Kentucky [US], March 12 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) claimed that military operations over the past 11 days had severely weakened Iran’s military capabilities, saying American forces had “virtually destroyed” key elements of the country’s defense infrastructure.
“Over the past 11 days, our military has virtually destroyed Iran. Tough country,” Trump said while addressing a gathering here.
Describing the Persian Gulf nation as “tough,” he asserted that its core military systems had been largely dismantled. The US President claimed that Iran’s defense network had been neutralized within hours of the operation beginning.
“Their air force is gone. That took the better part of about three hours. They no longer have radar. They don’t have anti-aircraft equipment. They don’t have anything. Their missiles are down by 90 percent. Their drones are down by 85 percent. We’re blowing up the factories where they’re made, left and right,” he said.
Trump also linked the current military campaign to previous US operations against militant leaders, including the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during his presidency.
“Nobody has ever seen anything like what you’re witnessing now. That can include the original killing of Soleimani and al-Baghdadi, two of the worst killers in the world that I took out, as well as Operation Midnight Hammer, where we totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear potential,” he said.
Trump added that earlier actions also included Operation Midnight Hammer, which he said had targeted Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“They don’t have nuclear potential,” Trump said, referring to the operation.
According to Trump, the renewed military action was aimed at preventing Iran from rebuilding its military capabilities after earlier strikes.
“After Midnight Hammer, we left. We figured that would be the end of them for a while. But they started again. That’s why we’ve got to finish it,” he said. “We don’t want to go back every two years.”
Earlier, Trump said the International Energy Agency (IEA) had agreed to coordinate the release of 400 million barrels of oil from national petroleum reserves worldwide in a bid to reduce prices amid the conflict involving Iran.
Addressing the gathering, Trump said, “I’m pleased to report that earlier today, the International Energy Agency agreed to coordinate the release of a record 400 million barrels of oil from various national petroleum reserves around the world, which will substantially reduce oil prices as we end this threat to America and this threat to the world.”
He said the coordinated move was aimed at keeping global energy supplies stable while the United States continues military operations linked to the ongoing conflict.
“My administration is also working to keep the oil flowing all over,” he said.
Trump also claimed that US forces had targeted Iranian naval capabilities in the Gulf region to prevent disruptions to maritime shipping routes.
“We have knocked out 58 naval ships. We knocked out their navy,” he said, adding that US forces had also destroyed multiple Iranian mine-laying vessels allegedly intended to threaten commercial shipping. (ANI)
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