HIBAPRESS – Agencies.
American President Donald Trump said in a 9-minute phone interview with CNN on Monday that the US military "is delivering very strong blows" to Iran, but indicated that the "big wave" has not yet come.
Trump added: "We are hitting them very hard. I think things are going very well. The blows are very strong. We have the greatest army in the world and we are using it." During the interview, the President touched on a wide range of files, including the expected duration of the conflict, what he described as a surprise at the size of the Iranian response, in addition to the issue of the succession in Iran. In response to a question about how long the war might take, Trump said: "I don't want to see it last long. I always thought it would be four weeks. And we are a little ahead of schedule." When asked if the United States was taking other steps besides military operations to help the Iranians regain control of their country from the regime, he replied: "Yes, indeed. But at the moment we want everyone to stay inside. The situation is not safe." He added that the situation "will become less safe soon". He continued: "We haven't even started hitting them with real force yet. The big wave hasn't happened yet. The big wave is coming soon." Trump said that the "biggest surprise so far" was the Iranian attacks on Arab countries in the region. Trump believed that the Iranian nuclear threat had been a major issue in the region for a long time, saying: "You have to understand that they have been living under that dark cloud for years. And that's why peace was not possible." Regarding who might lead Iran, Trump said: "We don't know who the leadership is now. We don't know who they will choose. Maybe they will be lucky and come up with someone who knows what they're doing." He noted that the Iranians had lost "a lot at the leadership level" as a result of the first strikes. He added that they "showed a degree of arrogance" when they gathered in one place, believing that they were undetectable. He described the current military operation as part of a long-term campaign to eliminate the Iranian threat. He criticized the nuclear deal concluded under President Barack Obama, considering that it "gave Iran all the power" and that "it was a path to the bomb".
