Trump Says US Has ‘Virtually Destroyed’ Iran’s Military, Vows to Keep Striking Until Threat Is Fully Eliminated

US President Donald Trump said the United States has “virtually destroyed” Iran’s military and will continue its campaign until Tehran no longer has the capacity to threaten the US, Israel or Washington’s allies, sharply escalating his rhetoric on a war he described as effectively won but not yet finished.

Speaking in Kentucky, Trump said that after 11 days of fighting, Iran’s military had been shattered. “Their air force is gone. Totally gone,” he said. “They no longer have radar. They don’t have anti-aircraft equipment. They don’t have anything. Their missiles are down 90%. Their drones are down 85%.” He added that US forces were “blowing up the factories where they’re made, left and right,” and claimed that “nobody has ever seen anything like what you’re witnessing now.”

Image Via: US Central Command

Trump said the United States had already destroyed Iran’s nuclear capacity and insisted Washington would not stop until the threat was permanently removed. Referring to earlier operations, he said the US had “totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear potential” and argued that after the strike, “they started again. That’s why we got to finish it.” 

He made clear that the war would not end on the basis of temporary damage alone, saying the US could not risk leaving Iran’s capabilities to be rebuilt under a future administration. “We’re not leaving until that job is finished,” he said.

He also described a sweeping campaign against Iran’s naval capacity, saying the US had destroyed 58 naval ships and 31 mine-laying vessels, which he said were intended to threaten Gulf shipping. 

Trump said US forces had moved aggressively to prevent Iran from laying mines in regional waters and framed that effort as central to keeping energy flows moving. “My administration, as you know better than anybody, is also working to keep the oil flowing,” he said.

Trump linked the war directly to energy security, arguing that military action against Iran was necessary not only to stop its nuclear programme but also to prevent disruptions in the Gulf. 

President Trump Delivers Remarks, Mar. 11, 2026 https://t.co/uOkDDGV1kG

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 11, 2026

He said the International Energy Agency had agreed earlier in the day to coordinate the release of a record 400 million barrels of oil from national reserves, which he said would help reduce prices as the US campaign continued. “That will substantially reduce the oil prices as we end this threat to America and this threat to the world,” he said.

The president repeatedly portrayed the war as a decisive military success, claiming it had effectively been won in its opening phase. “We won,” he said. “In the first hour it was over.” But he also stressed that Washington would continue operations until there was no realistic chance of Iran recovering militarily or returning to nuclear weapons development.

The remarks amount to one of Trump’s bluntest public statements yet on US war aims: not merely degrading Iran’s capabilities, but finishing the campaign in a way that prevents Tehran from rebuilding its military and strategic threat.