US President Donald Trump said the ultimate goal of his actions in Iran is “victory“, but did not specify what he meant.
“The ultimate goal is victory. I love to win“, Trump said in an interview with CBS.
When a reporter asked him what “victory“ meant, the incumbent White House president listed the military operations he conducted during his first and second terms, including the recent capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. He cited the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019 during a US military operation in Idlib, Syria, as an example of his victories.
According to the Republican, “nothing good will come out of the situation in Iran“. He threatened to “take very strong measures“ if Iranian authorities begin to execute anti-government protesters this week.
“We will take very decisive action.“ “If they do, we will take very decisive action,” he said.
Mass protests in Iran have been ongoing since December 28. The demonstrations began against a backdrop of crisis. By the end of the year, inflation had reached 42.2%, and the national currency, the Iranian rial, had weakened to a record low of 1.42 million to the dollar.
Protesters also demanded the overthrow of the regime and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Rallies spread to dozens of cities. Due to a nationwide internet shutdown, casualty figures are sparse, but it is known that both protesters and security forces were among the dead.
According to Reuters, approximately 2,000 people died during the unrest, while the human rights organization Iran Human Rights reported 648 protesters dead. CBS News sources reported that preliminary estimates put the number of victims between 12,000 and 20,000.
The US president is urging Iranians to continue their protests.