Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Mar 12: Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that the United States had effectively won the ongoing war with Iran, asserting that the outcome was decided within hours of the opening strikes, though he added that American forces would continue operations until the mission is fully completed.

Speaking at a rally in Hebron, Kentucky, Trump told supporters that the US military had already secured victory in the conflict but stressed that Washington would not withdraw prematurely.

“You never like to say too early you won. We won,” Trump said. “In the first hour it was over.”

The president credited US forces with crippling Iran’s naval capability during the campaign. According to Trump, American strikes destroyed dozens of Iranian naval assets. “We knocked out 58 Iranian naval ships,” he said, describing it as a decisive blow to Tehran’s military strength.

Trump also spoke about the military campaign’s name, telling supporters the operation had been titled “Operation Epic Fury.” The president joked that he initially disliked several proposed names before selecting the final one.

“They gave me like 20 names, and I’m falling asleep. I didn’t like any of them. Then I saw ‘Epic Fury.’ I said, ‘I like that name,’” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

The war involving the United States, Israel and Iran has dominated developments in the Middle East over the past two weeks. The conflict began with large-scale strikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure and its nuclear programme.

Despite claiming the US had already achieved a decisive advantage, Trump said American forces would remain engaged until their objectives were fully met.

“We don’t want to leave early, do we? We’ve got to finish the job,” he said.

Trump has also suggested that the campaign caused extensive damage to Iran’s military capabilities, at one point saying there was “practically nothing left to target.”

In a separate interview with WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, Trump said his administration could tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease pressure on energy prices caused by the conflict.

“We’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down. I filled it up once and I’ll fill it up again,” he said, predicting that oil prices would stabilise soon despite current volatility in global markets.

Earlier, while speaking to reporters during a stop in Ohio, Trump also commented on Iran’s leadership, claiming US strikes had severely weakened Tehran’s command structure.

“We knocked out twice their leadership,” he said, adding that a new leadership group was emerging in Iran. “Now they have a new group coming up. Let’s see what happens to them.”

The conflict has heightened tensions across the region and triggered fluctuations in global oil markets, even as the White House signals confidence that the military campaign is approaching its final phase.