President Trump says 48 Iranian leaders were killed in US–Israeli strikes, calling the campaign a success. The Pentagon later confirmed American casualties as operations expanded across the Gulf region.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that 48 senior Iranian leaders had been killed in ongoing U.S.–Israeli bombardments, describing the military campaign as a major success and asserting that operations were progressing faster than anticipated.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said, “Nobody can believe the success we’re having. Forty-eight leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly.”
Speaking separately to CNBC, the president said the offensive launched Saturday was achieving its objectives of dismantling Iran’s leadership structure and weakening its military capabilities. “We’re doing our job not just for us, but for the world. And everything is ahead of schedule,” Trump said, adding that developments were unfolding in a “very positive way.”
“Things are evolving in a very positive way right now, a very positive way,” he said.
The interviews were conducted before the US military for the first time announced casualties in the war: three unidentified service members killed, five seriously wounded and several others more lightly injured.
Central Command (CENTCOM) also announced that the United States had sunk an Iranian warship at a dock in the Gulf of Oman.
Trump says ‘will be talking’ to Iranian leaders
Trump said he would “be talking” to Iranian leaders but was vague on the timing and noted that much of the country’s leadership was dead.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner,” Trump was quoted as saying by The Atlantic, as US and Israeli forces press a war against Iran for a second day.
Asked when such talks might take place, Trump said “I can’t tell you.”
Trump did not indicate with whom he hoped to speak.
Referring to the Iranian leadership which has been in years of on-and-off talks with US and other Western governments, Trump said “most of those people are gone.”
“Some of the people we were dealing with are gone, because that was a big – that was a big hit,” Trump was quoted as saying, apparently referring to the strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials.
“They should have done it sooner,” he said. “They could have made a deal. They should’ve done it sooner. They played too cute.”
In a separate interview, Trump on Sunday said that 48 Iranian leaders had already been killed in the war launched Saturday by the United States and Israel.
“Nobody can believe the success we’re having, 48 leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly,” Trump was quoted as saying in an interview by Fox News.
With inputs from agencies
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