The president of United States, Donald Trump, affirmed this Wednesday that the country is close to reaching its military goals in Iran and has anticipated an intensification of operations in the short term.
During a speech addressed to the nation, the president assured: "Thanks to the advances we have achieved, I can state tonight that we are on track to complete all of the United States' military objectives shortly, very shortly". In the same address, he also announced that U.S. forces will act forcefully in the "next two or three weeks," indicating that they will strike Tehran with "all" their "forces."
The intervention, of about 19 minutes in duration, marks his first direct appearance before the citizenry since the beginning of the offensive launched on February 28 alongside Israel against Iran. In that context, according to the disseminated information, key figures of the country have died, such as the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei; the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani; and ministers Aziz Nasirzadeh and Esmaeil Khatib, in addition to other high-ranking military and security officials.
In his speech, Trump reiterated his tough stance towards the Iranian government, stating that the United States intends to "return" Iran "to the Stone Age where they belong". Likewise, he called the possibility of the country possessing nuclear weapons an "intolerable threat", alluding to a "regime that has recently murdered 45,000 of its own citizens who were protesting in Iran".
However, the figures on victims in anti-government protests vary according to sources: Tehran places the number of dead at 3,117, while the organization Human Rights Activists News Agency raises the figure to more than 7,000.
Finally, the president underscored the global risk that, in his opinion, a nuclear-capable Iran would imply: "The most violent and ruthless regime in the world would have a free hand to carry out campaigns of terror, coercion, conquest, and mass murders under the cover of a nuclear shield", adding that he "never" will allow that to "happen".
