regime, Trump claimed that the core objective of the campaign against Iran was nearing completion.
"I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion," Trump said in a primetime address.
US will hit Iran ‘extremely hard’ over next 2-3 weeks
Talking about intensifying the military campaign against Iran Trump said that they will strike Iran "extremely hard" over the next two to three weeks and hit the country into the "Stone Ages."
“We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” Trump said. He also noted that regime change was not their end goal. "We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leader's death,” Trump said in the speech.
Also read: Trump says Iran was ‘at the doorstep’ of a nuclear weapon, defends strikes on nuclear sites
Trump says 'prefer to take Iran's oil'
Trump said the US could "very easily" take Iran's oil but said it "is unfortunate" that there did not seem to be patience among the American people for such an effort. "They want to see it end," he said.
Trump also said that he would prefer to take Iran's oil, "but people in the country sort of say, Just win. You're winning so big. Just win. Come home.' And I'm ok with that too," he said.
Trump urges nations to seize Hormuz Strait
US President Donald Trump called on countries that receive oil through the Strait of Hormuz to show "courage" and seize the key waterway, while saying Washington will not allow its Middle East allies to be harmed.
"The countries of the world that... receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage," Trump said in his first prime-time address since the start of the war with Iran. He also urged the countries to “take it, protect it and use” the key passage.
Iran was ‘right at the doorstep’ of developing nuclear weapons
Justifying the US military action against Iran, Trump on Wednesday said that Tehran was "right at the doorstep" of developing nuclear weapons.
“Essentially, I did what no other president was willing to do. They made mistakes, and I am correcting them,” Trump said.
The US president also stressed that his first preference was always the path of diplomacy, yet "the regime continued their relentless quest for nuclear weapons and rejected every attempt at an agreement," he said.
Trump said he ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in June under “Operation Midnight Hammer,” calling it an unprecedented mission and praising the performance of the B-2 bombers.
