White House says Trump's Iran strikes not a "bluff", but targeted operation

On March 4, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described recent strikes by U.S. President Donald Trump against Iran as compelling proof that he "doesn't bluff.”

“The terrorists bet that President Trump would be like many of his predecessors, that he would just talk and he would refuse to enforce his clear red lines, but that has proven to be a catastrophic error in judgement,” CNN quotes Trump as saying.

“When President Trump makes a threat — and I have reiterated that threat many times from this podium to all of you over the past year — President Trump does not bluff.”

Leavitt emphasized that the strikes were a response to threats from Iran and targeted four main objectives: the destruction of ballistic missile programs, undermining Iran’s naval presence, eliminating proxy terrorist groups, and preventing the development of nuclear weapons.

““Iran rejected the path of peace because the terrorists in charge of this regime wanted to build nuclear weapons to use against Americans and our allies,” Leavitt asserted.

She added that regime change in Iran is not a primary goal, although the elimination of individual leaders is welcomed.

“Obviously, as the president has said numerous times, do we want to see Iran being led by a rogue terrorist regime? No, of course, not,” she said. “So any day the United States of America is taking out a terrorist is a good day for our country and a good day for our people.”

The press secretary noted that the decision to launch the operation was based on intelligence about the location of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other leaders, and that the timing of the strikes was chosen based on this information.

At the same time, Leavitt denied U.S. involvement in the strike on a girls’ elementary school, stressing that military actions are aimed solely at the “criminal Iranian regime.”

“So, I would caution you from pointing the finger at the United States of America when it comes to targeting civilians, because that’s not something that these armed forces do,” Leavitt said.

She added that Trump is not considering a U.S. troop landing in Iran, focusing instead on quickly and efficiently achieving the objectives of Operation “Epic Fury.”

“They’re not part of the plan for this operation at this time, but I certainly will never take away military options on behalf of the president of the United States or the commander in chief, and he wisely does not do the same for himself,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

By Khagan Isayev