‘Eviscerated and No Longer a Threat’: Trump Declares Iran Military Objective Nearly Complete After 32 Days of ‘Operation Epic Fury’

WASHINGTON — In a primetime address from the White House Wednesday night, President Donald Trump declared that Iran has been “eviscerated” and “essentially really no longer a threat” after 32 days of relentless U.S. military strikes under Operation Epic Fury. Yet even as he celebrated what he called the near-completion of America’s military objectives, Trump vowed that the United States would continue to hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks”—promising to bring the nation “back to the Stone Ages where they belong.” The address came exactly one month after the campaign began on February 28, a mission that has seen U.S. forces strike more than 12,000 targets inside Iran, damage or destroy 155 naval ships, and, according to Trump, eliminate the country’s entire air defense network. “Their radar is 100% annihilated,” Trump said. “We are unstoppable.” The president also revealed that 13 U.S. service members have died and 350 have been injured, noting that he has twice traveled to Dover Air Force Base to receive fallen heroes. “Now we must honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives,” he said, adding that every grieving family member urged him to “finish the job.”

Despite the military onslaught, Trump confirmed that diplomatic discussions remain ongoing, though he struck a characteristically defiant tone: “We have all the cards. They have none.” The president pointed specifically to U.S. B-2 bomber strikes that “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, including sites containing an estimated 900 to 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. He warned that any attempt by Tehran to recover nuclear material would be met with additional missile strikes. Trump also claimed that regime change had effectively occurred, saying, “We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because all of their original leaders are dead.” Addressing rising gasoline prices at home, Trump blamed Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and regional infrastructure, predicting that global energy markets would stabilize once the Strait of Hormuz reopens. He called on allied nations—particularly those dependent on Middle Eastern oil—to take the lead in protecting the strategic waterway. “Go to the strait and just take it. Protect it. Use it for yourselves,” he urged. As Operation Epic Fury barrels toward its sixth week, Trump’s message was clear: the mission is not over, but the end, he insists, is very near.