Trump says Iranian bombing campaign could last a week or as long as ‘necessary’

By Ryan Mancini, WASHINGTON United States 

President Donald Trump on Saturday said the U.S. bombing campaign in Iran could stretch over the course of the next week or last as long as “necessary.”

“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!” Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social, where he also announced that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead.

The U.S. and Israel carried out “Operation Epic Fury” at 1:15 a.m. EST. Air strikes hit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command and control facilities, ballistic missile and drone launch sites, military airfields and Iranian air defense systems.

Iran’s Red Crescent told Iranian state media that over 200 people were killed in the attack, with nearly 750 Iranians injured. U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said it was looking into reports that strikes hit a girls’ school in southern Iran, which Iranian officials said killed more than 80 students. 

Later in the day, Trump announced that Khamenei was killed, ending the supreme leader’s 36-year-long regime. The announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Khamenei was dead.

“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” Trump said in the same Truth Social post. “We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us.”

The president added that this “process should soon be starting.” Trump echoed these statements in an overnight video posted online, telling the Iranians that they now have “a president who is giving you what you want.”

The strikes come after negotiations between U.S. and Iranian diplomats stalled over the country’s nuclear program. Trump and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have stood firm in opposing Iran developing a nuclear weapon, which it has denied for years.

Members of Congress reacted along party lines, with Democrats calling on the House to force a vote on a war powers resolution and Republicans praising Trump for authorizing the strikes.