Trump says 'I like our position' after US trades strikes with Iran for first time in a month - Fox News

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Trump says US prepared for more attacks after Iran ‘love tap’

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. is prepared to strike Iran again at any time, hours after U.S. forces intercepted several retaliatory Iranian attacks that Trump downplayed as a “love tap.”

“It was a very heavy attack last night, and we’re prepared to do another one anytime we want,” Trump said.

Trump said the U.S. “blew up much more than their radars,” touting America’s advanced defense systems.

“We have technology that's incredible. Nobody has technology like we have. So, we hit them hard last night, very hard. They gave a little love tap, but we hit them very hard,” Trump said.

“We took out all of the new equipment that they tried to build along the Strait of Hormuz, some defensive, some offensive.”

Trump says midterms will not change Iran war strategy: 'I’m not running'

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the upcoming November midterm elections will not affect his commitment to the war with Iran.

“I’m not affected by the election,” he said. “I’m not running.”

While the war has disrupted global energy markets and driven up gas prices, Trump said his party understands that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is a major priority.

“But I think my party respects the fact that we're not allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon. And frankly, other presidents should have done that, but they didn't have whatever it takes to do it,” he said.

The economic fallout from the conflict could weigh on voters heading into the midterm elections.

U.S. officials have previously warned that Tehran’s leadership is well aware of the U.S. election timeline and may be seeking to keep the U.S. entangled in the conflict through brief ceasefires before resuming attacks ahead of November.

Iran-backed Iraqi terror group threatens to kill US troops who remain after withdrawal

Iran-backed Iraqi terrorist groups on Wednesday reportedly issued a major threat against U.S. forces scheduled to withdraw from the country by the end of the month, warning that any American troops who remain after the deadline will be killed.

“If even one soldier remains in Iraq after that date, we will not allow them to return safely and will send back their body,” Akram al-Kaabi, secretary-general of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, said, according to Iran International, citing Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency.

Al-Kaabi said that the terrorist group is fully prepared to engage in battle, adding that President Donald Trump will not win the war in the Middle East, according to the report.

U.S. troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by Sept. 30, bringing an end to a 23-year U.S. military mission after Trump said he no longer believes American forces are needed in the country.

Russia secretly helping Iran develop supersonic missiles in covert program: report

Russia has reportedly been secretly helping Iran develop an advanced supersonic cruise missile possibly capable of threatening U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships in the Middle East.

The new class of weapon is being developed under a covert program codenamed C430L that began in 2023, according to a Financial Times investigation.

The weapon uses a ramjet propulsion system, an engine that allows cruise missiles to sustain speeds several times faster than sound, according to the report. Such speeds would significantly reduce the time available for defense systems to detect and engage the missile, the outlet said.

Iran has already built and flight-tested the ramjet propulsion system, but there is no evidence that a Russian-assisted supersonic cruise missile has been deployed, according to the report, FT said.

In a statement to Fox News, the White House on Wednesday assured that no outside assistance could save Iran, which it said was “completely” destroyed by Operation Epic Fury.

“Iran was completely decimated militarily by Operation Epic Fury, and now, the regime is being strangled economically by Operation Economic Fury and one of the most successful blockades in history. Nothing provided by any other country could save Iran from their dismal reality,” the statement said.

Whitaker says US sanctions and blockades have ‘bankrupted Iran'