New Delhi, March 3 -- In his first live address since authorising direct strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump said the United States initially prepared for four to five weeks of sustained combat, but asserted that the campaign is already progressing "substantially ahead" of schedule. The remarks signal an intensifying U.S.-Israel military effort across the Middle East, even as officials decline to clarify its precise scope or duration.

Speaking at a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House, Trump framed the operation as both urgent and open-ended, emphasising that military planners had anticipated a longer timeline. The intervention, launched under the codename Operation Epic Fury, has drawn retaliatory Iranian strikes that have kil...