Trump says US strikes Iran 'in full force', predicting more US casualties

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Sunday afternoon that US combat operations "continue at this time in full force," predicting there would be more US casualties in the coming days.

"Combat operations continue at this time, in full force, and they will continue until all of our objectives are achieved. We have very strong objectives," Trump said in a six-minute video message on Truth Social, without specifying what the objectives are.

"Sadly there will likely be more before it ends," he said of the possibility of more US casualties, saying that "that's the way it is."

Trump repeated his call on members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to "lay down their arms" for "full immunity."

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told ABC News on Sunday that no country's leader has the right to tell Iran not to respond to the ongoing US-Israeli massive airstrikes on Iran, saying that his country has every right to defend itself and the Iranian forces "are capable enough to defend our country."

The United States and Israel began large-scale airstrikes against Iran on Saturday morning, prompting Tehran to retaliate with waves of missile and drone attacks on Israel and US military bases in the Gulf region.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump told Fox News that 48 senior Iranian officials have been killed in the strikes on Iran.

Iran confirmed on Sunday that its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes the previous day.