Trump vows revenge for US combat deaths; predicts 4-week war to topple Iranian regime | WATCH

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Sunday pledged to avenge the first American combat deaths of a nascent war aimed at toppling Iran's clerical government, even as U.S. and Israeli forces continued a bombardment that has reduced the headquarters of the elite Revolutionary Guards to rubble.

Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump signalled that he anticipates a conflict lasting approximately four weeks following Saturday’s massive strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Pentagon confirmed that three U.S. service members were killed and five others seriously wounded during "Operation Epic Fury."

"Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends," Trump said in a video address. "But America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against, basically, civilisation."

A Region Engulfed

Tehran has responded with a barrage of missiles and drones across the Middle East, striking targets in Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The retaliatory strikes have shattered the stability of Gulf economic hubs, killing at least four people and wounding dozens in the region.

The UAE, reporting three fatalities, announced it is shuttering its embassy in Tehran and withdrawing its ambassador. In Israel, an Iranian missile strike in the city of Beit Shemesh killed at least nine people on Sunday.

Despite the counterattacks, Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran's security apparatus. "I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military and police to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death," he said. "It will be certain death. It won't be pretty."

Political Friction and Global Unrest

The outbreak of war has drawn sharp criticism from domestic opponents. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) labelled the deaths the result of a "reckless decision," arguing there was no imminent threat to "justify this type of preemptive military strikes."

While many in the Iranian diaspora celebrated the fall of the theocracy’s leader, the strikes sparked fury in neighbouring Pakistan. Officials there reported 17 deaths amid violent protests, including an attempted storming of the U.S. Consulate in Karachi.

The Dismantling of the IRGC

U.S. Central Command announced a major symbolic and operational blow on Sunday: the destruction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters.

"America has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters," CENTCOM stated. Trump further claimed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels and partially crippled the country's naval command.

In Tehran, the judiciary confirmed the deaths of top Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani and General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the IRGC ground forces. The Iranian Red Crescent reported at least 201 people killed and hundreds more injured within Iran since the strikes began.

A Defiant Transition

Iran's surviving leadership has remained defiant. President Masoud Pezeshkian, now part of an interim council alongside Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, called the assassination a "declaration of war against Muslims."

"Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime," Pezeshkian said. Ali Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, warned of a coming "force that they have never experienced before."

The conflict comes just two years after the regime ruthlessly suppressed domestic protests. On Sunday, Trump urged the people of Iran to "take back your country."

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late Shah, urged citizens to remain vigilant during airstrikes but encouraged "nightly chants" against the republic as they await the moment to return to the streets.

With inputs from AFP