"I want a safe country, and that's what we're going to have," Donald Trump told the Washington Post, in his first statements after confirming the strike on Iran.
The Middle East is on "red alert" after the US and Israel struck Iran.
US President Donald Trump told The Washington Post on Saturday (28/02) that his main concern is the "freedom" of the Iranian people, as the US launched military attacks on the country.
A US official said a large-scale and prolonged operation against Iran began at about 1 a.m. Eastern time, with a launch of Tomahawk missiles from ships and airstrikes by US Air Force and Navy aircraft.
Iran quickly retaliated in response to the attack, which the Trump administration dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.” Multiple U.S. military bases were targeted by Iran , the official said, including a support facility for U.S. Fifth Fleet ships in Bahrain, according to the country’s state news agency.
Although operations are ongoing, there have been no injuries to American soldiers, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that had not yet been publicly announced. Israel said it also carried out strikes in Iran on Saturday.
"All I want is freedom for the people," Trump said in a brief telephone interview shortly after 4 a.m., when asked what he hoped would be his legacy from military action and the push for regime change in Iran.
"I want a safe country, and that's what we're going to have," the president said, in his first statements after announcing "major military operations" in a video message.
Trump spoke from Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, home, where he arrived Friday night (27/02), just hours before the military strikes began. He spoke to The Post while the news was playing on television.
Despite his past criticism of U.S. involvement in wars in the Middle East — particularly the American lives lost in attempts to overthrow and install new regimes — Trump on Saturday (February 28) argued that the United States should help bring about regime change in the country. In his video message, Trump urged Iranians to “take over their government” once the attacks stop, telling them “this will probably be your only chance for many generations.”
Trump also acknowledged that American soldiers are putting their lives at risk in this effort.
"The lives of brave American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties ," Trump said in his recorded remarks. "That often happens in war. But we do this, not for now. We do this for the future, and it is a noble mission."
Less than a year ago, during his visit to the Middle East, Trump condemned the “so-called nation builders” who “destroyed more nations than they built.”
"And the interventionists intervened in complex societies that they didn't even understand," Trump said in May at an investment conference in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Now, the president appears to be the one who is ready to take significant risks to save the Iranian people, calling on them to "take control" of their "destiny" with the help of the US.
"No president has been willing to do what I'm willing to do," Trump said in the 8-minute video, which he said was filmed shortly after the attacks began on Saturday morning.
"Now you have a president who gives you what you want, let's see how you respond ," he said, addressing the Iranian people. "America supports you with invincible strength and destructive power."
