The Trump White House indicated Friday that the timeline for its ongoing military campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, may extend slightly longer than initially expected as U.S. forces continue targeting key threats posed by the Iranian regime.
During a press gaggle at the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to offer a firm end date for the operation, emphasizing that the administration is focused on achieving its objectives rather than publicly locking in a specific timeline.
“I’m not going to get ahead of the president on broadcasting any timelines,” Leavitt told reporters.
Still, the press secretary acknowledged that the operation’s projected timeframe has expanded beyond earlier estimates. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump had said the campaign was expected to last roughly four to five weeks.
“We projected four to five weeks,” Trump said Monday. “But we have capability to go far longer than that.”
Leavitt reiterated that message Friday while slightly broadening the expected duration of the mission.
“What I will tell you is what the president has already laid out,” she said. “The achievable objectives of Operation Epic Fury we expect to last four to six weeks and are well on our way to achieving those objectives.”
According to the White House, the campaign has already produced major battlefield gains in just the first several days of operations.
Leavitt pointed to the destruction of a significant portion of Iran’s naval capabilities as one of the most notable achievements so far. U.S. forces have sunk more than 30 Iranian vessels and ships, leaving the regime’s navy effectively unable to carry out combat operations.
“Annihilating Iran’s navy — we have sunk more than 30 vessels and ships,” she said. “Their navy is now deemed combat ineffective.”
Another major goal of Operation Epic Fury has been reducing Iran’s ballistic missile threat to the United States and American personnel stationed across the region. According to Leavitt, the U.S. military has made substantial progress toward neutralizing that danger.
“Taking out the ballistic missile threat that Iran posed to the United States and our troops and bases in the region — we have done a tremendous job, the United States military has done a tremendous job at achieving that objective, thus far,” she said.
Just six days into the campaign, Iranian retaliatory ballistic missile strikes have dropped sharply, according to the administration.
“Retaliatory ballistic missile strikes from Iran are now down 90%,” Leavitt said.
The White House also emphasized that Operation Epic Fury is aimed at ensuring Iran is never able to obtain a nuclear weapon. At the same time, the administration is seeking to weaken Iranian-backed proxy groups throughout the region.
Those proxy forces, Leavitt noted, have been linked to the deaths of Americans.
“We’ve seen Hezbollah and the Houthis hardly putting up a fight over the course of the last six days,” she said.
Leavitt reiterated that the broader mission remains focused on eliminating threats posed by the Iranian regime.
“Ultimately, the president made it very clear: He wants to take out the threat of Iran to the United States and Operation Epic Fury is well on the way to doing that,” she said.
The press secretary also said Trump is actively considering the question of Iran’s future leadership as the conflict unfolds.
According to Leavitt, the president is taking a direct interest in discussions about who might lead the country next.
“He wants to take an interest in pursuing who the next leader of the Iranian country is going to be,” she said, adding that the matter “has yet to be seen” and that the president is continuing to deliberate on the issue.
[READ MORE: Iranian Foreign Minister Says Tehran Ready for U.S. Ground Invasion, Refuses Negotiations With Trump]
