Donald Trump’s top general has revealed a gripping minute-by-minute account of the President’s ‘Operation Epic Fury’ to kill Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and attempt to cripple its military and nuclear infrastructure.
General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to reporters alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on Monday, two days after Trump launched a war with Iran.
Caine said that B-2 bombers had flown 37-hour trips from the continental US, dropping bombs on underground nuclear facilities in Iran, as an unprecedented 100-aircraft ‘wave’ was unleashed by land and sea.
He revealed the dramatic moment Trump decided unilaterally to launch a war with the Islamic regime.
‘At 3.38pm, on Friday, February 27, the United States Central Command, through the Secretary of War, received the final go order from President Trump. The President directed and I quote, “Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts. Good luck.”‘
Two hours after he gave the order to Caine, Trump was on stage in Texas where he claimed he was still undecided, saying on Iran: ‘We have a very big decision to make…I’d rather do it the peaceful way. But they’re very difficult people.’
By 2.30am EST, the president released a video from Mar-a-Lago announcing the country was at war with Iran.
Caine explained that the initial attack targeted Iran’s leadership, ballistic missile sites, and intelligence infrastructure that left ‘the adversary without the ability to see, coordinate or respond effectively.’
‘At 9.45am Tehran time as dawn crept across the Central Command area of operations, skies surged to life,’ he told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday.
‘More than a hundred aircraft launched from land, sea, fighters, tankers, bombers … forming a single synchronized wave,’ Caine said.
‘This was a daylight strike based on a trigger event conducted by Israeli defense forces enabled by US intelligence community.’
By 5.00pm EST, Trump announced the Ayatollah had died in Tehran after an Israeli strike.
Caine said that the daylight strike was based on ‘a trigger event conducted by Israeli defense forces enabled by US Tomahawks,’ referring to the strike on the Ayatollah.
He said that America fired off ‘a massive overwhelming attack across all domains of warfare, striking a thousand targets in the first 24 hours.’
Caine added that cyber and space commands had been deployed to ‘confuse the enemy.’
He went on to claim that the military objective in Iran, which now does not include regime change, ‘will be difficult to achieve, and in some cases, will be gritty work.’
The general added that US forces are expected to take additional casualties. So far, four US troops have died as a result of Trump’s war and there have been 18 reported injured.
Hegseth and Caine stated that the ultimate goal in the war with Iran is to destroy their military and nuclear weapons development.
The nuclear watchdog of the United Nations said Monday there was no indication the US-Israeli joint strikes have struck any of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Caine said Trump’s mission was ‘to protect and defend ourselves, and together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders.’
The operation was allegedly the result of ‘months, and in some cases, years, of deliberate planning and refinement.’
Neither Caine nor Hegseth provided an exact timeline or exit strategy for the US in Iran. Troops are not currently deployed on the ground in Iran.
Pre-war estimates placed about 40,000 US personnel across the Middle East in various roles.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail on Sunday, Trump said the war with Iran could last up to four weeks.
‘It’s always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so. It’s always been about a four-week process so – as strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks – or less,’ Trump said.
Hegseth claimed that America ‘didn’t start this war’ as he revealed Iran’s plans to build a ‘missile shield’ to protect its nuclear ambitions.
‘We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it,’ Hegseth told a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday.
He warned that ‘war is hell and it always will be’ as a fourth US soldier was confirmed dead following Iranian strikes on a base in Kuwait.
