Donald Trump on Saturday offered a vague description of his demand for an unconditional surrender by Iran’s current regime, while also indicating he may deploy American troops but will not ask Kurdish forces to invade.
Trump Details Iran War Objectives
“I said unconditional. It’s where they cry uncle or when they can’t fight any longer and there’s nobody around to cry uncle — that could happen too,” Trump said when questioned by reporters aboard Air Force One.
The lack of specific details regarding Trump’s endgame for the conflict has drawn scrutiny, with questions arising about his objectives for Iran and his potential role in selecting its next leader.
Trump has consistently stated his military objectives and has indicated for days that he could send U.S. troops. He suggested using ground troops to secure enriched uranium, believed to be stored at Iran’s nuclear sites, as a possibility later in the conflict.
“We haven’t talked about it,” Trump said. “At some point maybe we will. It would be a great thing. Right now we’re just decimating them. We haven’t gone after it but something we could do later on. We wouldn’t do it now.”
Trump stated he has decided against using Kurdish forces in an invasion, acknowledging it would complicate the situation despite reports of the CIA arming them. “I don’t want the Kurds going in,” Trump said. “They’re willing to go in, but I’ve told them I don’t want them going in. The war’s complicated enough without getting the Kurds involved.”
Dignified Transfer and War Assessment
The president’s remarks came after he attended the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members killed in the opening days of the war against Iran at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, accompanied by JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The transfer took place under overcast skies, with Trump wearing a white baseball cap with “USA” emblazoned in gold letters. He saluted each flag-draped transfer case as they were carried into vans.
Following the ceremony, Trump stated the moment did not cause him to reconsider continuing the war. “No, we’re winning the war by a lot. We decimated their whole evil empire. It will continue I’m sure for a little while but I’m very proud of the people,” he said, adding that deaths are “a part of war.”
The conflict has expanded since the U.S. joined Israel in conducting airstrikes against Iran, including a strike that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Initially, Trump suggested the campaign would last roughly four weeks, but the administration has since indicated it could last for months. He was non-committal on the war’s duration, stating, “Whatever it takes,” but later described it as a “short excursion.”
Disagreement Over School Strike
Trump blamed Iran for strikes that destroyed a girl’s elementary school in the south of the country, killing at least 175 people, many of them children. A Pentagon investigation is ongoing, but forensic analysis by the New York Times, CNN, and the Associated Press suggests a high likelihood it was a precision strike by the U.S. coinciding with attacks on a nearby naval base operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump said.
Defense Secretary Hegseth declined to support the president’s claim, stating the matter was under investigation. Trump repeated his assertion, “It was done by Iran. They’re very inaccurate as you know with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran.”
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