Trump: US has begun carrying out 'major combat operations' in Iran

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States had begun "major combat operations" in Iran, warning that there may be U.S. casualties.

The strikes, which Trump said were aimed at destroying Iranian missiles and annihilating its navy, follow repeated U.S.-Israeli warnings that they would strike Iran again if it pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

"I do not make this statement lightly. The Iranian regime seeks to kill," Trump said in a video shared on Truth Social.

"The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties that often happens in war, but we're doing this, not for now. We're doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission."

Trump told the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Iran's armed forces, to lay down their weapons, promising that they would be granted immunity.

The other option, according to Trump, is "certain death."

Washington and Tehran held a series of talks in recent weeks about Iran's nuclear ambition. The most recent one was held on Thursday with no deal.

"Iran refused, just as it has for decades and decades. They rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can't take it anymore," Trump said.

-Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Tom Hogue/Reuters