WATCH: Remaining Iranian Leaders Are ‘Begging’ For A Deal, Trump Says

President Donald Trump said during remarks from the White House on Thursday that remaining leaders in Iran are “begging” the United States to make a deal after days of continuous strikes that have killed much of the nation’s senior leadership — including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — and severely degraded the nation’s missile capacity.

During the event, Trump stated that Iran was actively seeking negotiations but emphasized it was too late for a deal under current terms. “We have the most powerful army in the world. Now we want to fight more than they do. They call begging for a deal, it’s too late for that.”

Trump also issued a direct warning to Iranian leadership and called for immediate surrender. “Lay down your arms or face absolute guaranteed death… I also call on all Iranian diplomats to defect and seek asylum,” the president said, adding that those who do so will receive immunity.

“You’ll be perfectly safe, or you’ll face guaranteed death,” he added before urging the Iranian people to “take back” their country.

The remarks came amid the fourth day of Operation Epic Fury, with U.S. forces reporting continued degradation of Iranian military assets. Earlier in the day, War Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated that operations were proceeding “ahead of schedule” while speaking from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

While giving a briefing alongside CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper, Hegseth indicated that the timeline is “ours and ours alone to control.” The remarks came after The Times of Israel reported that Israeli operations were expected to continue for one or two more weeks.

Hegseth also dismissed claims of ammunition and interceptor shortages as inaccurate, stating that the military can “sustain the fight for as long as it takes.”

Cooper said the next phase of the operation will focus on trying to “systemically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability.” Cooper added that mission is currently underway but will “take some time.”

He further stated that in the last 72 hours, America’s bomber force has struck nearly 200 targets deep inside of Iran, including around Tehran, and on Thursday, B-2 bombers dropped “dozens of 2,000-pound penetrators” targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launchers.

Both men further indicated that Iranian drone and missile capacity has declined by 90 percent since combat operations began on February 28.

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