US ahead of initial timeline in operation against Iran, Trump says

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is moving “far ahead” of its original timeline in its ongoing military operation against Iran, which began late last month.

"We're ahead of our initial timeline by a lot. I would say that we probably would not have thought after a month we'd be here," Trump said at a news conference in the state of Florida.

US-Israeli strikes against Iran began on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top security officials.

"We've wiped every single force in Iran out very completely. Most of Iran's naval power has been sunk. It's on the bottom of the sea," he said, adding that 51 ships were destroyed.

Trump also said the military campaign has focused heavily on Iran’s drone and missile programs. He said Iranian drone production facilities were being targeted in a new wave of strikes starting Monday.

"Their drone manufacturing has been hit starting today. We know all of the places they manufacture the drones, and they're being hit one after another. Their missile capability is down to about 10%," he added.

The US has struck over 5,000 targets to date, he added.

Trump said the operation is going to be ended "soon" but warned that "if it starts up again, they'll be hit even harder."