US President Donald Trump said that Iran's military capabilities have been severely degraded and insisted the conflict would not become an "endless war", arguing that the United States is close to either securing a nuclear agreement with Tehran or achieving its objectives through military means.
In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, Trump said Iran retains only a fraction of its missile arsenal and maintained that the threat posed by the country has been significantly reduced after months of US military action. "I would say, percentage-wise, maybe 21, 22 per cent of their missiles.
It's a lot of missiles. But it's not what it was when we first attacked," Trump said when asked about Iran's remaining military capability. Pressed on whether the United States risks becoming trapped in another prolonged Middle East conflict, Trump rejected the comparison and said the campaign against Iran bears little resemblance to previous US wars in the region.
"I don't like these endless wars. This is not an endless war," he said. The interview came as the conflict reached its 100-day mark, with questions mounting over the administration's long-term strategy and prospects for a negotiated settlement. Trump argued that US military operations had already achieved major objectives.
"We have totally destroyed their military," he said, adding that most of Iran's drone factories, launch sites and missile production facilities had been knocked out. The President also claimed the United States had effectively eliminated Iran's ability to quickly rebuild its military infrastructure.
"It'll take them 15 or 20 years to rebuild back," Trump said. "But I'm not going to give them even that chance." Throughout the interview, Trump repeatedly returned to what he described as the central objective of the campaign: preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
"We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he said. "And we won't do it." Asked what would trigger renewed military action if negotiations fail, Trump said his "red line" would be reaching the conclusion that a deal was either impossible or moving too slowly.
"My red line would be if I think I wasn't going to make a deal, or if I wasn't going to make a deal fast enough," he said. The President expressed confidence that negotiations were nearing a conclusion. "I think we're very close," Trump said, while adding that if diplomacy failed, "we'll finish it out militarily."
Trump also dismissed suggestions that the conflict contradicted his long-standing campaign promise to avoid new wars. "I didn't promise anything. I don't like these endless wars," he said, arguing that the operation was necessary because Iran was moving towards acquiring a nuclear weapon.
When asked what made him confident the conflict would not become a quagmire, Trump responded: "We're not going to be there." He added that the United States was "almost finished" and expected either a "strong deal" or a decisive conclusion to the confrontation.