On March 9, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that Iran is preparing to enter a new phase of escalation in the missile attack campaign, with notable changes in the type of weapon used.
According to Brigadier General Majid Mousavi, commander of the IRGC air-space force, from now on Iran will only launch missiles carrying warheads weighing over 1 ton.
From now on, no more missiles with warheads weaker than 1 ton will be launched," Mr. Mousavi wrote in a message posted on X.
The Iranian general said that the intensity of launches, frequency and range of missile attacks will continue to increase in the coming time.
This warning was issued just hours after the IRGC announced that it had conducted more new missile launches.
A video released by this force shows the launches believed to belong to the Khorramshahr, Fatah, Khyber and Qadr missile lines. However, these images have not been independently verified.
According to sources, Iran has launched attacks targeting many neighboring countries in the region, including Bahrain, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
On the same day, March 9, US President Donald Trump criticized Iran's decision to attack neighboring countries as "very stupid".
According to Mr. Trump, before the attacks occurred, many countries in the region "nearly maintained neutrality or had no intention of participating in the conflict".
“However, after Iran attacked, neighboring countries sided with us and started counter-attacking Iran, even quite successfully,” he said.
The US leader also emphasized that the current military campaign is aimed at fulfilling his promise made in 2015 that Iran would not possess nuclear weapons.
Mr. Trump said that the US military has attacked more than 5,000 targets in Iran since the outbreak of war.
There are very large goals among them, but we still leave some of the most important goals to handle later, in case of necessity," he said.
According to Mr. Trump, if these targets are attacked, Iran may take many years to restore important infrastructure, especially the power production system.
However, the US leader believes that Washington's strategic goals in Iran are "almost completed".
Possibility of early end of hostilities
President Trump also left open the possibility that the war with Iran could end soon.
When asked if the US military campaign could end in the next few days, he replied: "I think it will be soon.
According to Mr. Trump, Iran has lost most of its senior leadership structure after recent airstrikes.
President Trump said that the families of the dead US soldiers called on him to "complete his mission" in the war with Iran.
He said he met with relatives of soldiers at Dover Air Force Base and received a strong message from them.
They told me: Please fulfill your duty, Mr. President," Mr. Trump recounted.
These statements were made after cleric Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was promoted to the highest leadership position in Iran after his father was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes.
