President Donald Trump told CNN in a nine-minute telephone interview on Monday morning that the US military is “knocking the crap” out of Iran – but warned that the “big wave” of action is still to come.
“We’re knocking the crap out of them,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper, according to an exclusive CNN report. “I think it’s going very well. It’s very powerful. We’ve got the greatest military in the world and we’re using it.”
Trump discussed a broad range of issues during the interview, including how long the conflict might last, Iran’s retaliation across the region and uncertainty over the country’s leadership.
On the possible duration of the war, the president said, “I don’t want to see it go on too long. I always thought it would be four weeks. And we’re a little ahead of schedule,” according to the exclusive CNN report.
Asked whether the US was doing more beyond military strikes to help the Iranian people regain control from the regime, Trump replied, “Yes,” according to the exclusive CNN report.
“We are indeed. But right now we want everyone staying inside. It’s not safe out there,” he said, according to the exclusive CNN report.
He added that conditions were likely to deteriorate further. “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” Trump told CNN, according to the exclusive CNN report.
The ‘biggest surprise’
Trump said “the biggest surprise” so far had been Iran’s attacks on Arab countries in the region, including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“We were surprised,” Trump said, according to the exclusive CNN report. “We told them, ‘We’ve got this,’ and now they want to fight. And they’re aggressively fighting. They were going to be very little involved and now they insist on being involved.”
Of the Arab leaders, he added: “I know these people. They’re tough and smart,” according to the exclusive CNN report.
Referring to Iranian strikes, Trump said, “They shot into a hotel, they shot into an apartment house. It just made them angry. They love us, but they were watching. There was no reason for them to be involved,” according to the exclusive CNN report.
“That was probably the biggest surprise,” he said.
Trump argued that Iran’s nuclear ambitions had long destabilised the region. “You have to understand, they were living under that dark cloud for years. That’s why you could never have peace,” he said, according to the exclusive CNN report.
Succession in Iran
On who might emerge to lead Iran, Trump said, “We don’t know who the leadership is. We don’t know who they’ll pick. Maybe they’ll get lucky and get someone who knows what they’re doing,” according to the exclusive CNN report.
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