United States President, Donald Trump, on Saturday announced the launch of what he described as “major combat operations” against Iran, declaring that the objective is to dismantle the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities and prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
In a nationally televised address delivered shortly after the United States and Israel began coordinated strikes, Trump said the campaign would target Iran’s navy, missile infrastructure and what he called imminent threats posed by the regime.
“A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran,” Trump said. “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
He accused Tehran of decades of hostility toward Washington, referencing the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis and subsequent attacks on American forces and interests abroad.
“For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder,” he said. “It’s been mass terror. And we’re not going to put up with it any longer.”
Trump specifically cited the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and alleged Iranian involvement in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, as well as attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and against American naval and commercial vessels in the Middle East.
He also blamed Iran for backing militant groups across the region, including Hamas, which he said carried out the October 7 attacks on Israel.
“Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” Trump said, adding that Tehran’s support for proxy forces from Lebanon to Yemen has “soaked the earth with blood and guts.”
The U.S. president reiterated his long-standing position that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons, saying previous military action had already targeted key nuclear facilities.
“That is why in Operation Midnight Hammer last June, we obliterated the regime’s nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan,” he stated. “We warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
According to Trump, Iran rejected multiple diplomatic overtures and instead sought to rebuild its nuclear programme and expand long-range missile capabilities.
“For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests,” he said. “We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated. We are going to annihilate their navy.”
Trump acknowledged the potential for American casualties but described the mission as necessary for long-term security.
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future. And it is a noble mission,” he said.
In a direct appeal to members of Iran’s security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump urged them to surrender.
“You must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity. Or, in the alternative, face certain death,” he warned. “So lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death.”
He also addressed the Iranian public, urging them to remain indoors during the bombardment and to seize what he described as a historic opportunity for political change.
“To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said. “Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.”
He concluded by expressing confidence in the U.S. military and framing the operation as a defining moment.
“This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass,” Trump said. “May God bless the brave men and women of America’s armed forces. May God bless the United States of America.”
