The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has claimed that Iran possessed a large number of missiles and was preparing to launch an attack on the United States before the current military campaign began.
Trump made the statement while speaking to members of the Republican Party during their annual policy retreat held in Florida.
According to the U.S. leader, intelligence reports suggested that Iran was already making plans to strike American targets within a short period.
He said the country had accumulated more missiles than many analysts had earlier estimated and was fully prepared for a possible confrontation with the United States.
The president’s remarks came as the United States continues its military offensive against Iran, although Trump suggested the conflict might soon come to an end.
Speaking in a telephone interview with CBS News from his golf club in Doral, Florida, Trump said American forces had already dealt major blows to Iran’s military capabilities.
He claimed that Iran’s naval and air force capacities had been severely weakened and that many of the country’s missile and drone facilities had been destroyed.
According to the United States Armed Forces, more than 3,000 targets across Iran were hit during the first week of the operation.
Trump said the scale of the attacks had left Iran with very limited military capacity.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities on Sunday announced that Mojtaba Khamenei would succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader.
Reacting to the development, Trump said he had no message for the new Iranian leader, adding that he had someone else in mind who could lead the country.
