US War With Iran to End Only After Objectives of ‘Operation Epic Fury’ Are Achieved: White House

Washington, March 2026 : The White House has said that the United States will conclude its ongoing military campaign against Iran only after the core objectives of Operation Epic Fury are fully achieved, with President Donald Trump retaining the final authority to decide when the operation ends.

Speaking during a press briefing in Washington, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the campaign was progressing faster than initially anticipated but emphasized that the timeline for ending the war would depend on whether the administration’s military objectives had been accomplished.

Leavitt said the decision to end the operation would ultimately rest with the President, who serves as commander-in-chief of the US armed forces. According to her, the campaign will continue until Washington is satisfied that Iran’s military capabilities have been neutralised and the strategic goals of the mission have been fulfilled.

“Ultimately, the operations will end when the commander-in-chief determines that the military objectives have been met and fully realised, and that Iran is in a position of complete and unconditional surrender, whether they say it publicly or not,” she told reporters.

The White House indicated that when the campaign was first launched, US defence planners had estimated that it might take several weeks to achieve its full goals. Leavitt said the initial timeline for the operation was between four and six weeks.

“The President and the US military’s initial assessment suggested that it could take about four to six weeks to accomplish the full objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” she said.

The administration has outlined a series of strategic goals for the operation. These include dismantling Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, crippling its naval power, weakening allied militant networks in the region, and permanently preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

According to Leavitt, the United States remains committed to eliminating Iran’s ability to manufacture and deploy advanced missile systems, while also targeting the infrastructure that supports its military programs.

“Our objectives are clear — to destroy their missiles and their ability to manufacture them, eliminate their naval capabilities, permanently deny them nuclear weapons, and weaken the terrorist proxies that threaten stability in the region,” she said.

The White House also claimed that the operation has already inflicted significant damage on Iran’s military assets. US forces have carried out thousands of strikes since the campaign began.

“More than 5,000 enemy targets have been struck so far,” Leavitt said.

She added that the pressure from these strikes has dramatically reduced Iran’s ability to launch retaliatory attacks. According to the White House, both missile and drone assaults from Iranian forces have declined since the beginning of the campaign.

“Iran’s ballistic missile attacks are down by more than 90 per cent, and their drone attacks have dropped by roughly 35 per cent since the start of Operation Epic Fury,” she said.

US military operations have also focused heavily on Iran’s naval fleet. American forces have reportedly destroyed numerous Iranian vessels, including a large drone carrier ship believed to have played a key role in regional operations.

“We have destroyed more than 50 Iranian naval vessels, including a major drone carrier ship,” Leavitt said.

According to the White House, the strikes have significantly weakened Iran’s ability to operate at sea. Officials claim that Iranian naval vessels are no longer actively patrolling major regional waterways and that the country’s navy has been assessed as largely ineffective in combat.

“None of the regime’s vessels are operating in major regional waterways, and the Iranian navy has been assessed as combat ineffective,” she said.

The US military has also expanded its campaign to target Iran’s weapons production facilities. Leavitt said the operation is now focusing on dismantling infrastructure used to manufacture ballistic missiles.

She confirmed that advanced US strategic bombers have been deployed in the operation to strike hardened underground sites.

“Our B-2 bombers recently dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrator bombs on deeply buried missile facilities,” she said.

The White House reiterated that the overarching aim of the campaign is to remove Iran’s ability to threaten the United States and its allies, particularly through missile attacks and potential nuclear development.

“The objectives remain the same — dismantle the regime’s missile capabilities, destroy its weapons industry, weaken its proxy networks in the region, and ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt said.

Despite the progress claimed by US officials, the administration stressed that the end of the operation will depend entirely on whether these objectives are fully met. Leavitt said President Trump will ultimately determine when the mission has achieved its goals and when the campaign can be concluded.

“When those objectives are achieved, it will be up to the President to decide when to end this operation,” she said.

According to the White House, Operation Epic Fury was launched after Washington concluded that Iran was advancing toward acquiring nuclear weapons while expanding its missile capabilities and regional military influence.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)