Trump says US, Israel shattered Iranian military capabilities, presses leaders to surrender: 'Cry uncle'
President Donald Trump on Saturday said that U.S. and Israeli forces have "wiped out" Iran’s navy, air force and much of its missile capability in just one week of war, declaring the regime’s military "almost non-existent" as he continues to press Tehran to surrender for "a much safer world."
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the president said the sweeping offensive has exceeded expectations, noting Iran's navy "is now at the bottom of the sea."
"We've wiped out their Navy — 44 ships. We've wiped out their air force — every plane. We've wiped out most of their missiles — you see their missiles aren't coming much anymore," Trump said.
He added military strikes have hit missile manufacturing areas "very hard," and the country's drone capacity is "way down."
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The president said he is seeking an "unconditional surrender" from Iran, explaining the term means "they cry uncle, or when they can't fight any longer."
"Or there's nobody around to cry uncle to, because we wiped out their leadership numerous times already," he continued. "It's if they surrender, or if there is nobody around to surrender, but they're rendered useless in terms of military [capabilities]."
Discussing atrocities allegedly carried out by the regime, Trump said the war was 47 years coming and "no president had the guts to do it."
"They are about the most evil people ever on Earth," he said. "They cut babies' heads off. They chop women in half. Take a look at October 7th, take a look at what they've done over the last 47 years. … When this ends, we're going to have a much safer world."
Despite concerns about rising gas prices on the home front, Trump said he is not worried.
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"They'll come down very fast, and we will have gotten rid of a major, major cancer on the face of the earth," the president said. "We'll have taken out a cancer. … What we're doing is a great thing, not only for our country, not only for Israel, not only for the Middle East, but for the world."
It is unclear if ground troops will be sent to secure the enriched uranium at Iranian nuclear sites targeted by joint forces, though the president described the attacks as "a total obliteration."
"They haven't been able to get to it, and at some point, maybe we will be," he said. "It would be a great thing, but right now, we're just decimating them. We haven't gone after it, but [it's] something we could do later."
Trump concluded by calling the war "a minor excursion" that in the end will make the world a safer place.
"When this ends, we're going to have a much safer world, you know, so, you know, this is a minor excursion," he said. "And we will have gotten rid of a lot of sick and demented people, the leadership. So we got rid of one leadership. We got rid of the second level of leadership. Now they're on that third or fourth level of leadership. And they have leaders right now that nobody even knows who they are."