Donald Trump says he has “retired” from Iran campaign, hints operation will be shortened

President of the United States Donald Trump He said on Saturday that there were still multiple “exits” to the U.S. military campaign against Iran, suggesting that although the operation is broad, it may be short-lived. In a five-minute phone interview with Axios from Mar-a-Lago, Trump said he could either “take over the whole thing for a long time” or end the attacks in a matter of days and warned Tehran not to rebuild its nuclear and missile programs.“I could take over the whole thing for a long time, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: ‘If you start rebuilding, see you in a few years. [your nuclear and missile programs],” Trump said.“In any case, it will take them several years to recover from this attack,” he predicted.The comments provide the first real window into Trump’s thinking about how the operation will end and show that he remains open to a diplomatic solution even after U.S.-Iran nuclear talks collapsed in Geneva. A new ultimatum following a short period of action would have a very different outcome than the regime change that some U.S. and Israeli officials have described as the goal. Trump faces domestic pressure, including from his MAGA base, to avoid long-term intervention in the Middle East.Trump cited two main reasons for the attack, the first being the failure of negotiations this week led by his special envoys Steve Witkopf and Jared Kushner.“The Iranians approached, then retreated – approached, then retreated. What I learned from that was that they didn’t really want to make a deal,” he said.The second reason is Iran’s behavior over the past few decades.Trump said that as he wrote the speech announcing the attack on Friday, he asked his team to catalog every Iran-related attack around the world over the past 25 years.“I see them every month doing something bad, blowing something up or killing someone,” he told Axios.Trump also claimed that Iran had begun rebuilding some of the nuclear facilities attacked by the United States and Israel during the 12-day war last June. Independent analysts pointed out that some nuclear facilities are undergoing construction activities, but did not conclude that Iran has resumed nuclear activities.Trump has repeatedly reiterated that his decision to launch Operation Midnight Hammer – which destroyed or seriously damaged three of Iran’s nuclear facilities – made the current operation possible. He argued that if he had not attacked the nuclear facility in June, Iran might have developed nuclear weapons by now, which would have prevented it from launching an attack.The United States and Israel have launched what is considered the most ambitious military campaign in the Middle East in a generation, aiming not only to weaken Iran’s military capabilities but also to create the conditions for overthrowing the regime.U.S. and Israeli operational plans anticipate the massive bombing campaign to last at least five days, according to a senior U.S. official. However, Trump told Axios the timeline could change based on developments on the ground, including the fate of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who and other senior officials have been targeted for assassination by Israel.