Trump: Military action against Iran was one of the greatest things we have done
US President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, that the US military action against Iran was one of the greatest things his administration had done. He said that he thought it was one of the greatest things they had done, that they had stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and that it was one of the best things they had done.
Trump further said that taking the action took a lot of courage because no other president was willing to do it. He claimed that without the action, Iran would already have used mass nuclear weapons now. The remarks came after he had previously reiterated at a rally in South Carolina that Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury had destroyed Iran's uranium enrichment capability, and predicted that the conflict would end very soon.
The report also said that the Trump administration is assessing whether a new round of large-scale military strikes is needed to achieve the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. On Tuesday, Trump said in the Oval Office that he had not yet made a final decision on whether to win in a friendly way or an unfriendly way. The New York Times reported that the US and Israeli militaries had drawn up detailed plans, which could launch a new round of attacks after the midterm elections in November.
Original sources:
Title: Trump: Iran war was one of my administration's greatest achievements Publisher: Israel National News (Elad Benari) Date: 2026-10-22 URL：https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/434979 Source type: media report Verification status: full text completely read in this instance (2026-10-27) Supporting content: Trump told reporters outside the White House on Wednesday that he thought it was one of the greatest things they had done, that they had stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and that it was one of the best things they had done, and he claimed that no other president would have been willing to take action, otherwise Iran would already have used mass nuclear weapons.
Title: Trump: We obliterated Iran's nuclear program, war will end 'very soon' Publisher: Israel National News (Elad Benari) Date: 2026-10-22 URL：https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/434982 Source type: media report Verification status: full text completely read in this instance (2026-10-27) Supporting content: At the same-day rally, Trump said Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury had destroyed Iran's uranium enrichment capability; the war would end very soon; and this provided context for his earlier remarks outside the White House.
Title: Peace Through Strength: Operation Epic Fury Crushes Iranian Threat as Ceasefire Takes Hold Publisher: The White House Date: 2026-04-08 URL：https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/04/peace-through-strength-operation-epic-fury-crushes-iranian-threat-as-ceasefire-takes-hold/ Source type: official announcement Verification status: full text completely read in this instance (2026-10-27) Supporting content: Background that Operation Epic Fury began on 2026-02-28 and achieved goals including destroying ballistic missile, naval and defense industry bases within 38 days (does not prove that large-scale combat was still continuing in October 2026).
ABAB AI Insight
Trump places the 2026 action against Iran within his long chain of Iran policy. After leaving the Obama-era nuclear deal in 2018, he repeatedly described the agreement as a road to nuclear weapons; on January 3, 2020, he authorized the killing of Qasem Soleimani; and in June 2025, Operation Midnight Hammer struck the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities. Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, 2026, then expanded the targets to naval, missile industry and defense industry bases. A White House announcement on April 8, 2026 said the operation completed its core military objectives within 38 days and facilitated ceasefire talks, but as of October 2026, Trump was still publicly discussing whether further strikes were needed.
On the capital and business path, the action directly targeted Iran's nuclear and conventional military capabilities rather than relying solely on sanctions or diplomacy. The White House April announcement listed figures of more than 10,200 sorties and 13,000 targets, and said 150 warships and most of the ballistic missile stockpile were destroyed. This changed Iran's ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz and proxies through missiles and naval power, giving the United States greater leverage in negotiations. Iran, for its part, continued to refuse to move its enriched uranium stockpile out of the country, and Pakistan and others attempted to mediate, but as of the reports concerned, the US had still not confirmed that a final agreement had been reached.
Compared with historical cases, Midnight Hammer in June 2025 mainly targeted three nuclear facilities, using B-2s and “bunker buster” munitions, with a clear objective and short duration; Epic Fury in 2026 lasted for weeks, covered naval, industrial and missile systems, and was accompanied by Israeli coordination and actions related to the Strait of Hormuz. What the two had in common was the direct use of military means to weaken nuclear and power-projection capabilities; the difference was that Epic Fury was larger in scale, broader in scope, and then entered a repeated phase of ceasefire talks and consideration of whether to resume strikes.
The specific judgment is that Trump publicly defined stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon as the core achievement of the action, reinforcing the narrative that no other president was willing to do it. This shifted US bargaining leverage on the nuclear issue from diplomatic agreements to military destruction already carried out and ongoing threats; if Iran refuses key conditions, such as the handling of enriched uranium, it faces strike plans that could be resumed after the election. The observation point is whether a new round of action is actually launched after the November midterm elections, and whether Iran makes verifiable concessions on enriched uranium and missile-related issues.
ABAB News · Laws of cognition
Bargaining leverage in nuclear talks after military destruction comes from strikes that have already been carried out, not from agreements that have not yet been signed.
The characterization of a greatest achievement depends on whether the action continues to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear capabilities.
When ceasefire and renewed strike plans coexist, the status of the action depends on whether it is restarted after the election.