President Donald Trump informed NCS in a nine-minute telephone interview Monday morning that the US army is “knocking the crap” out of Iran – however the “big wave” is yet to come.
“We’re knocking the crap out of them,” Trump informed NCS’s Jake Tapper. “I think it’s going very well. It’s very powerful. We’ve got the greatest military in the world and we’re using it.”
Trump addressed a variety of subjects in the interview, together with the anticipated size of the battle, his shock at Iran’s widespread retaliation and the nation’s anticipated succession plan.
On how lengthy the war may final, the president mentioned, “I don’t want to see it go on too long. I always thought it would be four weeks. And we’re a little ahead of schedule.”
Asked if the US is doing extra past the army assault to assist the Iranian individuals regain management of their nation from the regime, Trump mentioned, “Yes.”
“We are indeed. But right now we want everyone staying inside. It’s not safe out there.”
And it’s about to get even much less protected, the president mentioned.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
So far, the president mentioned, “the biggest surprise” has been Iran’s assaults in opposition to Arab nations in the area: Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates
“We were surprised,” Trump mentioned. “We told them, ‘We’ve got this,’ and now they want to fight. And they’re aggressively fighting. They were going to be very little involved and now they insist on being involved.”
Of the Arab leaders, the president informed NCS, “I know these people. They’re tough and smart.”
The Iranians, he mentioned, “shot into a hotel, they shot into an apartment house. It just made them angry. They love us, but they were watching. There was no reason for them to be involved.”
Of Iran’s assaults on them, he mentioned “that was probably the biggest surprise.”
Trump pointed to the Iranian nuclear menace as having been a serious challenge in the area for a while.
“You have to understand, they were living under that dark cloud for years. That’s why you could never have peace,” he mentioned.
On who may emerge to lead Iran, Trump mentioned, “We don’t know who the leadership is. We don’t know who they’ll pick. Maybe they’ll get lucky and get someone who knows what they’re doing.”
The Iranians, he mentioned, misplaced “a lot in terms of leadership” due to the preliminary strikes.
“Forty-nine people,” Trump mentioned. “It was an amazing strike.”
“They got a little bit arrogant” by assembly all in one place, he added. “They thought they were undetectable. They weren’t undetectable. We were shocked by it.”
Trump mentioned it was unclear who was now main the nation.
“They don’t even know who’s leading them now,” Trump mentioned. “We went down 49” Iranian leaders.
“Those were the leaders, and some of them were being considered,” Trump mentioned. But with greater than 4 dozen killed, “we don’t know who’s leading the country now. They don’t know who’s leading. It’s a little like the unemployment line.”
The president mentioned that his group tried to negotiate with the Iranians however “we couldn’t make a deal with these people.” Every new supply, he mentioned, was met with a walk-back of earlier provides.
The Iranians wouldn’t agree to finish their enrichment of uranium, Trump mentioned.
“They had all that enriched stuff. They looked at redoing it there, but it was in such bad shape, the mountain had basically collapsed,” Trump mentioned.
Trump mentioned of his army motion: “This is the way” to deal with Iran.
“We don’t have to worry about agreements.” He pointed to the nation’s lengthy historical past of inflicting destruction in the area after the 1979 revolution.
“You go back 37 years, really 47 years, close to 50, look at what’s happened and all the death. People in the military walking around with no legs, walking around with no arms, their faces shattered,” he mentioned.
Trump mentioned he requested his group for an inventory of all the Iranian or Iranian-backed assaults in opposition to the US and US allies and pursuits.
“Over the last 47 years. I said, ‘give me all of the attacks.’ If I told you all of them I’d still be talking,” he mentioned.
The newest army operation is a part of a long-term marketing campaign to eradicate the Iranian menace, Trump mentioned. “We took out Soleimani last time,” referring to the January 3, 2020, US drone strike in opposition to Iranian main common Qasem Soleimani. “He was an unbelievably violent, vicious general.”
The strike in opposition to Soleimani “was a big move,” the president mentioned. “If that didn’t happen, then you might not have Israel today. Israel might not exist.”
Then “we had Midnight Hammer – very important,” the president mentioned, referring to the June 2025 US strikes on Iranian nuclear amenities. “They were a month away from having a nuclear weapon.”
Criticizing President Barack Obama’s nuclear weapons deal, the president mentioned “it was the Iran nuclear deal because it gave all the power to Iran. They would have had a nuclear weapon three or four years ago. They would have used it against Israel. They maybe would have used it against us.”
“That deal was so bad,” Trump mentioned, “it was a pathway to a bomb.”
In the newest talks, the Iranians “weren’t willing to give us what we asked for. They should have done it.”
“So it’s going good,” Trump mentioned, earlier than getting off the telephone.