Donald Trump said the US military is “knocking the c**p” out of Iran on the third day of joint strikes with Israel, as he issued an ominous warning that “the big wave” is still to come.
The US president told CNN as the conflict exploded into regional chaos: “We’re knocking the c**p out of them. I think it’s going very well.”
Asked how long he expected the clashes to go on for, he said: “I don’t want to see it go on too long. I always thought it would be four weeks and we’re a little ahead of schedule.”
Urging Iranian citizens to stay inside, he boasted that “we haven’t even started hitting them hard”, warning: “The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
Israel and the US began a new wave of attacks against Tehran on Monday as Hezbollah entered the fray on the side of Iran. The US military said four of its service members have been killed in strikes.
Trump also slammed Keir Starmer, telling The Telegraph that the British prime minister had taken “far too much time” to let the US use its air bases in operations, assessing Sir Keir appeared to be “worried about the legality” of the strikes.
18 US service members ‘seriously wounded’ in attacksAt least 18 US service members have been “seriously wounded” during America’s military operations against Iran, according to US Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins.
Four service members have been killed so far, with sources telling CNN that the deaths were related to the same attack in Kuwait.
Maira Butt2 March 2026 14:59
Netanyahu says he is trying to ‘save the world’ as he visits site of Iranian strike in Beit ShemeshIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited Beit Shemesh, the site of an Iranian missile strike.
“The tyrants of Tehran target civilians, we target the tyrants of Tehran to protect civilians,” he said in the rubble outside the site of the hit.
“I said that they [Iran] would target Europe and they did. If they get nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, they will threaten all of humanity. We set out to protect ourselves but in so doing, we protect many others.
“I want to say a special thanks to our great friend and a great leader of the world, Donald Trump, for joining us in this crucial effort to save the world.”
(Sky News)Maira Butt2 March 2026 14:48
Hezbollah accused of firing drones at RAF Akrotiri base in CyrpusA Cyprus source has told Reuters that Hezbollah fired drones that targeted the RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus on Monday.
British fighter jets appeared to have been scrambled in response to the threat as sirens were heard ringing out.
Maira Butt2 March 2026 14:41
Hezbollah accused of firing drones at RAF Akrotiri base in CyrpusA Cyprus source has told Reuters that Hezbollah fired drones that targeted the RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus on Monday.
British fighter jets appeared to have been scrambled in response to the threat as sirens were heard ringing out.
Maira Butt2 March 2026 14:40
In pictures: Satellite imagery of Kuwaiti air baseA satellite view shows the Ali Al Salem Base near Al Jahra, Kuwait, on 22 February 2026.
(via REUTERS)
(via REUTERS)
(via REUTERS)Maira Butt2 March 2026 14:25
‘No more stupid rules of engagement’, says HegsethAt a press conference this afternoon, US secretary of war Pete Hegseth said that America would no longer follow “stupid rules of engagement”.
He said: “No stupid rules of engagement, no nation building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win, and we don’t waste time or lives.”
Maira Butt2 March 2026 14:14
Who is Ali Larijani? Top Iranian official expected to step into power vacuum left by Khamenei’s deathHours after the deadly strikes, Larijani, 67, took to X – a platform banned to most Iranian citizens – to write: “Today we will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before.”
His aggressive approach hardened over the weekend as a three-person interim leadership committee officially took over the leadership of the Islamic Republic. He also hit out at reports he had made a new effort to continue nuclear talks with the Trump administration.
Maira Butt2 March 2026 14:00
Watch: Pete Hegseth laments ‘pearl-clutching allies’ and ‘stupid’ rules of engagementPete Hegseth laments ‘pearl-clutching allies’ and ‘stupid’ rules of engagementMaira Butt2 March 2026 13:53
No US boots on the ground in Iran at the moment, says HegsethPete Hegseth has said there are currently no boots on the ground in Iran.
Hegseth and General Dan Caine delivered a press conference this afternoon detailing the US-Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend.
Asked if there were boots on the ground in Iran, Mr Hegseth answered: “No, but we’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do.”
Maira Butt2 March 2026 13:48
On possible ground offensive: ‘We will go as far as we need to go’, says Hegseth US secretary of war Pete Hegseth has refused to rule out a possible ground invasion of Iran.
“We will go as far as we need to go,” he said, adding that providing additional information would be “tipping off the enemy”.
Mr Hegseth said that President Donald Trump has the “latitude to say what time frame of Iran operation could be”.
“We fight to win,” he added.
(AFP via Getty Images)Maira Butt2 March 2026 13:42
