Trump to the Iranian people: ‘The hour of your freedom is at hand’

In a video message posted on his Truth Social platform, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the United States had launched “major combat operations” against Iran and told the Iranian people that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.”

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” he said. Washington has taken all possible measures to minimize risks to U.S. personnel in the region, but, he added, “Americans could be lost and there could be casualties.”

He also said the United States would ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. He pledged to “destroy” the Islamic Republic’s missile capabilities and to “annihilate” its navy, reiterating that the U.S. goal is to eliminate "imminent threats” posed by Tehran.

He said Tehran’s actions had directly endangered U.S. interests and personnel worldwide.

“Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world,” Trump said.

Trump portrayed the campaign as the culmination of decades of hostility between Washington and Tehran. “For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted ‘Death to America’ and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States, our troops, and the innocent people in many, many countries.”

He cited past attacks linked to Iran. “Among the regime’s very first acts was to back a violent takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran, holding dozens of American hostages for 444 days. In 1983, Iran’s proxies carried out the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American military personnel. In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the USS Cole. Many died.”

“Iranian forces killed and maimed hundreds of American service members in Iraq. The regime’s proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as US naval and commercial vessels and international shipping lanes. It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to put up with it any longer.”

He also described Iran as internally repressive.

“Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terror, and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested.”

Addressing the Iranian people directly, he declared: “The hour of your freedom is within reach.” Trump also delivered a message to Iran’s military, offering what he described as a choice between “immunity” and “certain death.”

US to 'ensure' Iran's proxies 'can no longer destabilize the region'

In his eight-minute speech, Trump made several references to Iran's proxies in the region, vowing to ensure they "can no longer destabilize the region"

"The regime's proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as U.S. naval and commercial vessels and international shipping lanes. It's been mass terror, and we're not going to put up with it any longer."

"From Lebanon to Yemen and Syria to Iraq, the [Iranian] regime has armed, trained, and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts, and it was Iran's proxy, Hamas, that launched the monstrous Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, slaughtering more than 1,000 innocent people, including 46 Americans, while taking 12 of our citizens hostage," he said.

"We are going to annihilate their navy. We are going to ensure that the region's terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces, and no longer use their IEDs — or roadside bombs, as they are sometimes called — to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans."