Iran War ‘Very Complete, Pretty Much’
An update from the Commander-in-Chief.
CBS News (“Trump says ‘the war is very complete,’ and he’s considering taking over Strait of Hormuz“):
In a phone interview with CBS News on Monday afternoon, President Trump said the U.S. war with Iran could almost be over.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” the president said, speaking from his Doral, Florida, golf club. “[Iran has] no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones.”
The U.S. military said it struck more than 3,000 Iranian targets in the first week of operations.
“If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense,” Mr. Trump said.
Late Sunday, Iran announced that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei would replace his father as Iran’s supreme leader.
“I have no message for him. None, whatsoever,” the president said, adding that he has someone else in mind to lead the country.
Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the global oil supply flows, has effectively ground to a halt.
The president said the U.S. “could do a lot” about the strait and threatened Iran if it inhibits the waterway. “They’ve shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute or it’s going to be the end of that country. … If they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran and you’d never hear the name again.” The president also said the strait is open now and claimed ships have been entering the strait, but said he is still “thinking about taking it over.”
[…]
Mr. Trump initially estimated the war would take about a month to complete.
“We’re very far ahead of schedule,” he told CBS News on Monday.
The same afternoon that the president said the war is “very complete, pretty much,” the Department of Defense posted on X, “We have Only Just Begun to Fight” and “no mercy.”
So far, seven Americans have died in combat. Later Monday, Vice President JD Vance will attend a dignified transfer of the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, who died of injuries he suffered in a March 1 attack at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
Asked whether he thought the war could wrap up soon, the president said, “Wrapping up is all in my mind, nobody else’s.”
Not so, according to WSJ (“Trump Advisers Urge Him to Find Iran Exit Ramp, Fearing Political Backlash“):
President Trump said he was eyeing a quick end to the war in Iran, as some of his advisers privately urged him to look for an exit plan amid spiking oil prices and concerns that a lengthy conflict could spark political backlash.
Speaking to reporters in Florida on Monday, Trump characterized the military mission as mostly having achieved its goals. “We’re way ahead of schedule,” he said, adding he thought it would be over “very soon.”
He didn’t provide a clear timeline for ending the Iran operation. When asked about helping the Iranian people who have risen up against the regime, Trump sounded ready for a quick conclusion rather than to continue to push for leadership change.
“We want a system that can lead to many years of peace, and if we can’t have that, we might as well get it over with right now,” Trump said. He said he was disappointed in the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s new supreme leader, a move that signals that Tehran won’t back down.
[…]
Trump won’t stop fighting until he can claim a satisfactory victory, a senior administration official said, especially when the U.S. has a military advantage. Trump has at times been surprised that Tehran won’t cave despite the unrelenting joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign, according to people familiar with his thinking.
“This story is full of crap from anonymous sources who, I can guarantee, are not in the room with President Trump,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The president’s top aides are focused 24/7 on ensuring Operation Epic Fury continues to be a tremendous success, and the end of these operations will ultimately be determined by the commander in chief.”
Trump has made conflicting statements about the war. Last week, he said he was seeking Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and declined to rule out sending ground troops to the country. On Monday, he told the New York Post he was “nowhere near” issuing such an order.
After saying on Monday that the war might be over soon, the president added: “We could go further, and we’re going to go further.” Trump has hinted in public, and told aides in private, that he would back the killing of the younger Khamenei if he proves unwilling to cede to U.S. demands, current and former U.S. officials said.
[…]
Trump won’t stop fighting until he can claim a satisfactory victory, a senior administration official said, especially when the U.S. has a military advantage. Trump has at times been surprised that Tehran won’t cave despite the unrelenting joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign, according to people familiar with his thinking.
“This story is full of crap from anonymous sources who, I can guarantee, are not in the room with President Trump,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The president’s top aides are focused 24/7 on ensuring Operation Epic Fury continues to be a tremendous success, and the end of these operations will ultimately be determined by the commander in chief.”
Trump has made conflicting statements about the war. Last week, he said he was seeking Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and declined to rule out sending ground troops to the country. On Monday, he told the New York Post he was “nowhere near” issuing such an order.
After saying on Monday that the war might be over soon, the president added: “We could go further, and we’re going to go further.” Trump has hinted in public, and told aides in private, that he would back the killing of the younger Khamenei if he proves unwilling to cede to U.S. demands, current and former U.S. officials said.
[…]
Some of Trump’s advisers watched with alarm as oil prices shot to over $100 a barrel. They have also fielded calls about the midterm elections from some nervous Republicans, according to people familiar with the matter.
“When the price of gas and oil rise, so does everything else. Given affordability was already an issue, this leads to real challenges,” said Stephen Moore, an outside economic adviser to Trump.
