President Donald Trump has suggested the US‑led assault on Iran could last around four weeks, as the first American deaths of the conflict are confirmed and regional tensions stay sky‑high.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Trump described the timeline for the operation as almost pre‑planned. “It’s always been a four‑week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so. It’s always been about a four‑week process so, as strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks, or less,” he said.
Trump spoke after the Pentagon confirmed the first US casualties of the war: three service members killed in fighting that began after Washington and Israel launched a joint operation, dubbed Epic Fury by the US and Roaring Lion by Israel, targeting Iran over the weekend.
“They’re great people,” he said of the dead troops in his Daily Mail interview. “And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuous, it could happen again.”
The joint campaign has since triggered retaliatory strikes that have hit US bases and cities in countries including Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Iraq.
Pressed on why he ordered the latest strikes, Trump told NBC News today the reason was “very simple”.
“They weren’t willing to stop their nuclear research,” he said, claiming Tehran would not agree to rule out developing a nuclear weapon. That sits awkwardly alongside recent comments from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who wrote on X that “Iran will under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon” while insisting the country would continue to pursue “peaceful nuclear technology”.
Trump has also repeatedly suggested the goal of the offensive includes taking out senior figures in Iran’s leadership. In a Fox News interview, he said “48 leaders are gone in one shot” and described the operation as “moving along rapidly”. He has floated a range of possible outcomes, telling NBC there are “many outcomes that are good”, including “decapitating them, getting rid of their whole group of killers and thugs”.
On the ground, Israel’s campaign is still intensifying. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s forces are “now striking the heart of Tehran with increasing strength, which will increase even more in the coming days”, in a video statement recorded on the roof of Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv. He also claimed responsibility for “eliminat[ing] the dictator [Ali] Khamenei and dozens of senior officials of the oppressive regime”, and said he had ordered the offensive to continue.
World leaders have responded with a mix of support, alarm and calls for calm. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government “support[s] the [United] States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran from continuing to threaten international peace [and] security”, while noting Canberra had previously linked attacks, including the 2024 firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue, to the Iranian regime. Albanese said Iran’s supreme leader “was responsible for orchestrating attacks on Australian soil” and that “his passing will not be mourned”, while also acknowledging “a very difficult time for the tens of thousands of Australians with loved ones in the Middle East”.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong echoed that language, saying Australia “stands with” Iranians facing “an oppressive regime” and accusing Tehran of decades of destabilising behaviour and “a brutal crackdown, killing thousands of its own citizens”. Other governments have been more cautious. Many European and Middle Eastern leaders have stressed diplomacy and urged against further escalation; Russia, Brazil and Pakistan have condemned the strikes, and Spain has criticised both the US and Iran.
The White House says Trump has spent the weekend on the phone with key regional players, including leaders of Israel, Bahrain and the UAE, as the operation continues. For now, the president is sticking to that rough four‑week window, but he has also left the door open to talks with Iran, saying “they want to talk” while arguing they “should have talked last week, not this week”.
Lead image: Getty
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