US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (local time) that “most of the people in our minds are dead” when asked about potential future leaders of Iran after the killing of Tehran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei early in the epic Operation Fury.When Trump met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, he also claimed that the United States had launched a “third wave” of military strikes against Iran and claimed that “everything has been destroyed” in the country.

When thinking about who will be next to lead Iran, Trump said, “Well, most of the people that we think of are dead… Some of the people that we think of are dead. Now we have another one. Based on reports, they may be dead as well.”]He added that several senior figures were killed in the initial attack.“And the leader of this group is gone. As you know, 49 people were taken out in the first attack. I think today the new leadership took another hit, and it looks like that’s pretty impressive too.”Trump said Iran’s leadership had been “hit very hard” and claimed many within the system were now seeking protection.“A lot of people are coming forward. A lot of people you least suspect want out. They want immunity. They’re asking for immunity. Maybe at some point they’ll give up, as you would say, put down the gun.”Trump and his team have faced questions about the rationale behind the attack, especially after a senior U.S. diplomat said Washington took action after learning that Israel might be imminent.However, Trump insisted that the United States took preemptive action. “Depending on how the negotiations go, I think they (Iran) will strike first. I don’t want that to happen.”He further said that he “could force Israel to take action” because he believed that otherwise Iran “would strike first.”Trump further said, “I don’t know. I might force them to take action. Look, we’re negotiating with these lunatics, and I think they’re going to attack first. They’re going to attack. If we don’t, they’ll attack first. I feel strongly about this. ““Israel is ready and so are we. We have a very, very powerful impact because almost everything they had has now been destroyed. Their missile numbers are being reduced significantly,” he added.Trump claimed that Iran’s air defense and detection systems had been dismantled and accused Iran of targeting civilian sites.“They will attack people who are actually at least somewhat friendly, and they have no problem with that. Only civilian venues, hotels and apartment buildings. We will hit them where they are more appropriate,” he said.“The original hit, Midnight Hammer, was huge. Everything you saw was huge, but by some standards, by some of our standards, it wasn’t huge. We had an army that we never had before,” he added.The president’s comments come amid criticism from opponents that the administration is pushing the country toward war without a clear strategy, notification to Congress and explanation of how the conflict might end.Critics also point to recent meetings between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including the seventh since Trump returned to office last year, with Netanyahu reportedly urging a tougher stance on Iran.However, some Republican allies rallied behind the president, saying “no one is pushing or dragging Donald Trump anywhere.”