The Trump administration is signaling a campaign against Iran that could run for weeks and intensify further, while Iranian leaders publicly project stamina and hint they can absorb continued strikes.
Trump Signals Bigger Wave Still Ahead
President Donald Trump told CNN on Monday that the heaviest phase still lies ahead. “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened,” he said.
Reuters also reported that Trump has described the operation as running on a roughly four-to-five-week timeline, while warning it “could go longer.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has tried to tamp down fears of an open-ended war, telling reporters the Iran campaign “will not be ‘endless war'” and portraying it as a focused, high-intensity effort aimed at specific capabilities rather than a long occupation.
U.S. Warnings Reflect Sustained Regional Risk
Still, Washington’s own alerts reflect expectations of sustained danger. The State Department on Monday urged Americans to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, with consular official Mora Namdar advising U.S. citizens to depart using commercial travel “due to safety risks.”
Iranian Leaders Emphasize Endurance And Defiance
Iran’s public posture points the other way, leaning heavily on resilience. After U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Reuters reported that a temporary leadership council took over his duties.
President Masoud Pezeshkian took to X on Monday to say, “I stand with my grieving nation. Iran will not remain silent or yield to these crimes,” condemning U.S.-Israel strikes on Tehran hospitals, framing them as violations of humanitarian law.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately wrote on X, “We’ve had two decades to study defeats of the U.S. military to our immediate east and west,” adding, “Bombings in our capital have no impact on our ability to conduct war.”
Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official said, “Iran, unlike the United States, has prepared itself for a long war.”
Photo Courtesy: A.PAES on Shutterstock.com
Recent Comments