Donald Trump ‘survives Iran assassination attempt’ as US forces hunt down hitman

Canh bạc rủi ro với ông Trump sau cuộc tập kích hạ sát Lãnh tụ Iran - Báo VnExpress

American forces have killed the leader of an Iranian assassination squad targeting Donald Trump, said Pete Hegseth, US secretary of defence as he gave an update on the Middle East conflict

An Iranian assassination squad attempted to kill Donald Trump, the US Secretary of War has claimed.

Pete Hegseth told a press conference that US forces killed the head of the unit, telling reporters they had “hunted down and killed” the leader. He also asserted that the US is winning its military operation against Iran “decisively, devastatingly and without mercy”.

“The leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,” he added. “Iran tried to kill President Trump. And President Trump got the last laugh.”

He said more forces including jet fighters and bombers soon will arrive in the region. He added that the US “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”

Hegseth
Hegseth said the leader of the assassination unit had been killed ( Image: AP)

American forces have adequate munitions for ongoing operations against Iran, said Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hegseth said the military used more advanced weapons at the start of the campaign but was switching to gravity bombs now that the US has control of Iranian skies, and stockpiles of the advanced weapons remain “extremely strong.”

Referring to drones Hegseth continued: “We have pushed every counter-UAS system possible forward, sparing no expense or capability. Like I said, this does not mean we stop everything.”

Trump
Trump was the target of an assassination unit, said Hegseth ( Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Hegseth said a torpedo from a US submarine sank an Iranian warship and that the Tuesday night strike was the first such attack on an enemy since the Second World War.

“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”

Earlier, authorities said 32 people were rescued from the Iranian ship that was reported in distress off the coast of Sri Lanka but there were believed to be 140 people missing. It was not immediately clear what happened to the ship or how many people were on board. The US military said previously it had already destroyed 17 Iranian vessels, and that its goal was sinking “the entire navy”.