The United States expects to achieve its military objectives in Iran within “four to six weeks” and is already examining potential candidates to lead the country after the conflict, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday, as President Donald Trump reiterated there will be “no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”
Speaking to reporters as the campaign entered its seventh day, Leavitt said the administration believes the central goals of the effort are already coming into reach as U.S. forces continue degrading Iran’s military capabilities.
“What President Trump has laid out is that the achievable objectives of this campaign we expect to last about four to six weeks,” Leavitt said. “We are well on our way to achieving those objectives.”
Leavitt highlighted the scale of damage already inflicted on Iran’s military forces.
More than 30 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk since the strikes began, she said, leaving Tehran’s navy “combat ineffective,” while retaliatory ballistic missile launches by Iran have dropped sharply.
“Just six days in, the retaliatory ballistic missile strikes from Iran are now down 90 percent,” Leavitt said, crediting the U.S. military with dramatically reducing the threat to American forces and bases across the region.
She also confirmed that the United States is nearing control of Iranian airspace, a development expected to accelerate strikes on missile infrastructure and military targets.
“Yes, we are well on our way to doing so,” Leavitt said when asked whether American forces were approaching full dominance of the airspace.
The White House has said the campaign’s objectives include destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, dismantling its naval forces, preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and weakening the regime’s proxy networks across the Middle East.
Leavitt also indicated that Washington is already examining possible leadership figures for Iran should the current regime collapse.
“I know there’s a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at,” she said when asked about potential future leaders of the country, declining to elaborate further.
Her remarks came as Trump signaled that the United States intends to take an interest in Iran’s leadership after the conflict.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social, adding:
After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).
Leavitt said Trump’s demand for “unconditional surrender” refers to the point at which Iran can no longer pose a threat to the United States.
“When the commander in chief determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America and the goals of this campaign have been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender — whether they say it themselves or not,” she said.
Leavitt also said Trump will meet Friday with defense contractors alongside War Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss expanding U.S. weapons production as the campaign continues.
“The purpose is to discuss the president’s aggressive and fierce support for rapidly increasing the ability of U.S. manufacturers to produce American-made weapons,” she said.
Leavitt stressed that U.S. stockpiles remain more than sufficient for the campaign.
“We have more than enough ammunition and weapons stockpiles to achieve the objectives of this campaign and beyond,” she said.
Speaking earlier this week at the Pentagon, Hegseth said Iranian military capabilities were rapidly collapsing under sustained U.S. and Israeli strikes.
He said Iran’s air, missile, and naval forces were “evaporating,” as American and Israeli forces continue dismantling Tehran’s military infrastructure and blocking its pathway to a nuclear weapon.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
