Donald Trump said he took out Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ‘before he got me’ on Sunday night as Israeli forces struck targets across Iran in ramped up attacks in southern Lebanon.
Trump commented on the killing of Khamenei following a military campaign that took out Iran’s top leadership and retaliatory strikes that killed three US service members.
‘I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well I got him first,’ Trump told ABC News, in reference to what American intelligence believes was an attempt to kill Trump in 2024.
The president told The Daily Mail on Sunday about the next steps in the US war with Iran, emphasizing that the fighting could go on for the next four weeks.
‘It’s always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so. It’s always been about a four-week process so – as strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks – or less,’ the president explained.
More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that took out Khamenei and other senior leaders, the Iranian regime has said.
The Israeli military told citizens in southern Lebanon to evacuate as they launched strikes against Hezbollah targets.
Trump revealed that the US and Israel‘s attacks have taken out so many Iranian leaders that the succession line may lead to a surprise new leader.
Donald Trump suggested Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death was a matter of having ‘got him before he got me’ as Israel expanded its attacks in both Iran and Lebanon
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Dahiyeh in the southern suburb of Beirut. Israel urged people in nearly 50 villages in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of retaliatory strikes after Hezbollah fired into Israel
‘The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates,’ Trump told ABC.
‘It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead.’
The Ayatollah’s death was confirmed on Saturday night.
Trump reiterated to ABC that the war would be a ‘four or five week deal’ but added that ‘it could be shorter and was prepared to go longer.’
Israel ramped up its attacks on Iran and in Lebanon as the strikes continued into Monday.
At the same time, Iran has reportedly struck in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates Monday morning, The New York Times reported.
Iran has said they are only targeting US military bases and assets, which US Central Command called a ‘lie’ earlier Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was ‘striking the heart of Tehran with increasing strength, which will increase even more in the coming days.’
Mourners attend a memorial rally held by supporters of Yemen’s Huthis a day after Iran’s supreme leader was assassinated
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese area of al-Qatrani on Saturday
The Israeli military urged people in nearly 50 villages in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of retaliatory strikes after Hezbollah fired into Israel.
The strikes, which targeted Hezbollah positions, were confirmed by Fox News.
‘The IDF will operate against Hezbollah’s decision to join the campaign, and will not enable the organization to constitute a threat to the State of Israel and harm the civilians of northern Israel,’ Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement.
‘The Hezbollah terrorist organization brings ruin to the State of Lebanon, and the IDF will forcefully respond to such actions.’
The IDF added that they’re prepared for an ‘all-fronts’ conflict and have readied themselves for the possibility of Hezbollah striking.
The Hezbollah attack came in response to the US-Israeli airstrike campaign that killed Khamenei.
The Israeli military urged civilians to evacuate their homes and move at least 1,000 meters away from villages to open areas.
Roads in southern Lebanon and leading out of Beirut’s southern suburbs were gridlocked early Monday with people fleeing after Israel launched strikes in retaliation for missiles launched across the border by Hezbollah.
Shiite Muslims mourn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The scenes were reminiscent of September 2024, when a monthslong low-level conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated into a full-fledged war.
More than one million people were displaced in Lebanon at the time.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had carried out a ‘targeted attack’ on senior members of Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon.
In a statement on Monday, President Joseph Aoun said Hezbollah’s rocket launches from Lebanon ‘target all the efforts and endeavors exerted by the Lebanese state to keep Lebanon away from the dangerous military confrontations taking place in the region.’
He added that while Israeli strikes on Lebanon are condemned, ‘persisting in using Lebanon once again as a platform for proxy wars in which we have no involvement will expose our country to risks once more.’
The president addressed the American people again via a Truth Social video later Sunday afternoon.
He vowed to ‘avenge’ the dead troops, issued a new ultimatum to the enemy and implored America to back his battle for ‘freedom’ in his second address to the nation in 48 hours.
‘America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against basically, civilization,’ Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Sunday after the deaths of three service personnel in Kuwait.
A cyclist rides past as black plume of smoke is seen rising from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai
Trump told Iran’s leaders to give up the fight which has exploded across the Middle East, with missiles raining down on Israel, Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, and on American military bases in the region.
‘These intolerable threats will not continue any longer. I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death,’ the president said.
He urged the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the Islamic regime, saying: ‘Be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country.’
Trump appealed to Americans to support the war amid growing discontent among his Republican allies and disastrous polling showing most Americans oppose the war ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.
‘We’re undertaking this massive operation not merely to ensure security for our own time and place, but for our children and their children, just as our ancestors have done for us many, many years ago,’ the president said.
‘This is the duty and the burden of a free people. These actions are right and they are necessary to ensure that Americans will never have to face a radical, bloodthirsty terrorist regime armed with nuclear weapons.’
Trump called the three service members ‘true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.’
He added: ‘Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That´s the way it is. Likely be more.’
Military insiders said Trump was cautioned that an extensive, resource-draining war in Iran could put US targets at risk if Iranian missile and drone capabilities are not destroyed quickly. Among the most vital pieces of weaponry in the US arsenal is the Thaad antimissile system
Military insiders said Trump was cautioned that an extensive, resource-draining war in Iran could put US targets at risk if Iranian missile and drone capabilities are not destroyed quickly, per the Wall Street Journal.
The outlet cited current and former military officials who said the US missile stockpile – including air defense interceptors and Tomahawk cruise missiles – has been eaten away by conflicts with Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.
Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center think tank who used to teach at the Air Command and Staff College, told the Wall Street Journal that with more strikes and interceptions likely, the size of the US stockpile may become a factor.
‘One of the challenges is you can deplete these really quickly,’ Grieco said. ‘We’re using them faster than we can replace them.’
Among the most vital pieces of weaponry in the US arsenal is the Thaad antimissile system, which are stationed across the globe to monitor and track potential incoming fire.
Military insiders said keeping stocks of the Thaad’s weaponry high is vital, with the systems also set up outside of the Middle East such as in South Korea and Guam, to deter North Korea and China.
Replacing the military’s stocks of Patriot and Standard Missile (SM) weapons has also taken priority amid the heightened tensions in the Middle East, with only the SM-3 missiles able to intercept ballistic missiles above the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Journal reported that generals are concerned about the US stockpiles beyond just air-defense interceptors, as the US is also quickly using its supplies of Tomahawk cruise missiles and aircraft-launched weapons.
Iran has raised its so-called ‘Red Flag of Revenge’ and vowed retaliation, while its Revolutionary Guards claimed to have targeted a US aircraft carrier – a claim US Central Command said was false.
The US and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday, dropping massive bombs on the country’s ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign after the killing Khamenei.
Blasts rattled windows across the country and sent plumes of smoke high into the sky above the capital city of Tehran.
The president told The Daily Mail he had spoken Sunday with the leaders of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and a ‘couple of others.’
Responding to the news that Saudi Arabia could launch attacks on Iran after being initially targeted, the president said, ‘they’re fighting, they’re fighting too.’
Trump is expected back in Washington, DC later Sunday.
He said his people had been in touch with the families of the deceased service members.
‘And I’ll be meeting with their families at the appropriate time,’ he said.
Trump said he’d ‘maybe’ travel out to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the solemn dignified transfer of the troops’ remains or invite the families to the White House.
He also remained hopeful that a democracy could grow in Iran after the US and Israeli strikes end.
‘I do,’ he answered. ‘It’ll be very interesting to watch, but a lot of things could happen and a lot of very positive things could happen.’
