Donald Trump’s war on Iran isn’t nearly as far along as he’s willing to admit.
Top intelligence officials have repeatedly told the president, 79, that the Iranian regime is heavily fortifying its defenses and is prepared to wage counterattacks against the United States for an extended period of time, two of the president’s advisers and two additional sources told Zeteo this week. Additionally, Reuters reported on Wednesday that United States intelligence has concluded that Iran’s leadership is largely intact and nowhere near at risk of being toppled after two weeks of bombardment from the U.S. and Israel.
Despite that, Trump has publicly declared victory in the war he started, telling Axios on Wednesday that the conflict would end “soon” because “there is practically nothing left” of targets in Iran. Notably, the president has demanded nothing short of “unconditional surrender” from the Iranian regime.
He then later told other reporters, on the way from the White House to a Kentucky rally, that he is, in fact, “not done” and that the U.S. military will be pushing ahead with “more of the same.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian regime has shown no inclination of surrendering, despite the death of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, after the U.S. launched strikes on the country on Feb. 28 in coordination with Israel. In fact, intelligence officials also informed the president that there are signs the Iranian regime is shoring up support for lengthy retaliation against the U.S., according to Zeteo.
On Thursday, Khamenei’s reportedly wounded son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, released a statement on Iranian television.
“I assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs,” the statement reads, despite some reports that he is in a coma.
It continues: “The retaliation we have in mind is not limited only to the martyrdom of the great leader of the revolution [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]; rather, every member of the nation who is martyred by the enemy constitutes a separate case in the file of revenge.”
While Trump has repeatedly flip-flopped on the length and outcome of his war, he’s also refused to acknowledge its human cost. Military analysts have reportedly found that the U.S. is behind a strike on a primary school in Iran that officials said killed 168 people, including 110 children—amounting to the most catastrophic military error in decades.
The Pentagon has largely responded to such reports with silence. An open letter signed by virtually every Democrat in the Senate on Thursday demanding transparency over the devastating strike has so far gone unanswered and unacknowledged.
“We write with grave concern regarding the airstrikes on a girls’ elementary school,” the letter reads. “There must be a swift investigation into the strikes on this school and any other potential U.S. military actions causing civilian harm, and the findings must be released to the public as soon as possible, along with any measures to pursue accountability.”
Meanwhile, Trump has swerved any accountability for the devastation. He first tried to lay blame on Iran for the strike, telling reporters on Saturday: “Based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran..we think it was done by Iran, because they are very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever.”
Then, when pressed on a video that showed a U.S.-made Tomahawk missile striking a building near the girls’ school, he sidestepped the question, telling reporters that Iran “also has Tomahawks,” a claim widely disputed by military experts and his own officials.
He then said he “didn’t know enough about” the strikes to take any responsibility for them.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
