Trump's statement on the course of the war: If we were to destroy Iran, we could do it even this afternoon

US President Donald Trump answered questions from reporters in the White House garden before his visits to Ohio and Kentucky.

Starting his remarks with the message that the US military has struck Iran very hard, Trump, when asked what more needs to be done for the operations to end, said, "We need to continue in the same way. We will see how the result turns out. Right now, they have lost their navies and air forces. They have no air defense systems. They have no radars. Their leaders are nowhere to be found."

"If we were to destroy them, we could do it even this afternoon"

Trump stated, "We could do much worse things if we wanted to, but we are specifically leaving some things alone. If we were to destroy them, we could do it even this afternoon. Actually, we could even do it within an hour."

He brushed off the question regarding the school attack in Iran

When reminded that initial findings from the investigation into the school attack in Iran, which killed 175 people, mostly children, point to the US as the culprit, Trump said, "I don't know about that."

When asked if he had spoken with CEOs of oil companies and encouraged them to use the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, "Yes, I think they should use it. Look, we destroyed almost all of their mine-laying ships in one night," announcing that the number of Iranian naval assets struck by the US has reached 60.

Regarding reports that mines were being laid in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, "We don't think that's the case."

When asked if it would be possible to declare victory in this war if the son of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the attacks, remains as the country's new leader, Trump said, "I don't want to comment on that."

"We may cut off trade with Spain"

When asked if there is any cooperation between Spain and the US, Trump replied, "No. I don't think they are cooperating at all. Spain has behaved very badly. They have behaved very badly toward NATO. Perhaps we may cut off trade with Spain. I don't know what Spain is doing. They are being protected but they don't want to pay their share. It has been like this for years."

"We need to get rid of Hezbollah"

Regarding Hezbollah and Lebanon, Trump said, "We love Lebanon and the people of Lebanon. But we need to get rid of Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been a disaster for years."

Trump refused to answer a question asking, "Will the US withdraw from Iran even if Iran does not surrender?" Trump stated, "We have hit them harder than any country in history has ever been hit. And it is not over yet."