Trump says Iran operations likely to last 4 to 5 weeks, but prepared ‘to go far longer’

As the war in the Middle East spirals further, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. has “ the capability to go far longer ” than its projected four to five week time frame for its military operations against Iran.

The comment, made during a Medal of Honor ceremony, comes as the U.S. and Israel have continued pounding Iran since killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas.

The intensity of the attacks and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences.

At least 555 people have been killed in Iran so far by the U.S.-Israeli campaign, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, and more than 130 cities across the country have come under attack. In Israel, 11 people have been killed, with 31 in Lebanon, according to authorities.

Here is the latest:

Spain says joint US bases were not used in attack on Iran

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the U.S. attack an “unjustifiable” and “dangerous” military intervention.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles said “no assistance of any kind, absolutely none,” had been provided from the Rota and Morón bases in southern Spain, which are shared with the U.S. but remain under Spanish command.

“There is a deal with the U.S. over these bases, but our understanding of the deal is that operations have to comply with international legal frameworks and that there has to be international support for them,” Robles said.

The U.S. and Israel were acting “unilaterally without the support of an international resolution,” Robles said.

Flight map data from FlightRadar24 showed that several U.S. military aircraft had left the bases in southern Spain since the weekend attack, including nine tankers that departed Sunday from Morón for Germany.

Israel says it intercepted a drone from Lebanon

Israel’s military said the hostile aircraft was intercepted and it is reviewing the incident. The army’s social media post did not blame the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah or any other party.

Iran-backed Hezbollah did not immediately issue a statement. The group had fired rockets late Sunday into northern Israel, sparking Israeli strikes throughout Lebanon that killed at least 31 people and displaced thousands.

Drone hits at a fuel terminal in the UAE but fire is contained

Authorities in Abu Dhabi quickly responded to the drone attack on the Musaffah fuel terminal and got the fire under control. No injuries were reported and operations at the terminal were not affected, according to a statement by the Abu Dhabi Media Office posted on X.

Russia’s Putin speaks to Saudi crown prince

Vladimir Putin held a phone call Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss “the escalation in the Middle East as a result of American-Israeli armed aggression” against Iran, the Kremlin said.

Both “expressed serious concern over the real risks of the spreading of the conflict, which has already affected several Arab countries and is fraught with catastrophic consequences,” the Kremlin said in the readout of the call.

Putin “emphasized the urgent need to resolve the current extremely dangerous situation through political and diplomatic means,” and Prince Mohammed “expressed the opinion that Russia could play a positive, stabilizing role in these times, given its friendly relations with both Iran and the Persian Gulf countries,” the readout said.

Tennis stars in Dubai and Paralympians face travel issues due to war

Former U.S. Open tennis champion Daniil Medvedev has indicated he’s one of what the ATP Tour calls “a small number of players and team members” it is trying to help leave Dubai. A widespread travel shutdown has also caused issues for athletes heading to the Paralympics.

Medvedev’s Instagram account reposted on Monday a report from a Russian-language tennis outlet, Bolshe, which said he was safe and staying at a friend’s apartment in Dubai, amid flight cancellations after winning the ATP event there last week.

Medvedev and others are due to play at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, where main-draw matches start Wednesday.

The Winter Paralympics open in Italy on Friday and some athletes are facing travel difficulties, the International Paralympic Committee said. Iran has one cross-country skier expected to compete at the March 6-15 Paralympics.

Trump articulates his four objectives for the US war in Iran

The president said U.S. forces are out to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its naval capacity, stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon and “ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm fund and directors armies outside of their borders.”

He said U.S. attacks have already “knocked out” 10 ships, and that attacks on Iran’s missile capacity is ensuring they is destroyed while stopping “their capacity to produce brand ones.”

“This was our last, best chance to strike — what we’re doing right now — and eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime,” Trump said.

Trump says the US expected the Iran operation to take 4 to 5 weeks

The president said during an unrelated event at the White House that from the beginning, the U.S. has projected that time frame but “we have the capability to go far longer than that.”

He then said he wouldn’t get “bored” of continuing the operation over such time. “I don’t get bored. There’s nothing boring about this.”

Trump said the U.S. had also projected it would take four weeks to get rid of Iran’s military leadership, but that was quickly accomplished “so we’re ahead of schedule there.”