Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has pushed back against claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that the war with Iran is nearing its end, insisting that Tehran will ultimately decide how the conflict concludes.
In a statement released early Tuesday and reported by Iranian news outlet Tasnim, the elite military force dismissed Trump’s assessment of the situation.
“We are the ones who will determine the end of the war,” the IRGC said.
“The conditions on the battlefield and the end of the war are in the hands of the Islamic Republic,” the statement added.
Trump, however, painted a very different picture of the conflict. Speaking during a telephone interview with U.S. broadcaster CBS News, the American leader suggested that the war was already nearing completion.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” he said.
“They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter.
“Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones. If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense,” he said.
Trump further claimed that the United States had exceeded its initial expectations regarding the timeline of the military campaign.
According to him, the operation is progressing “very far” beyond the originally projected four to five weeks.
The current confrontation escalated in late February when Israeli and U.S. forces launched coordinated strikes across Iran. The offensive reportedly targeted key figures within Iran’s political and military establishment, as well as critical defence infrastructure including air defence systems, naval assets, air force installations and other strategic military facilities.
At the outset of the operation, Trump indicated that the campaign was expected to last between four and five weeks. However, by the end of last week, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt suggested the timeline could extend to between four and six weeks.
