Trump says Iran nuclear bomb could have ‘annihilated’ Israel without Midnight Hammer

DORAL, FLORIDA: President Donald Trump defended the impact of Operation Epic Fury, saying US military strikes reduced Iranian missile and drone attacks and blocked Tehran from advancing its nuclear program.

Speaking in Florida on day 11 of the operation, Trump said the campaign, including the June 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer, helped stop what he called an imminent nuclear threat from Iran and protected Israel from “annihilation".

Trump warns of the development of Iran's nuclear bomb

“If we didn't knock out Midnight Hammer, if we didn't knock out their Iranian potential, if we didn't do that with Midnight Hammer, they would have had a nuclear weapon,” Trump said on Monday, March 9.

He argued that such a development would have posed an immediate and devastating threat to Israel.

“They would have used it long before now, and at a minimum, Israel would have been annihilated,” he said.

“We could take them all out in one day, but it's all resulting in a 90 per cent decline in various things, but in particular, Iranian missile launches and an 83 per cent drop in drone launches,” he said, adding that advanced defense systems were now intercepting Iranian missiles more effectively.

Describing the speed of the response systems, Trump said launch sites were being neutralized within minutes.

“As soon as they sent a missile up from a launcher, we were able to knock out that launcher within a period of five minutes or less, accurately,” he said. “We're ahead of our initial timeline by a lot,” Trump explained.

He concluded by saying the operation was aimed at eliminating the threat permanently.

“We're putting an end to all of this threat once and for all,” he said.

Trump says strikes to hit Iran based on 'information and belief'

The president, at his press conference in Doral, insisted Iran was "going to hit them. If I didn't hit them first, they were going to our allies first. I believe upon information and belief, but I believe that he was going to — they were going to take over the Middle East."

"Now, had Operation Midnight Hammer not taken place, that was definite, because they would have had a nuclear weapon within a matter of weeks. But that took place. That was a setback. But look at the number of missiles they were able to buy and make over the last six months," Trump added. 

"And those missiles were aimed at various countries. And when you look at a thousand, over-a-thousand missiles shot at, like, UAE, they were looking to take over the Middle East. We got there first. Lucky, I'll tell you what, the Middle East and those countries, very rich countries, are very lucky that I was president instead of somebody else." the President said. 

Trump says US strikes against Iran will dismantle key parts of its leadership structure

During the same conference on Monday, Trump also claimed that the US military had carried out a “very, very powerful” and “very effective” operation against Iran, suggesting the conflict with the country’s clerical regime could end “very soon".

Speaking to reporters in Florida, Trump said US strikes had effectively dismantled key parts of the Iranian leadership structure, arguing that the clerical regime was now largely “gone".

“And very soon. Look, everything they have is gone, including their leadership,” Trump said while discussing the possible end of the campaign. “In fact, there are two levels of leadership. And even actually, as it turns out, more than that. But two levels of leadership are gone.”

Trump added that many of the leaders targeted in the operation were not widely known to the public.

“Most people have never even heard about the leaders that they're talking about. So, it's obviously been very, very powerful, very effective," he added.