Trump says Iran’s military ‘decimated,’ but still not declaring war over
U.S.-Israeli strikes continued to bombard the Iranian capital as fears of a global energy crisis rose Monday. President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday night that even though Iran’s military has been “decimated” in the war, he was “still not declaring it over.”
CENTCOM commander shows before-and-after photos of Iranian sites
U.S. Central Command for the first time on Monday shared before-and-after photos of multiple Iranian sites U.S. forces struck to dismantle the regime’s defense industrial base.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of the U.S. Central Command, said in a video update on Operation Epic Fury that the photos show “what's left of” sites that Iran used to manufacture military weapons.
Cooper showed photos of a naval drone storage facility located near the Strait of Hormuz on March 1, an attack drone production factory in Tehran on March 5 and the Yazd Military Depot last month.
After showing each photo, he then showed a photo of each location decimated following U.S. strikes.
Cooper said the eight buildings destroyed at the Yazd Military Depot were part of the IRGC's missile command infrastructure and were used to produce light and heavy weight torpedoes.
“U.S. and partner strikes are doing exactly what they are intended to do, deliver on very clear military objectives to eliminate Iran's ability to project power against Americans and against its neighbors,” Cooper said.
Cooper also said the U.S. is “zeroed in on dismantling” Iran’s threat to commerce in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Through a combination of air, land, and maritime capabilities, we have successfully destroyed over 100 Iranian naval vessels, and we aren’t done,” the commander said. “We will continue to rapidly deplete Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz.”
Staffer on Iranian women's soccer team was planted to convince players to return to Iran: activists
A logistics manager part of the Iranian women’s soccer team who initially defected with six players and applied for asylum in Australia before changing her mind was actually planted by the regime to convince players to go back to Iran, activists claim.
Australian Councillor and Iranian Activist Tina Kordrostami said she and other activists believe the staffer was a plant, blasting the Australian government for not vetting the delegation traveling with the soccer team in a statement to Fox News National Correspondent Bryan Llenas.
"The government should have vetted the delegation, they should have informed and educated the officers and personnel, they should have stepped in sooner with intent, they should have not isolated the girls and used them as a photo opportunity," Kordrostami said.
She told Llenas that players were surprised that the woman — reportedly known as Fleur — was seeking asylum because she has close ties with the regime, and they knew how much she cared for Iran. The woman is an employee of the Iranian Football Federation headed up by a former commander of the IRGC.
Five players initially claimed asylum before the staff member and a sixth player joined them. The the staff member and four players, including the captain, later withdrew their asylum claims are now heading back to Iran.
Just two players, Atefeh and Fatehmeh, remain in Australia. They were seen practicing with the Brisbane Roar FC Soccer team on Monday.
American Petroleum Institute CEO says freeing oil reserves won’t replace reopening Strait of Hormuz
Not even unleashing 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves around the world can replace reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute said Monday.
Mike Sommers told Maria Bartiromo on FOX Business’ "Mornings with Maria'' that it appears the U.S. is not only doing everything possible to get the vital waterway back open but also taking measures on a policy level.
“They've put another 400 million barrels of oil on the market from strategic petroleum reserves all over the world,” Sommers said. “They're also looking at some policy measures here in the United States. But there's no replacing getting the Strait of Hormuz back open again.”
He said 20% of the world’s oil flows through the waterway.
“We still need to get the strait open if we're going to get flows back to where they need to be to meet the world demand for oil,” Sommers said.
A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell 4.1% to $94.62, easing some pressure off the economy after topping $102 earlier in the morning. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.4% to $101.72 per barrel after earlier getting as high as $106.50.
Oil prices were roughly $70 per barrel before the United States and Israel began their attacks on Iran.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leavitt presses countries benefiting from Iran war to help secure Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump is “absolutely right” to press countries benefiting from the dismantling of the Iranian regime to help the U.S. secure the Strait of Hormuz, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday morning.
Leavitt told “FOX & Friends” that Trump has spoken with many countries over the last several days.
“The president is speaking with our allies in Europe and also many of our partners in the Gulf and Arab world to encourage them to step up, to do more to open the Strait of Hormuz. And our NATO allies especially need to step up,” she said.
