Trump warns: More firepower ready for deployment. Military operation against Iran may be prolonged

(Washington News) US President Trump warned that the US military operation against Iran might last longer than initially expected, up to four or five weeks. He also said that no real major offensive had been launched and even ruled out the possibility of sending ground troops into Iran.

On Tuesday (March 3rd), Trump also stated on his social media platform Truth Social that although Iran wanted to negotiate, it was too late.

Trump said: "Their (Iran's) air defense system, air force, navy and leadership are all gone. They want to talk. I said it's too late!" Just two days ago, he still agreed to hold negotiations with Iran.

On Monday, Trump for the first time outlined the four main objectives of the military strike against Iran. Firstly, it was to destroy Iran's ballistic missile capabilities. Secondly, it was to destroy Iran's navy. Thirdly, it was to ensure that Iran would never be able to develop nuclear weapons. Finally, it was to ensure that Iran could not continue to support terrorist organizations abroad.

Over the past few days, both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have called on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the theocratic regime. However, Trump did not mention anything about regime change in Iran on Monday.

Send ground troops if necessary. Trump: Capable of fighting for longer.

Trump said that the military operation has progressed far beyond expectations and that the US is ready for a long-term battle. "From the very beginning, we expected the war to last four to five weeks, but we are capable of fighting for much longer."

Trump warned that the United States still has more firepower at its disposal and stated that "the big wave offensive" has not yet occurred. In an interview with The New York Post, he also refused to rule out the possibility of deploying ground troops in Iran.

US Secretary of State Rubio explained on Monday that the US decided to take action against Iran after learning that its ally Israel was planning to launch an attack on Iran. Because if Iran were attacked, it would surely retaliate. If the US did not act beforehand, there would be even greater casualties.

Rubio also denied that the US's goal was to bring about the regime change in Iran. He stated that the US wanted the Iranian people to overthrow the government, but the US military's actions were aimed at destroying Iran's missile capabilities and naval forces.

Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News that the US-Israel attack on Iran will not be an endless war, but rather a gateway to peace.

Netanyahu also said that if no action is taken now, Iran's nuclear program will no longer be vulnerable to attack in a few months. He stated that the air strikes by the United States and Israel will create conditions for the regime change in Iran.

To this day, Trump has repeatedly given confusing information regarding the deadline for the attack on Iran. Initially, he indicated that the military operation might last for four weeks, but later he said there was no fixed schedule. Moreover, when Trump announced the military operation, he claimed that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, but he failed to provide any evidence.

The US Congress plans to present a bill this week seeking to limit Trump's power to wage war. However, the Republican Party, which holds the majority of seats, is expected to prevent the bill from being passed. Some members of Congress are preparing to use the proposal of the bill to reassert the role of the Congress. According to the US Constitution, only the Congress has the authority to declare war.

The US and Israel continue to carry out mutual air strikes against Iran. The US military: Over 1,200 Iranian targets have been hit.

The US, Israel, and Iran continue to attack each other. A reporter from Agence France-Presse reported that new explosions were heard and thick smoke was seen in the eastern and southeastern parts of Tehran on Tuesday. It is not yet clear which locations were attacked. Iranian media have reported the explosion incidents, but have not provided more details.

Iranian media also reported that Israel and the United States carried out an air strike on the building of Iran's supreme leader's election agency in Tehran on Tuesday. The media showed footage of the building being severely damaged in the air strike.

The US Central Command stated that within 48 hours of the attack on Iran, the US military had targeted over 1,250 targets, including command centers, ballistic missile facilities, warships and submarines, as well as anti-ship missile positions. On the US side, six US soldiers have been killed so far.

On Tuesday, Israel intercepted multiple missiles launched from Iran. These missiles were aimed at several locations in Israel, including Jerusalem.

Lebanon: Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah have resulted in hundreds of casualties

Qatar intercepted two ballistic missiles early Tuesday morning. Jordan said that since last Saturday, it has intercepted more than 10 missiles from Iran.

The Israeli army once again carried out an air strike on the targets of Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the Hezbollah command center and weapons depot in Beirut.

The Lebanese government said that the Israeli air strikes have resulted in at least 52 deaths and over 154 injuries.