Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Tuesday that it would determine the end of the ongoing conflict, rejecting remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that the war with Iran may soon be over.
“We are the ones who will determine the end of the war,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by the Iranian news agency Tasnim News Agency.
“The conditions on the battlefield and the end of the war are in the hands of the Islamic Republic,” the statement added.
Earlier, Trump told U.S. broadcaster CBS News that he believed the war with Iran was largely complete.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” he said during a phone interview.
“They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter.
“Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones. If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense,” Trump said.
He added that the United States was “very far” ahead of his initial estimated time frame of four to five weeks for the campaign.
According to reports, Israeli and U.S. forces attacked Iran at the end of February, targeting the country’s political and military leadership, along with its air defences, navy, air force and other military capabilities.
Following the attacks, Trump said he expected the military campaign to last four to five weeks.
Last week, U.S. government spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also mentioned a possible timeline of four to six weeks for the operation.