Leavitt later told reporters outside the White House that many countries in the Gulf and in Europe were “benefiting greatly” from the “United States military taking out the threat of Iran.”
“If you think about Europe, their ballistic missile capability that the United States military is currently wiping out was a direct and imminent threat to our European allies as well as our bases in the region, which is why President Trump took this action in the first place.”
Iranian strikes on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz have effectively stopped shipping traffic in the world’s most important oil choke point, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
Leavitt said Iran’s actions regarding the Strait of Hormuz underscores why action is needed.
“I think the president is absolutely right to call on these countries to do more to help the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz so that we can stop this terrorist regime from restricting the free flow of energy,” Leavitt said.
When a reporter asked Leavitt why Trump was calling on countries to send ship after telling the United Kingdom last week that the U.S. no longer needs British aircraft carriers, the press secretary said Trump addressed the matter to reporters the previous night.
“He said that he wished the U.K. had stepped up sooner and quicker,” Leavitt said. “But he continues to speak with our allies in Europe and is calling on them to do more, just as he did when he called on them to step up with respect to their defense spending in NATO. He's calling them to do more here, and I think you'll see that come to fruition.”
USS Abraham Lincoln 'sailing close to Iran' for waves of strikes, CENTCOM says
The USS Abraham Lincoln is “sailing close to Iran” to help carry out a wave of back-to-back strikes as part of Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command said Monday morning.
The fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was continuing flight operations “day and night” as the U.S. operation continues in the Middle East, the command said.
The command also shared video of its aircraft taking off its flight deck.
The aircraft carrier left San Diego in November for the Indo-Pacific region and moved to the Middle East in January.
Israel ground forces entering southern Lebanon in 'limited' operation against Hezbollah
Israeli troops have entered southern Lebanon to begin “limited and targeted” ground operations against Hezbollah, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday.
The operation targets key Hezbollah strongholds to enhance the forward defense area, the IDF said.
“This activity is part of broader defensive efforts to establish and strengthen a forward defensive posture, which includes the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area, to create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel,” the IDF said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said that the maneuver will “protect the residents of the Galilee and the North.”
“The hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of southern Lebanon who have evacuated and are evacuating their homes from southern Lebanon and Beirut will not return to their homes south of the Litani region until the safety of the northern residents is guaranteed,” Katz said.
Katz also said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have instructed the IDF to “act and destroy the terror infrastructure” in villages near the Lebanese border. He said this was done “to prevent threats and the return of Hezbollah to the area, exactly as was done against Hamas in Gaza in the Rafah and Beit Hanoun areas.”
“Hezbollah will pay heavy prices for its aggression and its activity within the Iranian axis to destroy Israel,” Katz said. “Those who sought to destroy have been destroyed and will be destroyed.”
IDF takes out former supreme leader's aircraft
Israel’s military on Monday announced its forces destroyed the aircraft used by Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Israeli Air Force “conducted a precise strike and dismantled” the aircraft overnight Monday at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The aircraft was used by the former supreme leader, senior officials and military personnel “to advance military procurement and to manage coordination with axis countries through both domestic and international flights,” the IDF said.
The IDF said the destruction of the “strategic asset” will disrupt the regime’s coordination with its allies, its military force build-up efforts and its ability to restore its capabilities.
Khamenei was killed in the war’s opening salvo two weeks ago. He was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was also reportedly injured in those opening strikes.
Trump says Iran’s military ‘decimated,’ claims US wiped out air defenses
President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran’s military has been “decimated,” claiming the U.S. has wiped out the country’s air defenses and severely weakened its forces.
Asked whether he was ready to officially declare victory against Iran, Trump said he was not declaring it over yet but argued the damage to Tehran’s military has been significant.“There's no reason to,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“I think I'd just say they're decimated. … If we left right now, it would take them ten years and more to rebuild. But I'm still not declaring it over.”
Trump said U.S. operations have “taken out” Iran’s air force and air defense systems, leaving the country with “no air defense whatsoever,” and argued Iran’s missile and drone capabilities have also been sharply reduced.
Trump added that the U.S. and Israel have “similar objectives” regarding Iran and that the two countries’ militaries are “very well coordinated.”
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