President Donald Trump has issued a warning to the world about what may be to come from the US Armed Forces.
Speaking to CNN, the US president insisted: “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
Conflicts in the Middle East have raged on after both the US and Iran fired missiles into enemy territory, with a UK military base in Cyprus being hit by a suspected drone strike yesterday (2 March).
Trump confirmed last week that the US and Israel had started 'major combat operations' against Iran, as conflict in the area has continued into its fourth day.
Advert
Sir Keir Starmer also confirmed that he has agreed to let the US use British bases to help protect UK nationals and allies in the area, though the British military is not directly involved in the strikes.
Days after Trump confirmed that Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking officials had been killed as a result of his strike, he has now claimed that this was just the start of his military campaign.
He told reporters last night that 'you will be finding out very soon' what will happen next in Iran, hours after two drones struck the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Speaking on Truth Social, the 79-year-old said: "The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better - As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons.
"Wars can be fought 'forever,' and very successfully, using just these supplies (which are better than other countries finest arms!). At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be.
"Much additional high grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries," he said, even managing to get a dig at the Joe Biden Administration in his messafe.
Speaking to CNN, he admitted that the war could last a month, explaining: “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.”
“We’re knocking the c--p out of them. I think it’s going very well,” Trump claimed.
The president admitted that the 'biggest surprise' was Iran's attacks on other Arab nations in the Middle East, which include strikes on the cities of Dubai and Doha.
He said: “We were surprised. We told them [the other Arab nations] ‘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.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that 'the hardest hits are yet to come from the US military', before briefing Congress about the ongoing Iran operation, which is known as 'Operation Epic Fury' by Trump.
That is, if the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine is to be believed.
He has called for 'more tactical aviation to be sent to the region after three days of strikes', adding: “We can reach you, we can sustain the fight and we will scale the fight.”
Six US soldiers have been killed so far, with the Trump Administration telling Americans to expect more deaths.
Iran strikes: what you need to know
Why is the United States and Israel attacking Iran?
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday (28 February) that the US and Israel have started 'major combat operations' in Iran after explosions were heard in multiple cities across the country.
Following a significant buildup of US forces in the region in recent weeks, Trump declared in a video posted on Truth Social that 'we are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground'.
Alongside hundreds of civilian casualties - including at least 153 people and children after a reported strike hit a school in Minab - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed dead following Israeli missile strikes around Tehran.
According to Trump, the aim of this weekend's attacks were to 'ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon'.
Meanwhile, in reference to Israel's retaliation strikes, the country's defence minister stated that the goal was to 'remove threats against the State of Israel'.
This has come after weeks of Trump threatening military action in Iran if the Middle Eastern country did not agree to a new deal over its nuclear programme. However, Iran has insisted repeatedly that its nuclear activities are 'entirely peaceful'.
What areas of the Middle East have been affected?
In retaliation to the US and Israeli strikes, Iran has launched strikes of its own on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, which include Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The BBC reports that at least nine people were killed in a strike on the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, while military and civilian targets - including an American naval base in Bahrain and Dubai's international airport in the United Arab Emirates - were also targeted across the weekend.
Several videos have been posted on social media from tourists and civilians that show the damage inflicted across these areas from missile and drone strikes, including many British citizens who are currently stranded in Dubai.
Is the UK going to war with Iran?
This is a question that has been asked repeatedly since the major combat operation began in Iran, due to the nation being an ally of both the United States and Israel.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that British planes were 'in the sky' in the Middle East as part of a defensive operation 'to protect our people, our interests and our allies', and condemned Iran's retaliatory attacks on 'partners across the region'.
While the UK did not participate in the strikes, Starmer released a joint statement with the leaders of France and Germany, calling for Iran to 'refrain from indiscriminate military strikes'.
"Iran can end this now," Starmer said. "They should refrain from further strikes, give up their weapons programme and cease the appalling violence and oppression of the Iranian people – who deserve the right to determine their own future."
However, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Yvette Cooper, has said it is 'simply not true' that the UK is being dragged into another Iraq-style conflict in the Middle East.
While addressing a reported Iranian drone strike on a RAF base in Cyprus, she told Sky News on Monday: "We took a very specific decision not to provide support for strikes that were taking place over this weekend. We have been clear that we believe there should be a diplomatic process, negotiations process."
Topics: Donald Trump, Iran, World News, Politics
Joshua Nair