Trump’s team concluded in recent days that they needed a more aggressive communications plan to sell the public on the war as many consumers deal with rising gas prices, the people said.
I mean, who could possibly predicted that a war in the Middle East would lead to increased oil prices? But, not to worry.
NY Post (“Trump tells The Post there’s no reason to panic over Iran war oil-price surge: ‘I have a plan for everything’“):
President Trump told The Post on Monday that he has “a plan” to tackle surging oil prices caused by the war with Iran and that people would be “very happy” — sending oil prices tumbling nearly 30% from the day’s highs.
“I have a plan for everything, okay?” Trump said in a brief phone interview Monday on the 10th day of the joint US-Israeli war with Iran. “I have a plan for everything. You’ll be very happy.”
Trump did not provide details, but he has a variety of options, including releasing oil from strategic reserves.
Well, that’s a relief.
I guess he forgot that Iran has a say, too.
I strongly suspect that the rational thing for Iran to do is to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and to inflict as much global economic pain as possible – at least for the time being.
Because if they don’t, what is to discourage Trump from repeating all this next month or so?
This is what happens when an ignorant, delusional, 79 year old man-child is given unfettered power. In 2003 it was hard to imagine a dumber, more embarrassing POTUS than George W. Bush, and in 2019 it was hard to imagine a more unfit, embarrassing POTUS than Donald Trump, but here we are. Trump has discovered that the key to erasing his first administration as the worst in history was simple – giving him a second.
Good thing that always works!
@Charley in Cleveland:
JFC, Bush 43, then Trump…what are Republicans gonna give us next? Louis Gohmert?!?
Of course he also “obliterated” their nuke program once before.
I am at least as [looks around] unsurprised that the oil prices and market so quickly rebounded in response to Trump’s comment “war is pretty complete” without regard to the parenthetical threat to continue it. These people are trading millions/billions of dollars worth of things and are apparently willing to bank it all on any vacuous piece of “good news.”
@Joe:
The Dow, etc. went UP after Trump was elected in 2024. That was when I knew for sure that the markets were fundamentally broken.
For the love of God, could someone explain this to me?
“Wrapping up is all in my mind; no one else’s.”
What in hell does that mean?
It’s hard to come up with any comment except Fran Lebowitz’ famous, “Everyone says he is crazy – which maybe he is – but the scarier thing about him is that he is stupid. You do not know anyone as stupid as Donald Trump. You just don’t.” He’s the classic example of Dunning Kruger. And people voted for this buffoon.
The gravitas in matters of war is impressive.
Ann Telnaes on the occasion of this post’s photo
At least Senator Foghorn Leghorn can admit the truth.
I did not vote for innocent children to be murdered by our Pedo-in-Chief.
I am reading that the U.S. is contemplating seizing Kharg Island. Malcolm Nance has some thoughts about that:
“Malcolm Nance”
“Map of Gulf”
I had not realized Kharg Island is way up near the north end of the Gulf.
What happened to “picking the next leader of Iran” and a host of other demands?
Flitting on to the next notion.
A victory as elusive as a Trump declaration of innocence, wisdom, or honesty.
Trump is tethered to his political status and the economic conditions at home. Will he declare victory and “call it a day?’ Hey! Don’t look at the little man behind the curtain!
U.S. and Israel Destroy Hundreds of Iranian Ballistic Missile Launchers — How Many Are Left?
++++++
Iran destroys high-value U.S. radar in Jordan
@Kathy:
That’s perfect.
More evidence he was bamboozled into this (principally by Bibi, with perhaps tacit support from gulf-state actors) and thought he could handle it not unlike he handled Venezuela, removing the top leader without in any way changing the fundamental government, declaring victory and leaving.
Nobody knew the Middle East could be so complicated.
More on Kharg Island:
The tiny island of Kharg that could let Trump beat Iran without sending a single soldier
— EXCEPT that being located at the dead end of the Straits of Hormuz and Persian Gulf, it would be a real trick to get those destroyers into position at Kharg, defend their presence, and maintain supply lines to the area of operations. U.S. fleet assets would be trapped, bottled up.
OTOH, if the U.S. could actually take over the island without destroying the petroleum infrastructure (what a gamble!!!), the Iranians might be disinclined to press for recapture as Malcom Nance (comment above) suggests. Those oil revenues are crucial to Iran’s survival. Completely destroying the island’s facilities would be economically disastrous for them.
I have thought all along that this would go on for a few weeks and then Trump would declare victory. Trump really doesnt want the markets to crash and hurt him and his wealthy friends/family. So we probably arent going to see regime change. All we will see is a lot of infrastructure in Iran damaged. This looks mostly like just a revenge tour to make Israel happy and keep Netanyahu in office longer.
