In an 8-minute video shared on social media, President Donald Trump announced that the United States has undertaken "major combat operations" in Iran.
The announcement comes after weeks of negotiations and threats between the two countries, which was further complicated after Iran called on the U.S. to scale back on its "excessive demands." The "demands," however, were never revealed.
U.S. envoys took part in another round of talks with Iran in Geneva regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program, but the conversations were inconclusive.
While speaking to reporters about the conversations, President Trump shared his disapproval of the lack of progress.
"I'm not happy with the fact that they're not willing to give us what we have to have," the president commented. "I'm not thrilled with that. We'll see what happens."
In the video announcing the attack, President Trump highlighted, "Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people." Accusing the Iranian regime of conducting "mass terror," he declared, "We're not gonna put up with it any longer."
President Trump explained that Iran has been rebuilding its nuclear weapons program, and the U.S. cannot allow them to have a nuclear weapon. "Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had, and actually were armed with, nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message?" he questioned.
Calling the attack "a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests," the president charged that the U.S. will "destroy their missiles and raise their missile industry to the ground." "We're going to annihilate their Navy, we're going to ensure that the region's terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world."
President Trump ended the announcement with a message to the Iranian people.
"When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations," he said to the Iranian people.
"The hour of your freedom is at hand," he declared.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also released a video, announcing that Israel had joined the U.S. in the attack "to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran."
