Ohio [US], March 12 : President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) described the ongoing US military action against Iran as an excursion that would keep his country out of war, implying that the strikes were intended to prevent a broader conflict.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to the Thermo Fisher Scientific facility in Cincinnati, Trump said the operation was aimed at neutralising Iran's missile and drone capabilities.
"Well, it's both. It's both. It's an excursion that will keep us out of a war, and the war is going to be - for them, it's a war; for us, it's turned out to be easier than we thought," he said.
Trump claimed US forces had moved quickly to limit Iran's ability to launch attacks. "But think of it, they had thousands of missiles, 7-8 thousand missiles. We got many of them before they got to launch," he said.
The US president also said American forces were targeting Iranian drone manufacturing facilities and maritime assets linked to potential mining assets.
"They have drones all over the place. We got many now. We're knocking out the drone plants, as you know, going fast," he said, adding that US forces had struck multiple Iranian mine-laying vessels.
"They started talking about mines, so we hit 28 mine ships as of this moment, 28," Trump said.
He added that the US had used the same weapon systems previously deployed in maritime operations against drug trafficking networks.
"Using the same weapon, the exact same weapon that we used against the drug dealers in the water. We have, as an example, we had tremendous drugs pouring in through the waters, through the sea, and now we have almost none. It's down 97 per cent through water. Now we'll do it through land. Land is easier than water," Trump said, claiming that earlier maritime enforcement had reduced drug smuggling via sea routes by about 97 per cent.
Earlier, speaking to reporters before departing for Ohio and Kentucky, Trump praised the strength of the US armed forces, saying Washington possesses unmatched military capabilities. "We have the greatest military in the world, by far. Nobody's close," he said.
The US president also claimed that American strikes had significantly weakened Iran's military infrastructure, including its naval and air capabilities.
"Right now, they've lost their navy, they've lost their air force. They have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar. Their leaders are gone," he said.
Trump further asserted that the US forces had destroyed dozens of Iranian mine-laying vessels. "We took out just about all of their mine ships in one night. We're upto number 60. I didn't realise they had that big a navy. I would say it was big and ineffective. But every one of their ships, just about all of their navy is gone, at the bottom of the sea, " he said.
He added, "Well, we've knocked out their navy, we've knocked out their air force. We've taken out 60 mine boats, 59 mine boats. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. We have the greatest military in the world, by far, not even close. They've inflicted 47 years' worth of damage to the world."
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