President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the joint American-Israeli campaign against Iran has inflicted devastating damage on the regime’s military capabilities and warned that the offensive is not yet finished.

Speaking to reporters before departing the White House for Cincinnati, Trump discussed the progress of the military operation and praised the performance of U.S. forces.

Trump declared that “we’re doing something that nobody ever thought was possible to do. Our military is the best; it’s the most powerful in the world, and they’re hitting them very hard. This is 47 years of abuse – and killing lots of people.”

The president said the combined U.S. and Israeli strikes have already dismantled key elements of Iran’s armed forces, including its naval power, air force, air defense systems, and senior leadership.

Still, Trump indicated that the campaign could escalate further if necessary.

The President told the press that while the US and Israel have eliminated Iran’s navy, air force, anti-aircraft apparatus, and leaders, “We could do a lot worse.”

He also suggested that certain Iranian assets have intentionally been left untouched for now, though they could be destroyed quickly if the decision were made to do so.

According to the President, “We’re leaving certain things, which if we do, and we could take them out by this afternoon, in fact, within an hour, they will never be able to build that country back.”

Trump emphasized that the strikes so far have already been extraordinarily severe and warned that further action could still follow.

He added: “We have hit them harder than virtually any country in history has been hit, and we’re not finished yet.”

Despite threats from Iran targeting shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump urged energy companies not to avoid the crucial waterway, saying Iranian naval capabilities have largely been wiped out.

“We took out just about all of their mine ships in one night. We’re up to boat number 60. I didn’t realize they had such a big navy. I would say it was big and ineffective. Just about all of their navy is gone, on the bottom of the sea,” he claimed.

Turning to developments in Lebanon, Trump said the country and its people deserve relief from Hezbollah’s influence, which he described as destructive.

Asked about the situation in Lebanon, the President declared, “We love Lebanon. We love the people of Lebanon. We’ve gotta get rid of Hezbollah, it has been a disaster for many years.”

Trump also took aim at Spain’s government, accusing it of failing to support the effort against Iran and criticizing its record within NATO.

Trump also criticized the Spanish government for its lack of cooperation with the operation against Iran. “They’re not cooperating at all. I think they’ve been very bad. We may cut off trade with Spain. They’ve been very bad to NATO. They don’t want to pay their fair share, and they’ve been that way for many years.”

{Matzav.com}