US President Donald Trump announced that military operations against Iran will continue. Trump claimed that it will take Tehran 20 to 25 years to recover from the damage inflicted so far.
During a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House, Trump told reporters, "If we withdrew right now, it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild. And we're not done yet... we're not withdrawing right now."
The US and Iran are in a full-scale military conflict that has intensified after the collapse of the short-lived June ceasefire. The fighting has spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz, turning into a broader regional war involving Gulf countries, proxy groups, and growing economic disruption.
The US military, under the coordination of US Central Command (CENTCOM), carried out airstrikes inside Iran for the tenth consecutive night. The latest operations targeted command centers, radar systems, air defense batteries, and drone launch sites in Shiraz, Chabahar, and Bandar Abbas.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded with drones and missiles against US assets in the region. Recent attacks struck power grids and desalination plants in Kuwait, accommodation facilities at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, and military infrastructure in Jordan.
The fighting has also caused casualties among US troops. According to US officials, 17 American soldiers have been killed in the large-scale conflict that began on February 28. Trump warned that Tehran would pay 'many times over' for every US soldier killed, and ordered the deployment of additional warplanes to West Asia.
The Pentagon also reported that nearly 100 US troops have been wounded in connection with the conflict since July 7, most of them diagnosed with mild concussions.
