Iran War Enters Third Day

As the American-Israeli war on Iran entered its third day Monday, Israel was rocked by Iranian missiles while Israel and the U.S. continued air operations over Iran. 

Hezbollah also retaliated against Israel, launching missiles against Israel from Lebanon. Israel responded with strikes, killing more than two dozen people

President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters that the war will continue, probably for about four weeks, and that the U.S. has not ruled out sending ground troops into the conflict.

In a phone interview conducted by CNN’s Jake Tapper early Monday morning, President Donald Trump said that  the “big wave” is yet to come in the war with Iran. “I think it’s going very well. It’s very powerful. We’ve got the greatest military in the world and we’re using it,” he said. Trump told the Daily Mail that the Iran War would last four weeks or less. “It’s always been a four week process… It’s a big country. It’ll take four weeks — or less,” he told the paper.

Trump later told the New York Post that he has not ruled out sending U.S. ground troops into the conflict. 

Secretary of War Pete Hesgeth told reporters at a press conference on Monday morning that the operation had a “clear, devastating, decisive mission” to “destroy the missile threat” from Iran, as well as to destroy its naval forces and ensure “no nukes.”

Asked whether or not there are U.S. boots on the ground in Iran, Hegseth said, “No, but we’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do.”

“This is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it,” Hegseth added. 

CENTCOM reported that an additional U.S. servicemember had been killed, bringing the reported American fatality count to four.

Qatar announced on Monday that it has halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production due to attacks from Iran against its operating facilities. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Ministry of Defense reported that it shot down two Iranian Su-24 bomber planes on Monday, on behalf of the U.S.-Israeli war effort. Qatar hosts the Middle East’s largest U.S. military base, Al Udeid Air Base, near Doha. 

Oil prices and defense contractor share prices surged in reaction to the ongoing war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly 20 to 30 percent of global seaborne oil shipments.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Saturday and released on Sunday found that only 27 percent of Americans approve of U.S. strikes against Iran, compared with 43 percent who disapprove. Surveys taken before the attacks likewise showed only minority backing for the war the U.S. is now engaged in.