US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (1st) that the US is prepared to intensify its military response against Iran in the “next two to three weeks”.
“We’re going to hit them extremely hard in the next two to three weeks. We’re going to take them back to the Stone Age where they belong,” Trump said during a prime-time address at the White House.
“In the meantime, discussions are ongoing,” the president continued.
“Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but regime change occurred because of the death of all its original leaders. They are all dead.”
This is not the first time that Trump has used the expression “back to the Stone Age” in relation to Iran.
Earlier, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Iran had asked the United States for a ceasefire and that he would only consider the request after Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz. By then, he wrote, “we are annihilating Iran” and “back to the Stone Age!!!”
The president’s statement comes a day after he suggested the US could end its war with Iran in two or three weeks.
What is happening in the Middle East?
The United States and Israel are at war with Iran. The conflict began on February 28, when a coordinated attack between the two countries in Tehran.
Several high-ranking officials of the Iranian regime were also killed. Furthermore, the US claims to have , as well as air defense systems, planes and other military targets.
In retaliation, the ayatollahs’ regime launched attacks on the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Oman. Iranian officials say they are targeting only U.S. and Israeli interests in those nations.
More than 1,750 civilians have died in Iran since the start of the war, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The White House, in turn, recorded at least 13 deaths of American soldiers in direct relation to the Iranian attacks.
The conflict also arises. Hezbollah, an armed group supported by Iran, in retaliation for the death of Ali Khamenei. As a result, Israel has carried out aerial offensives against what it says are Hezbollah targets in the neighboring country. Hundreds of people have died on Lebanese territory since then.
With the death of much of its leadership, an Iranian council elected a new supreme leader: . Experts point out that he represents .
Donald Trump showed dissatisfaction with this choice, the . He had said that he would need to be involved in the process and said that Mojtaba would be “unacceptable” to Iran’s leadership.
