President Donald Trump embarked on a social media rampage to convince the doubters that he’s winning his unpopular war on Iran.
The 79-year-old raged at news organizations that have reported the facts about the protracted conflict and bungled peace talks, labeling CNN and other networks “LOSERS.”
The source of the president’s chagrin was Operation Midnight Hammer, an attack on Iranian nuclear sites last year. He controversially used the term “obliterated” to describe the state of the sites post-attack. Sites including the Natanz Nuclear Complex, the Fordow site, the Esfahan Nuclear Complex, and Lavisan 2, were hit during the mission on June 22, but not totally destroyed.
Trump rolled out his favorite term again during a late-night Truth Social meltdown on Monday. “Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran,” he began, also using the term “dust” to describe nuclear-enriched uranium stocks left over after the joint operation with Israel. Enriched uranium is used for the cores of many nuclear weapons.
Iran’s nuclear capability has been Trump’s main justification for Operation Epic Fury, his war on Iran that started on Feb. 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli air strikes.
“Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process. Fake News CNN, and other corrupt Media Networks and Platforms, fail to give our great aviators the credit they deserve - Always trying to demean and belittle - LOSERS!!!” he added.
His statement is contradictory. Whilst retrieving the “dust” will prove arduous, the operation did not “obliterate” the sites, according to analysis. For example, the Institute for Science and International Security, a respected non-governmental organization founded by a nuclear scientist, reported just days after the strikes that “there are residuals such as stocks of 60 percent, 20 percent, and 3-5 percent enriched uranium and the centrifuges manufactured but not yet installed at Natanz or Fordow.”
“These non-destroyed parts pose a threat as they can be used in the future to produce weapon-grade uranium,” the report stated.
Earlier on Monday, Trump insisted on Truth Social that he is “winning a War, BY A LOT,” and continued his attacks on the press.
“Things are going very well, our Military has been amazing and, if you read the Fake News, like The Failing New York Times, the absolutely horrendous and disgusting Wall Street Journal, or the now almost defunct, fortunately, Washington Post, you would actually think we are losing the War,” he moaned.
He claimed “the enemy is confused” by news reports. “The Anti-America Fake News Media is rooting for Iran to win, but it’s not going to happen, because I’m in charge! Just like these unpatriotic people used every ounce of their limited strength to fight me in the Election, they continue to do so with Iran. The result will be the same — It already is!” Trump added.
He had earlier turned his attention to his assertion that he would end the war within weeks. He had a suitable answer for that failure, too.
“They like to say that I promised 6 weeks to defeat Iran, and actually, from the Military standpoint, it was far faster than that, but I’m not going to let them rush the United States into making a Deal that is not as good as it could have been. I read the Fake News saying that I am under “pressure” to make a Deal. THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!” he ranted.
On the status of a deal, he offered no detailed updates, only stating that one was in the works and that it would be better than what previous presidents had achieved. “The DEAL that we are making with Iran will be FAR BETTER than the JCPOA, commonly referred to as ‘The Iran Nuclear Deal,’ penned by Barack Hussein Obama and Sleepy Joe Biden, one of the Worst Deals ever made having to do with the Security of our Country. It was a guaranteed Road to a Nuclear Weapon, which will not, and cannot, happen with the Deal we’re working on,” he said.
It remains unclear whether an Iranian delegation will go to Islamabad, Pakistan, for a second round of peace talks with the U.S. Having earlier ruled out participation, an Iranian official, speaking to Reuters on Tuesday, said Tehran was “positively reviewing” its participation in talks. However, they stressed that no decision has been reached.
The U.S.-Iran ceasefire expires on Wednesday.
