Trump Blows Hot, Says ‘Big Wave’ In Iran War Yet To Come
The United States President, Donald Trump, has declared that the most intense phase of Washington’s war against Iran has yet to begin, saying American military forces are already inflicting heavy damage on Iran.
Speaking during a nine-minute phone interview with CNN on Monday morning, Trump, who declared that a larger offensive is imminent, said U.S. operations were progressing successfully while hinting at a significant escalation in the coming days.
“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.”
The president cautioned that current strikes represent only an early stage of the conflict, adding that a more decisive phase, which he described as a “big wave,” had not yet been launched.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” Trump said, warning that conditions in the region could become increasingly dangerous.
He added that civilians should remain indoors for safety reasons, saying, “Right now we want everyone staying inside. It’s not safe out there.”
Trump said he initially expected the conflict to last about four weeks but suggested U.S. forces were ahead of schedule.
“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,” he said.
While declining to outline specific diplomatic steps, Trump confirmed that Washington was pursuing efforts beyond military action aimed at helping Iranian citizens regain control from the ruling government, responding simply, “Yes,” when asked if such measures were underway.
The president described Iran’s retaliatory attacks against several Arab countries, including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as the most unexpected development of the war.
“We were surprised,” Trump said. “We told them, ‘We’ve got this,’ and now they want to fight. And they’re aggressively fighting.”
According to Trump, Iranian strikes targeting civilian locations angered regional leaders and drew them further into the conflict.
“They shot into a hotel, they shot into an apartment house. It just made them angry,” he said, adding that Arab leaders were “tough and smart.”
Trump claimed U.S. strikes had severely disrupted Iran’s leadership structure, asserting that dozens of senior figures were killed during initial attacks.
“Forty-nine people,” he said. “It was an amazing strike.”
“They got a little bit arrogant by meeting all in one place,” Trump added, saying Iranian officials believed they could not be detected. “They weren’t undetectable.”
He suggested uncertainty now surrounds Iran’s leadership, saying, “We don’t know who’s leading the country now. They don’t know who’s leading.”
The president said diplomatic negotiations collapsed after Iran refused to halt uranium enrichment, which Washington considers a central security threat.
“We couldn’t make a deal with these people,” Trump said, adding that Iranian negotiators repeatedly withdrew earlier concessions.
“They had all that enriched stuff,” he said, arguing that military action became necessary after talks failed.
Trump framed the current campaign as part of a broader effort spanning decades of U.S.–Iran tensions following the 1979 Iranian revolution.
He said he had asked advisers to compile records of Iranian or Iran-backed attacks against US interests over nearly five decades.
“If I told you all of them, I’d still be talking,” he said.
The president also referenced past U.S. military actions, including the 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, describing it as “a big move.”
“We took out Soleimani last time,” Trump said. “He was an unbelievably violent, vicious general.”
Trump further cited the June 2025 strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, known as “Midnight Hammer,” claiming Iran had been close to developing a nuclear weapon at the time.
“They were a month away from having a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Trump again criticised the nuclear agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama, calling it “a pathway to a bomb.”
“That deal was so bad,” he said, arguing it would have allowed Iran to eventually acquire nuclear weapons.
Despite rising tensions and expanding military operations, Trump ended the interview on an optimistic note regarding the ongoing campaign.
“So it’s going good,” he said before concluding the call.
