Really? We’ve seen plenty so far from Operation Epic Fury, and from Israel’s parallel Operation Roaring Lion. The first wave of strikes on the Iranian regime took out its supreme leader and more than 40 more of its top-echelon leadership. The US and Israel achieved air supremacy within hours of the war, the Iranian navy has taken heavy losses, and its ballistic-missile and drone responses have proven negligible in deterring American force.
We’ve seen plenty so far, in other words, and the Iranians should have seen enough to capitulate. Donald Trump insisted earlier today that we’ve only seen the appetizers, though, and that the main course will come soon:
Trump tells Tapper:
“I don’t want to see it go on too long. I always thought it would be four weeks and we’re a little ahead of schedule.”
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
ALSO (1/2) https://t.co/587Uq8sbA3
— Olivier Knox (@OKnox) March 2, 2026
President Donald Trump told CNN in a nine-minute phone interview Monday morning that the US military is “knocking the crap” out of Iran – but the “big wave” is yet to come.
“We’re knocking the crap out of them,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I think it’s going very well. It’s very powerful. We’ve got the greatest military in the world and we’re using it.” …
Asked if the US is doing more beyond the military assault to help the Iranian people regain control of their country from the regime, Trump said, “Yes.”
“We are indeed. But right now we want everyone staying inside. It’s not safe out there.”
And it’s about to get even less safe, the president said.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
Just a few minutes ago, Trump addressed the media at the White House at a Medal of Honor award ceremony. He insisted that the war was going as planned, and in fact had progressed “ahead of schedule.” However, he also insisted that the US would continue this operation until all of our objectives have been achieved:
President Trump says his administration expects the operation in Iran to last between four to five weeks, but “we have the capability to go far longer than that.” pic.twitter.com/amSn9H0aWk
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 2, 2026
Trump also explained the reason for ordering Operation Epic Fury this weekend. Talks were going nowhere, Trump explained, and the threat was too acute to ignore any longer:
“This was our last best chance to strike, what we’re doing right now, and eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime,” the president told his audience. “And they are indeed sick and sinister.”
The president said the Iranian leadership “already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases both local and overseas, and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America.” The objectives for the mission, he said, “are clear,” listing four of them.
“First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, and you see that happening on an hourly basis, and their capacity to produce brand-new ones,” he said. “Second, we’re annihilating their Navy. We’ve knocked out already 10 ships. They’re at the bottom of the sea. Third, we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon. … And finally, we’re ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”
As it turns out, Iran’s foreign minister may have touched off the war in Geneva. NBC News reported last night about how the talks fell apart:
As the U.S. delegation laid out its position that Iran couldn’t enrich uranium for the next 10 years, the Iranian side balked, said a senior Trump administration official who described the meeting on condition of anonymity.
Iran has an “inalienable right” to enrich uranium, Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, told the Americans. And the U.S. has an “inalienable right” to stop you, Steve Witkoff, a member of the U.S. delegation, replied.
After having heard the U.S. demands, Araghchi started yelling at Witkoff, who was accompanied at the meeting by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, among others, said the senior official.
“If you prefer, I can leave,” Witkoff said.
FA, meet FO.
Just what does Trump envision as a major intensification of an already-intense offensive? It may not be aimed at Tehran, but perhaps expanded to the rest of the regime’s infrastructure throughout Iran. The regime’s naval assets don’t seem to be slowing down the attack or even having much impact on oil-tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at the moment. That could be the result of a preemptive strike on the biggest threat Iran had on the sea:
BREAKING 🔴🔴
Report from Iran: The Iranian drone carrier “Bagheri Carrier” was struck directly by U.S. forces and subsequently sunk.
Still waiting for further confirmation. pic.twitter.com/axWdac6OHQ
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 2, 2026
The American military says it struck Iranian naval drone carrier IRIS Shahid Bagheri during the opening strikes on Iran on Saturday.
“The Iranian regime’s false messaging machine continues to falsely claim that it has sunk a US aircraft carrier. The only carrier that has been hit is the Shahid Bagheri, an Iranian drone carrier,” the US Central Command says.
“US forces struck the ship within hours of launching Operation Epic Fury,” CENTCOM adds.
If its sinking hasn’t yet been confirmed, the Shahid Bagheri certainly hasn’t been a factor in defense of the regime, either. Stay tuned on that, along with other developments as they arise.
In the meantime, though, let’s recall one of the best rock songs of the era just before the mullahs took over. Maybe the Iranians celebrating the imminent end of the regime can start playing this loudly on the streets of Tehran.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
Help us continue to report on the administration’s peace through strength foreign policy and its successes. Join Hot Air VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership!
