Trump says conflict with Iran could run 4 weeks

President Donald Trump says the current armed conflict with Iran could run four weeks.

“From the outset, it was assumed that it would take about four weeks,” Trump said in a telephone interview with the British newspaper Daily Mail on Sunday.

“It’s a big country; it’ll take four weeks – or less,” the U.S. president explained.

Three U.S. soldiers have been killed and five others seriously injured in the U.S. military operation against Iran.

Iran’s counterattacks have hit U.S. military bases in the Gulf region and other targets.

Trump praised the soldiers who were killed as “great people.”

“And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuously – it could happen again,” he added.

Eyal Zamir, the chief of staff of the Israeli military, gave a similar assessment late on Sunday, saying that Israel recorded “significant achievements” in Iran over the first 48 hours, but “many more days of fighting lie ahead.”