Trump Vows To Avenge US Military Deaths, Tells Iranians To Rise Up, 'America Is With You'
The US President vowed to avenge deaths of three US troops in the war he launched against Iran, as he acknowledged more casualties were likely.
Published : March 2, 2026 at 11:14 AM IST
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Sunday termed that Operation Epic Fury, one of the "most overwhelming military offensive" against Iran, would "continue at full force until all of the objectives are achieved.
The US and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday, dropping massive bombs on its ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Israel and at US military installations around the Gulf, and also at the Saudi capital and the global business hub of Dubai.
Trump further vowed to avenge the deaths of three US troops in a war he launched against Iran, as he acknowledged more casualties were likely. "Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends," Trump said in a video address published on his Truth Social platform, responding to news of the casualties.
Three American service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded during the US attacks on Iran, the military announced Sunday, marking the first American casualties in a major offensive that Trump said could likely lead to more losses in the coming weeks.
"America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against, basically, civilisation," the US president said.
The President also asserted that US forces had struck hundreds of targets across Iran, including facilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and air defence systems. "I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian Naval Ships, some of them relatively large and important," Trump said on his Truth Social network.
"We are going after the rest -- They will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also! In a different attack, we largely destroyed their Naval Headquarters," he said.
The US President characterised Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, as a "wretched and vile man." He alleged that Khamenei had the blood of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans on his hands and was responsible for the "slaughter of countless innocent people" in various countries.
He further claimed that celebrations were reported across Iran following the announcement of Khamenei's death, and its entire military command structure had been dismantled.
"The entire military command is gone as well, and many of them want to surrender to save their lives. They want immunity." Trump asserted that an Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons posed a grave threat. "We cannot allow a nation that raises terrorist armies to possess such weapons. We're not going to let it happen," he said.
"For almost 50 years, these wicked extremists have been attacking the United States while chanting the slogan, death to America or death to Israel or both. They are the world's number one state sponsor of terror," Trump said.
Trump warned Iran's security forces to surrender or be killed, after the US military said it destroyed the headquarters of the elite Revolutionary Guards.
"I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military and police to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death. It will be certain death. It won't be pretty," Trump said in a video address.
"I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military and police to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death. It will be certain death. It won't be pretty," Trump said in a video address.
He concluded the address by encouraging Iranians to “take over” their government and urged them to rise to topple the Islamic Republic. "I call upon all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment to be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country. America is with you," Trump said in a video address.
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