Steve
@steve222: I mean, I don’t know that you are wrong, but I believe that Trump cares even more about looking bad than he cares about losing some money in stock value. The end result is pretty much the same, though.
We live in a autocracy, and Donald is the autarch. He decides when we go to war, and when we don’t. We may trade with Spain or not; it depends on how Trump is feeling. Etc, etc, etc. That is the reality. That stuff they taught in grade school is non operative. The Constitution is a dead letter. We need to adjust to this new world. I don’t like it, but I don’t want ICE operatives to haul me away. People live under Putin and Kim Jong Un (Trump seems to like both of them) and survive for the most part. We need to learn from them.
It sounds stupid, because it is stupid, but I really think that Trump and Hegseth thought this would all go perfectly because they’re manly men and not the weak half-men of Democrats. That real Alpha Men do and take what they want and everyone else will just let them because they’re weak.
I think they’ve begun listening to Andrew Tate and the like. It would explain everything. Because they’re not just stupid people doing stupid things with no regards to the consequences, they’re stupid people doing very particular stupid things with a very clear vision of the consequences but no real idea of how to get there.
Per Secretary Hegseth:
It’s just manfluencer shit. I half expect the term “Giga-Chad” to be used in a press briefing.
The patriarchy hurts everyone, and we need to teach our boys that men do cry or something. It’s all so fucking stupid.
@Gustopher:
I really wish R Lee Emery were still alive. I’m quite sure I could crowdfund a (first-class) ticket to DC and ride to the Pentagon where he could “explain” to Hegseth exactly what it means to be a soldier.
Then we could take bets on how many minutes before the SoW was on the floor in the fetal position wetting himself and crying for his mommy.
@Scott F.: “Now watch this drive.” At least Bush was ridiculed for that comment….
@Gustopher: Per Scott Lemieux at LGM it wasn’t Tate. Lemieux notes something important I didn’t know – Trump, with his family, attended Norman Vincent Peale’s church.
The beauty thing, for Trump and for us, is that having no stated goals in Iran allows him to declare victory and quit anytime.
So the Iranians have been speaking to Drop Site. Drop Site has published some Iranian claims of how Iran claims to see the current strategic situation.
It’s a fairly long piece, here are the ending paragraphs:
“Drop Site”
@gVOR10:
What if Iran does not want to quit?
@charontwo:
That’s the question I don’t see the media asking or attempting to get an answer to. Was it here that people in the GOP don’t have a theory of mind for other people. I really think that Trump/Hegseth/Rubio legitimately think that Iran would just magically collapse.
@CSK:
Likely Netanyahu and Hegseth want to continue. Certainly Lindsey Graham does, perhaps Rubio too. The ex-pat Iranians praying to be sent there to run the country are definitely hoping it will continue. The toadies he has surrounded himself with as staff? Probably afraid to voice any opinion on the matter. With Trump contradicting himself in neighboring sentences pandering is impossible.
@charontwo:
@Beth:
As the old saying has it: It takes two to make peace, but only one to make war.
Iran’s most effective play is to keep shipping from going through Hormuz. They may also try to damage oil extraction, processing, and shipping infrastructure in the other countries around the Gulf.
They haven’t done the latter, as far as I know, but they keep hitting the UAE and others. Eventually those others may retaliate in kind.
El Taco may then pick up his ball and go home, and leave the region in flaming chaos. Which at least would be on brand for him.
“Mission Accomplished” redux.
@charontwo:
@Rob1:
imho: If there is going to be a ground operation, it will be Qeshm and the other straits islands, to clear out likely attack points on them, and provide a base for counter-drone fire against launch sites on the mainland.
It’s liable to get messy though, to put it mildly.
And still leaves the coastline from east of Bandr Abbas down to Bandar Jask uncovered.
So, land there also?
Even more liable to be messy.
And you’d probably still need escort patrols of destroyers in the straits narrows as back up against shots that got through.
Dispersed small teams of IRGC dropping off drones by truck and launching remotely are likely to be right sod to winkle out.
These little problems are something that might have been considered before jumping into this mess.
In fact, I’ve little doubt that the Pentagon professionals will have pointed all this out; and got ignored or over-ruled by the political appointees.
@JohnSF:
There’s been talk of sending in special ops forces to secure the enriched uranium (which, if memory serves, was obliterated last year; those Iranian physicists and engineers are damned fast!).
I’ve two words to say: Desert One
Ok, a series of unfortunate events aided by bad weather can happen to anyone, and need not happen every time. But if the Iranians haven’t secured their uranium hexafluoride in heavily guarded and fortified underground facilities, then they’d be as stupid as El Taco (is that even humanly possible?)
I’m sure the professionals at he Pentagon know more about where the stuff is kept and how easy/difficult is to get to it. The issue is whether the lush and the orange ass will listen to them (not really a question, is it?)