Iran’s hard-line supreme leader is dead after major military strikes, Trump says

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in an eight-minute video message shared on Truth Social as the bombardment was underway.

The administration was taking “every possible step” to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel, Trump added, but he warned that the lives of “courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties.”

“That often happens in war,” he added.

Two U.S. officials told NBC News that Israel had been tasked with targeting Iranian leaders while the U.S. went after Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

Top congressional Democrats blasted Trump’s decision to launch U.S. military actions in Iran, arguing that these strikes require congressional approval, while most Republicans praised the president’s action.

European powers condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes on countries in the Middle East, with the leaders of the U.K., Germany and France releasing a joint statement urging Tehran to resume negotiations.

Trump said the military campaign would not end until peace was reached in the region.

“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!” he wrote.