White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the United States will have “complete and total dominance” over Iranian airspace in the next few hours.
“We expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours, clearing the skies for our brave warriors to continue achieving these noble and long sought after objectives,” Leavitt said during today’s press briefing.
Leavitt’s comments come as Iran has continued its retaliatory strikes on neighbors in the Middle East, following the US-Israeli attacks that began the war this weekend.
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told reporters earlier that “Iran’s theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a 23% decrease just in the last 24 hours.”
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has reiterated the four-pronged objective for its military strikes on Iran, hewing closely to its messaging amid confusion from allies over the path to this weekend’s blitz.
According to Leavitt, who is briefing reporters at the White House now, the administration is seeking to:
destroy the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile program
“annihilate” Iran’s naval presence in the region
dismantle Iran’s terrorist proxies, which have been responsible for attacks on US coalition forces and contributed to destabilization in the region
prevent Iran from further pursuing a nuclear weapon
Leavitt’s comments come as the administration has struggled to vocalize its goals in Iran following the first strikes in the early hours of Saturday morning.
“It’s safe to say that thus far, Operation Epic Fury has been a resounding success,” Leavitt told reporters Wednesday.
Source: CNN
- Agencies
