President Donald Trump on Monday declared that the joint U.S.-Israeli operation to "crush the threat" in Iran is "ahead of schedule," stating that many of the regime's military leaders were eliminated in about an hour.
Trump provided an update on "Operation Epic Fury" during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House, vowing that the U.S. will "easily prevail" over the "terrorist regime."
"We have the strongest and most powerful, by far, military in the world, and we will easily prevail," the president said. "We're already substantially ahead of our time projections, but whatever the time is, it's okay. Whatever it takes."
The U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Saturday morning, a joint military campaign that officials say targeted Iranian leadership and key military installations.
HEGSETH LAYS OUT 'CLEAR' 3-PART MISSION AGAINST IRAN, SAYS WAR 'IS NOT ENDLESS'
Trump said that the operation is projected to last four to five weeks, noting that "we have capability to go far longer than that."
"We also projected four weeks to terminate the military leadership," Trump added. "And as you know, that was done in about an hour. So we're ahead of schedule there by a lot."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among five to 10 top leaders killed after an Israeli strike in Tehran as part of the joint operation, a U.S. senior official previously confirmed to Fox News. Iran's state media also confirmed that Khamenei and several senior leaders were killed in the strikes.
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Earlier Monday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined what he described as a "clear" three-part mission against Iran, insisting the conflict "is not endless" and sharply rejecting comparisons to past U.S. wars in the Middle East.
"We set the terms of this war from start to finish. Our ambitions are not utopian. They are realistic, scoped to our interests and the defense of our people and our allies," he told reporters at the Pentagon.
Officials tell Fox News that Israel is focusing on Iranian leadership targets, while the United States is targeting military sites and ballistic missile infrastructure it says pose an "imminent threat."
Fox News Digital's Ashley Carnahan and Max Bacall contributed to this report.
