NEW YORK, March 3. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump intends to continue the operation in Iran until four clear objectives are achieved, the CBS News television channel reported.

According to Trump as quoted by CBS, they include "destroying Iran's missile capabilities", "annihilating their Navy," ensuring Iran cannot "obtain a nuclear weapon," as well as "arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders."

Earlier, Trump said the American-Israeli operation against the Islamic Republic could last four to five weeks. CBS noted that, according to Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth, "it could move up," or "it could move back."

The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. At the same time, US leadership openly called on the Iranian population to rise up against their government and seize power. As a result of the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other senior figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.

Earlier, the Central Command of the US Armed Forces (CENTCOM) said that the death toll among US military personnel has risen to six in the operation in the Middle East. They have been killed during Iran’s initial attacks and were previously listed as missing in action.