JUST IN: Trump Threatens to “Take Over the Whole Thing” After Iran Strikes Kill Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
President Trump broke his silence following the Iran strikes on Saturday morning, telling Axios of potential “off-ramps” in the conflict.
“I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: ‘See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding [your nuclear and missile programs],” Trump told Axios in a phone interview from Mar-a-Lago.
This is the first time Trump commented on the strikes since releasing a statement early on Saturday morning.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump announced earlier that American forces are engaged in what he described as a “massive and ongoing operation” aimed at neutralizing the Iranian regime’s ability to threaten US troops, American allies, and the homeland itself.
Trump pointed to the 1979 US Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran, where dozens of Americans were held captive for 444 days, the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing that killed 241 US military personnel, Iranian-backed militias responsible for killing and maiming hundreds of American troops in Iraq, and continued proxy attacks against US forces and commercial vessels in Middle Eastern shipping lanes.
He further said that after Operation Midnight Hammer last June, where US forces bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran, “we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons, and we repeatedly sought to make a deal.”
“We tried. They wanted to do it—they didn’t,” Trump said. “They wanted to do it—again—they didn’t want to do it.”
In closing his statement, Trump encouraged the Iranian people to seize control of their government.
“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” Trump said to the people of Iran.
“This will probably be your only chance for generations. For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight.”
Israel further confirmed it had launched a pre-emptive strike on Iranian territory, joined by a broader US military offensive targeting military and nuclear sites across Tehran and other major cities, including areas near the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei has since been confirmed dead by Israeli officials.
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