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  "path": "/partner/trump-says-big-wave-in-war-with-iran-is-yet-to-come",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-02T16:10:18.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nThe \"big wave\" is yet to come in the war with Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump told CNN on Monday, adding that Washington did not know who the country's new leader would be following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.\n\n\"We haven't even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn't even happened. The big one is coming soon,\" Trump said, telling CNN it was unclear who was now leading the country.\n\n\"We don't know who the leadership is. We don't know who they'll pick,\" he said.\n\nAs the third day of the joint U.S.–Israeli military operation against Iran unfolded on Monday, the conflict that began with massive strikes over the weekend continued to send shockwaves across the Middle East and beyond.\n\nThe campaign — launched with a series of air and missile attacks on Iranian targets and the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — has expanded into a broader regional confrontation involving aerial bombardments, retaliatory strikes, cyber operations.\n\nThe Pentagon and U.S. commanders described the offensive as focused on degrading Iran’s missile, naval and military infrastructure, while denying it signaled an open-ended war despite acknowledging further losses and continued operations.\n\nOn the ground in Iran, intense bombardment continued, with explosions reported in major cities including Tehran, where Tehran residents heard heavy blasts and smoke was seen rising over multiple districts, underscoring the sustained nature of the offensive into its third day.\n\nLocal media and Western reports noted that Iranian air-defence sites, command centers and other strategic targets remained in the strike zone as U.S. and Israeli aircraft and missile systems pressed on with coordinated attacks. Meanwhile, cyber operations targeting Iranian digital infrastructure — including government websites and widely used apps — were reported, highlighting a multi-domain approach to the campaign designed to disrupt military communications and command capabilities.\n\nOn the diplomatic and strategic front, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized that the operation — publicly dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” or similar code names — was not intended to unleash an endless war but rather to achieve specific military objectives against Iranian capabilities.\n\nHowever, senior U.S. officials remained skeptical that Tehran’s governing structure would collapse in the near term despite pressure from combined foreign strikes and internal unrest.\n\nIran’s provisional leadership framework has been engaged in managing the crisis domestically, while regional security risks and the potential for further escalation continue to draw international attention.\n\n### Several US aircraft downed\n\nEarlier in the day, several U.S. military aircraft crashed in Kuwait, but all crew members survived and were in stable condition, Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense said, as conflict widened across the Middle East.\n\nIn a separate incident, smoke was seen rising near the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait City, and fire trucks and ambulances were in the area, a witness told Reuters.\n\nThere were initially no responses to requests for comment on the embassy incident from the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, or from the U.S. State Department.\n\nHowever, U.S. Central Command later said that three U.S. F-15 fighter jets were 'mistakenly shot down by Kuwait's air defences' during active combat on Monday, describing it as an apparent friendly‐fire incident during the conflict with Iran.\n\nAll six crew members ejected from the aircraft safely, were recovered and are in stable condition, CENTCOM said.\n\n\"During active combat - that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones - the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,\" CENTCOM said.\n\nIt said that Kuwait had acknowledged the incident and that an investigation was underway.",
  "title": "Trump says 'big wave' in war with Iran is yet to come"
}