WASHINGTON – The war with Iran will end soon, and Washington would accept nothing less than “total victory,” US President Donald Trump said Wednesday.
“We fought back, and we seriously fought back, and we won,” he said in a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery.
“[It’s] just a question of when we want to end it,” he added. “We want to make sure we have a total victory, not a 93% victory. It’s going to be total.”
The US military campaign had inflicted damage on Iran that would take decades to repair, Trump said.
“It’ll take them 25 years to rebuild back what we have destroyed, and hopefully we won’t have to destroy any more of that country,” he said.
Trump pays tribute to 18 US soldiers who fell during Operation Epic Fury
Trump paid tribute to American service members involved in the conflict.
“We lost 18 beautiful souls,” he said. “But when this conflict is over, and it will be soon, the entire world will be a much safer and better place, a more peaceful place.”
Trump thanked US troops for their efforts to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, he said.
The military campaign must achieve its objectives before Washington declares the conflict over, Trump has said.
Hegseth receives applause after House blocks impeachment effort
During the ceremony, Trump introduced Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the audience of veterans and military personnel, drawing enthusiastic applause.
“The secretary of war, Pete Hegseth,” he said, prompting loud applause from the audience.
“He’s done a fantastic job, but he loves you, and he protects you,” he added. “He’s all about you.”
On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled House blocked an attempt by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) to advance eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth.
Massie’s accusations centered on the administration’s military operations against Iran, strikes in Yemen, attacks on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, the operation to capture former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, and Hegseth’s response to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.
The House vote was procedural and prevented the impeachment effort from advancing, rather than ruling on the substance of the allegations.
Hegseth rejected the accusations during a news conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday. The impeachment effort was a “political spectacle” and a “farce,” he said.
Hegseth defended the administration’s military operations, saying he stood behind all of them.
“I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow,” he said.
Trump has consistently defended Hegseth against calls to remove him, praising his leadership during the US military campaigns.
On Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump and first lady Melania Trump participated in the traditional wreath-laying ceremony.