US President Donald Trump urged Iranian diplomats to seek asylum during an address at the East Room of the White House as part of a ceremony hosting Inter Miami CF on Thursday night.
We "urge Iranian diplomats around the world to request asylum and to help us shape a new and better Iran," he said."
The Inter Miami soccer players, including Lionel Messi, were standing behind Trump during the speech, during which the president also addressed ongoing issues concerning Cuba and Venezuela.
Trump said that he wants to finish the war in Iran first, "but that will be just a question of time before you and a lot of unbelievable people are going to be going back to Cuba."
Operation Epic Fury, along with the US military's "wonderful Israeli partners," is destroying Iran's drone and missile capabilities, Trump said. "As soon as they set off a missile, within four minutes, the launcher gets hit - they don't know what's happening," Trump stated.
"They have no air force, they have no air defense, all of their airplanes are gone, their communications are gone, missiles are gone, launchers are gone - about 60% and 64%, respectively," he continued.
The operation is "continuing to "totally demolish the enemy, far ahead of schedule and at levels that people have never seen before," the president stated, noting that the US and Israel have dealt with the "horror of this group [Iran's regime]" for 47 years.
Trump also called on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's military, and police to "lay down their arms. They're only going to be killed. Now is the time to stand up... and help take back your country."
Trump also stated that his administration has taken efforts to stabilize oil prices amid concerns that the Iranian regime will close the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran was reaching out to the United States about making a deal amid US and Israeli strikes on Iran, adding that further action to reduce pressure on oil was imminent.
"They're calling, they're saying 'how do we make a deal?' I said you're being a little bit late," Trump said.
Following Trump's speech, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that Iran was making a mistake if it believed that the United States could not sustain the ongoing war, adding that Washington had just begun to fight.
"Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation," Hegseth told reporters during a visit to the headquarters of US Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida.
Further, Hegseth stated that the US was not expanding its military objectives in Iran, after Trump told Reuters that the United States must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran.
"There's no expansion in our objectives. We know exactly what we're trying to achieve," Hegseth said.
US military says it has sunk over 30 Iranian ships so far
The US military said that it has sunk over 30 Iranian ships so far during Operation Epic Fury, including an Iranian drone ship that is on fire.
CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said that ballistic missile attacks by Iran have decreased by 90% since the first day of the operation.
US House rejects war powers resolution, backs Trump on Iran war
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives rejected an effort on Thursday to stop Trump's air war on Iran and require that any hostilities against Iran be authorized by Congress, backing the Republican president's military campaign on the sixth day of the expanding conflict.
The vote was 219 to 212, largely along party lines, in the House, where Trump's fellow Republicans control a narrow majority of seats. Two Republicans voted in favor of the resolution, and four Democrats voted against it.
Opponents accused Democrats of taking the issue to a vote only because they oppose Trump, putting Americans at increased risk.
Trump urges Iranian Kurds to attack Iran as war widens
Trump encouraged Iranian Kurdish forces in Iraq to launch attacks against Iran as the Middle East conflict widened, with Azerbaijan warning it would retaliate for being targeted by Iranian missiles.
On the possibility of the Iranian Kurdish forces entering Iran, Trump told Reuters on Thursday: "I think it's wonderful that they want to do that, I'd be all for it."
Reuters contributed to this report.
