WASHINGTON/TEHRAN – US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US military campaign in Iran will last “as long as necessary.”
When asked by reporters how long the war will last, he said: “I can’t tell you that.”
“I won’t give you a time, but we are way ahead of schedule,” he added.
Kharg Island
Military targets in Iran’s Kharg Island have been “totally obliterated” in US bombing raids, Trump said Friday on Truth Social.
Strait of Hormuz
The United States will not allow shipping in the Strait of Hormuz “to be contested” by Iran, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday.
There is no clear evidence that Iran has placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz, he said at a news briefing.
He said the United States is planning for Iran’s various measures and “that’s not a strait we’re gonna allow to remain contested.”
50,000 US troops involved in strikes on Iran
More than 50,000 US service members are involved in the military strikes against Iran, a senior Pentagon official said Friday.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson claimed “those forces have established control over air and sea domains and struck thousands of identified Iranian targets, demonstrating operational dominance,” according to a post on X by the US Department of War.
The US Central Command on Thursday reported about 6,000 targets struck, with more than 60 ships and 30 minelayers damaged or destroyed, the post added.
210 students and teachers killed in Iran
US and Israeli military strikes have killed 210 students and teachers in Iran and injured another 160 since Feb 28, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported on Saturday, citing the country’s education minister.