‘The Big One is Coming Soon’: Trump Warns Heavier Strikes on Tehran Regime Targets Imminent

Latest Developments

Trump Praises Operation’s Progress: In an interview with CNN on March 2, President Donald Trump assessed that Operation Epic Fury targeting the regime in Iran was “going very well.” “Right now, we want everyone staying inside, it’s not safe out there [Iran],” Trump said, adding pointedly that “it’s about to get even less safe; we haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.” Trump also noted that several Gulf and Arab states across the Middle East — including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — have expressed a willingness to participate in offensive operations against the Iranian regime. “We told them, ‘We’ve got this,’” he stated. “And now, they want to fight.” U.S. Central Command stated that as of 7:30 a.m. EST on March 2, four U.S. service members have been killed in action during the operation.
Pentagon Briefs Public on Operation: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on March 2 that Iran’s stalling during negotiations and rearmament led to the attack on the regime. Iran had been “building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions,” Hegseth said. Referring to Iran’s rulers as the “former regime,” he stated that Tehran had been given “every chance to make a peaceful and sensible deal.” Hegseth declined to put a timeline on U.S. operations, stating that the operation had a mission to “destroy the missile threat” from Iran, destroy its Navy, and destroy its nuclear capabilities. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed that more U.S. forces are heading to the Middle East, without specifying the quantity.
Iran Hits Targets Around the Middle East: Iran and its proxies continued to strike targets across the Middle East, including the energy infrastructure in neighboring states. Oil giant Aramco halted operations at Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery, Ras Tanura, after two Iranian drones that had targeted the facility were intercepted. QatarEnergy was also forced to stop production of liquefied natural gas after Iranian attacks against facilities at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed. Kuwaiti state media reported that debris from intercepted Iranian drones struck the Ahmadi oil refinery. Separately, the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait apparently came under attack from Iranian projectiles, with visible smoke rising from the site on Monday. In the Israeli city of Beer Sheva, 51 people were injured by an Iranian missile strike.

FDD Expert Response

“If done properly, this is a four-to-six-week strike effort that works across numerous lines of effort: IRGC leadership, suppression of enemy air defense, the nuclear program, ballistic missile assets and production, drone assets and production, and naval capabilities. The president is right to notify the U.S. public that this will require significant U.S. and Israeli strike assets — possibly joined by other partners. We will also continue to receive retaliatory strikes from Iran until we have knocked their systems completely offline. We shouldn’t take our foot off the gas until we have serviced all possible targets.” — RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Senior Fellow and Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology

“The United States is dealing body blows to Iranian command-and-control centers and headquarters, communication abilities, air defenses, naval assets, ballistic missile production, and missile and drone launch sites. Despite that, the coming days will be difficult, and achieving some of the stated military objectives will be time and resource intensive. We should not underestimate Tehran’s global terror network and the willingness and capability of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to murder more Iranians to retain its grip on power.” — Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power

“After its civilian facilities, such as the Dubai airport, took direct Iranian hits, the UAE severed ties with Iran and shut down its embassy. Qatar, a friend and ally of Iran, also watched its civilian international airport pounded by the Iranians. Doha stopped short of severing ties, saying it had stopped all communication with Iran until further notice. The lesson is that Tehran has gone rogue and has no friends, even those dying for its friendship, like Qatar. Iran now has only enemies.” — Hussain Abdul-Hussain, Research Fellow

“The U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have rightly focused on destroying Iran’s ability to retaliate, including missile stockpiles, drones, and launch sites. The president has indicated that a greater effort is underway. If the administration were to take larger action, it would almost certainly include Iran’s nuclear sites, enrichment facilities, uranium mining and storage, and clandestine locations that the regime in Tehran has not disclosed publicly. Even with several thousand strikes occurring since the operation was launched, Iran is a vast geographic area requiring a prolonged kinetic campaign to significantly degrade Iran’s vast nuclear infrastructure.” — Tyler Stapleton, Senior Director of Government Relations, FDD Action