United States President Donald Trump has claimed that no American military personnel have been killed in the past seven months, as he defended Washington’s ongoing confrontation with Iran.
Trump made the statement on Friday while speaking to reporters, insisting that the United States was not engaged in a war with Iran despite the escalating military tensions between the two countries.
“We’re not fighting,” Trump said, contrasting the situation with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The US president also claimed that Washington had imposed what he described as “the greatest blockade in military history” against Tehran.
Trump further disclosed that the United States was making progress in its engagements with Iran, suggesting that Tehran was interested in reaching an agreement.
“We’re dealing with them now. They want to make a deal,” he said.
“We’ve made a lot of progress with Iran,” Trump added, without providing further details about the nature or status of the reported negotiations.
Trump also acknowledged that American forces had carried out limited strikes against Iranian military equipment. He claimed that a recently developed Iranian air-defence system was destroyed within minutes.
“They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five,” Trump said, without identifying the location or date of the operation.
The president further claimed that Iran’s navy had been destroyed and alleged that the country was experiencing an inflation rate of 300 per cent.
Trump’s comments come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the US president maintaining that his administration is pursuing its objectives without being engaged in a conventional war with Iran.