In prerecorded remarks posted on White House social media accounts, Trump said the campaign is intended to counter what he described as direct threats to U.S. forces and interests. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” he said.
Trump cited repeated attacks by Iranian-backed groups against U.S. personnel and maritime assets in the region. “The regime’s proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as U.S. naval and commercial vessels in international shipping lanes. It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to put up with it any longer,” he said.
The president outlined specific military goals for Operation Epic Fury, emphasizing the destruction of Iran’s weapons production infrastructure. “We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated. We are going to annihilate their navy. We are going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces,” he said. “We will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It’s a very simple message.”
In a brief phone interview with The Washington Post from Mar-a-Lago following the address, Trump described his broader objective as “freedom for the people” of Iran. “We’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission,” he said, as reported by the newspaper.
The strikes follow a third round of negotiations earlier this week between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program. Trump warned that American service members could face casualties if Iran retaliates.
Bahraini officials reported that Iranian missiles struck the U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, while U.S. officials had not reported casualties as of publication. Local reporters from Stars and Stripes said retaliation attacks in Manama continued for hours.
An Iranian attack drone described as a Shahed-type unmanned aerial combat vehicle struck Naval Support Activity Bahrain and appeared to destroy a radome, based on videos shared on social media. Additional retaliation strikes were reported against U.S. and Israeli targets in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar, prompting U.S. embassies in the region to issue shelter-in-place advisories.
Pentagon and Navy spokespeople referred USNI News to Trump’s statement when contacted Saturday morning, and a White House pool report indicated there would be no further statements from the president that day. Tankers continued transiting the Strait of Hormuz despite Iran announcing a ban on vessel traffic, according to Campbell University professor and maritime expert Sal Mercogliano in a post on X.
U.S. naval and air forces have increased their presence in the region in recent weeks ahead of the operation. The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has been operating in the North Arabian Sea, the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in the Eastern Mediterranean, and 14 guided-missile destroyers have been deployed across the Mediterranean and Middle East with missile defense capabilities including Standard Missile 3s, SM-2s, SM-6s, as well as Army THAAD systems and Patriot PAC-3 batteries.
The current campaign comes eight months after the United States carried out Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted Iranian nuclear sites with bunker buster bombs, B-2 bombers, and Tomahawk missiles launched from a submarine. At that time, Trump said Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites had “been completely and totally obliterated.”
In concluding his prerecorded remarks on Operation Epic Fury, Trump addressed the Iranian public directly. “The hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside,” he said. “Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
Source: USNI News.
