President Trump announced Friday that the United States is "getting very close to meeting our objectives" against Iran and that his administration is considering winding down Operation Epic Fury, the three-week military campaign that has dismantled the Iranian regime's military capabilities.
While aboard Air Force One on Friday evening, President Donald Trump sent out a post on Truth Social indicating that his administration is considering "winding down" the war operation in Iran. The president's message comes as the war in Iran reaches the end of its third week.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reinforced the message, noting the administration is on track:
"The President and the Pentagon predicted it would take approximately 4-6 weeks to achieve this mission. Tomorrow marks week 3 — and the U.S. Armed Forces are doing an exceptional job."
Breitbart reports how Trump detailed the objectives that have been met in Iran: "(1) Completely degrading Iranian Missile Capability, Launchers, and everything else pertaining to them. (2) Destroying Iran's Defense Industrial Base. (3) Eliminating their Navy and Air Force, including Anti Aircraft Weaponry. (4) Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability, and always being in a position where the U.S.A. can quickly and powerfully react to such a situation, should it take place."
The fifth objective: protecting Middle Eastern allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait. This is not a vague aspiration. It is a checklist, and U.S. and Israeli forces have been checking boxes.
The Iranian Air Force is described as "no more," its fleet "built for 1996; destroyed in 2026." The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf. The U.S. military said it has been able to degrade Iran's ability to target ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump addressed the Strait of Hormuz directly, signaling a shift in how the waterway should be defended going forward:
"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!"
The president made clear that the United States would help if asked, but once Iran's threat is eradicated, regional nations should manage their own security. He called it "an easy Military Operation for them." This is burden-sharing in its clearest form: America removes the existential threat, and the nations that benefit from Hormuz traffic take responsibility for maintaining order.
Trump also called NATO allies "cowards" for not helping the US secure the Strait of Hormuz. The frustration is warranted. European economies depend on Middle Eastern oil far more than America does. Yet the heavy lifting, as usual, falls to the United States.
In a bold and necessary exercise of American strength, President Trump authorized Operation Epic Fury — a precise, overwhelming military campaign to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime, destroy its ballistic missile arsenal, degrade its proxy terror networks, and cripple its naval forces.
This operation, executed in partnership with regional allies, follows exhaustive diplomatic efforts and comes after 47 years of Iranian aggression — including attacks on U.S. citizens, sponsorship of global terrorism, and brutal oppression of its own people.
Leavitt summarized the progress in stark terms:
"Day by day, the Iranian Regime is being crippled, and their ability to threaten the United States and our allies is being significantly weakened."
U.S. strikes began February 28. According to the timeline Trump and his advisers have offered publicly, the four-week mark — which arrives next Saturday — opens the window for the planned ending point to the military campaign.
Republican support for the operation has been emphatic. Senator Tom Cotton noted on State of the Union that he has not heard "a single Arkansan express anything but unqualified support for President Trump and for his decision to finally put America's foot down and end 47 years of terror and revolutionary violence by the Islamic Republic."
Senator Lindsey Graham was more direct:
"The mothership of terrorism is sinking. The captain is dead. The largest state sponsor of terrorism — Iran — is close to collapsing."
Senator Ted Cruz called the operation "the single most important decision of his presidency," arguing that "Iran no longer being led by a theocratic, murderous dictator — that makes America much, much safer."
Meanwhile, Representative Brian Mast warned that "most Congressional Democrats… are going to line up next week and say, 'We don't want the President to have any authority to defend the United States of America against the imminent threat of Iran.'" The predictability is almost comforting at this point. When a president acts decisively to protect American interests and allies, the left reflexively opposes.
When asked about potential additional deployments Friday evening, Trump declined to give details:
"But as far as troops are concerned, I can't tell you what we're doing."
This is the appropriate posture. Operational security matters. The media's obsession with extracting military details in real-time serves no one except America's enemies.
The hope among many conservatives is that the regime in Iran will be so crippled that the Persian people can finally overthrow the tyrants and make Iran a democracy. The American military cannot do everything we might wish for the people of Iran immediately. But it can remove the regime's capacity to threaten its neighbors and America.
That is what Operation Epic Fury has done in three weeks. The mission was clear. The execution was precise. And the world is watching a terrorist regime collapse in real-time.
Leavitt's closing statement captured the administration's posture:
"As always, President Trump is laser focused on one thing: total and complete VICTORY."
That is not spin. It is the mindset that ended 47 years of Iranian aggression in a matter of weeks.
