Trump declares US 'won' war with Iran but vows to finish the job

US President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that the United States has "won" the war with Iran but will continue military operations until the job is finished, offering a mixed message on the status of the 13-day-old conflict. "We're not leaving until that job is finished. And it's going to be very fast. Going to be very fast," Trump said at an event in Kentucky.

Claiming victory

"We've won. Let me tell you, we've won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won the bet—In the first hour, it was over," Trump said, asserting the operation's success while cautioning against premature declarations. He reiterated that the US conducted "an excursion," explaining: "You know what an excursion means? We had to take a little trip to get rid of some evil, very evil people. It should have been done for 47 years. They've been killing our people."

Scope of destruction

Trump claimed US forces "virtually destroyed Iran, tough country," and "knocked out" 58 Iranian naval ships. He portrayed Iran as a major threat, stating: "They're very strong, you know. They're going to try and take over the whole Middle East. They're going to knock out Israel. They don't know what the hell hit them, right? They don't know they got hit by the American military...They didn't expect anything like this."

Continuing operations

Despite the victory declarations, Trump emphasized the need to complete the mission: "We don't want to leave early do we? We got to finish the job. Over the past 11 days, our military has virtually destroyed Iran." His remarks suggest the campaign may continue despite assertions of success, as the conflict shows no signs of abating with Iranian retaliatory strikes continuing and Gulf states still facing attacks.

Conflict context

Regional tensions have escalated since Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran that has killed more than 1,300 people, according to Iranian authorities, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, with analysts estimating more than 3,000 projectiles launched. Trump's comments come as the war enters its second week with no end in sight.