US general says military objectives in Iran to take time

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said on March 2 that it would take time to achieve US military objectives in Iran and that additional American casualties are expected.

"This is not ⁠a single overnight operation. The military objectives that CENTCOM and the ⁠Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty ⁠work," Caine told reporters, foreign media reports.

Caine said President Donald Trump gave the “go order” for the operation on Friday, February 27, at 3:38 p.m. ET, adding that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) received the order from Trump via the secretary of war.

The U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran expanded on March 2, with no indication of an imminent end. The U.S. military said that Kuwait’s air defences mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighter jets during an Iranian attack.

Caine said that U.S. and Israeli strikes had resulted in "local air superiority," which he described as helping to better protect American forces and enabling them to continue operations.

He also stated that U.S. cyber and space operations have "continuously layered effects to disrupt disorient and confuse the enemy."

By Sabina Mammadli