Trump claims US ‘knocked out’ Iran’s navy, air force and communications network
DORAL, FLORIDA: President Donald Trump said that the US has effectively dismantled Iran’s navy, air force and communication systems following the military strikes.
Speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida, on Saturday, March 7, Trump told leaders from 12 Western Hemisphere countries that US strikes had crippled key parts of Iran’s military infrastructure.
Trump claims destruction of Iranian naval fleet
The president said the US military had destroyed 42 Iranian navy ships during the past three days of attacks.
“That was the end of the Navy,” Trump said. “We knocked out their air force, we knocked out their communications, and all telecommunications is gone.”
“I don’t know how they communicate, but I guess they will figure something out too well,” he added.
Trump also repeated longstanding claims that Iran was nearing the ability to build a nuclear weapon. “They would have had a nuclear weapon, you know, crazy, and they would have used it,” he said. “So, we did the world a favor.”
US evacuates thousands from Middle East
As the conflict escalates, the US State Department said it has intensified efforts to evacuate Americans from the region.
The United States has completed more than a dozen charter flights and safely evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East, according to Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs.
The department has expanded charter flights and ground transportation operations over the past several days and plans to continue increasing evacuation capacity.
Over 28,000 Americans leave the region
The State Department said it has directly assisted more than 16,000 Americans abroad by providing security guidance and travel support.
Overall, more than 28,000 Americans have returned to the United States from the Middle East, a figure that includes those who departed on commercial flights on their own.
US officials urged Americans in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel who need assistance to submit a crisis intake form to request help leaving the region.
The update comes after Washington faced criticism over the timing of assistance for some Americans stranded in the Middle East during the escalating conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.
