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‘Head of snake cut off’: US says it destroyed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' headquarters
As missile and drone attacks continued in the Middle East and Gulf regions, Donald Trump reportedly said that the war could go on for a month.
Amid escalating tensions and chaos in the Middle East, the US Central Command announced on Monday that it destroyed the headquarters of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a strike that it described as cutting off the "head of the snake".
The video posted by the Central Command's X handle also featured a video of missiles blasting from a US Navy ship, then blowing up an urban compound to dust. Follow live updates on the Iran-US-Israel conflict
"The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) killed more than 1,000 Americans over the past 47 years. Yesterday, a large-scale U.S. strike cut off the head of the snake," the US Central Command said.
It prided itself on the US military's capabilities, stating that America "has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters".
Meanwhile, airstrikes and air raid sirens continued to ring across the Middle East, as missiles rained on Tehran and other Gulf countries during retaliatory strikes.
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The US and Israel launched a joint strike on Iran on Saturday, resulting in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a move that triggered tensions across the world, especially the Middle East and the Gulf.
Iran vowed to avenge Khamenei's death and launched retaliatory missiles and drone attacks on countries across the region, with explosions reported in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Israel.
Strikes to continue for a month, says Trump
As the situation remains grim, US President Donald Trump told the New York Times that the joint strikes could go on for a month. When asked about how long the US and Israel could keep up this level of attacks, Trump stated, "Well, we intended four to five weeks. It won’t be difficult."
“We have tremendous amounts of ammunition. You know, we have ammunition stored all over the world in different countries," he told NYT.
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He also told the Daily Mail that it has "always been a four-week process".
Earlier, during an interview with The Atlantic magazine, Trump said that Iran's leadership wanted to talk to him and that he had agreed.
"They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long," he told the magazine. However, Trump did not specify who he would be speaking with or when.
Meanwhile, Oman's foreign minister, who had been mediating the US-Iran talks, urged a ceasefire during a call with his Iranian counterpart on Sunday, stating that Tehran has indicated a willingness to de-escalate.
According to the Oman foreign ministry statement, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was "calling for peace," and voiced "the openness of the Iranian side to any serious efforts that contribute to stopping the escalation and returning to stability".
Iran vows to avenge Khamenei
Notably, Iran has stated that the killing of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a "declaration of war against Muslims". Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian warned, "Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime."
IRGC also announced its own "large-scale" attack as it launched missiles and drones at US bases and other installations around the Gulf.
Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said, "Today we will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before."
