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Trump Says Iran Campaign Could Last “Four Weeks — or Less” as U.S. Confirms First American Deaths

MAR-A-LAGO, Fla. — President Donald Trump said the joint U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran was designed to last roughly four weeks, as the Pentagon confirmed the first American service members killed since the new phase of fighting began.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Trump outlined what he described as the original timeline for the operation. “It was always planned as a four-week process. We assumed that it would take about four weeks. It was always designed to be about four weeks — as strong as that is, it’s a big country, it’s going to take four weeks — or less,” the president said.

The conflict escalated sharply when the United States and Israel launched a broad wave of coordinated strikes across Iran. Among the reported casualties was Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, whose death was later confirmed by Iranian state media. The strikes targeted key leadership and military facilities, dramatically altering the balance of power inside the Islamic Republic.

Iran has since launched retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets and U.S. military installations in the Middle East, raising fears of a wider regional war.

U.S. Central Command confirmed that three American service members were killed in the fighting, with several others wounded. The identities of the fallen have not yet been publicly released, in accordance with standard military notification procedures.

“They are great people,” President Trump said of the casualties. “And you know, unfortunately, we expect something like this to happen. It could happen continuously — it could happen again.”

Trump acknowledged that the three deaths mark the first American military fatalities of his second term. Earlier high-profile operations — including the January capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and the June 2025 bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities — were carried out without reported U.S. combat deaths.

Regarding the current operation, Trump struck a confident tone. “I think it’s going according to plan,” he said. “We also took out their entire leadership — far, far more than we expected. It looks like 48.” The White House has not publicly detailed the full scope of those figures, and independent verification remains ongoing.

While defending the military strategy, Trump left the door open to potential diplomacy. He indicated he would be willing to engage in talks with Iranian representatives but did not specify when such discussions might occur.

The president first announced the beginning of major combat operations in the early hours of Saturday morning via a post on Truth Social at approximately 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time. He has since signaled that he may address the American public again as the situation develops.

With active combat continuing and regional tensions high, the coming weeks — whether four or fewer — are likely to prove decisive for both Washington and Tehran.