\n
![](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit_1500w\/rockcms\/2026-03\/260302-donald-trump-vl-1156a-c52ed9.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that war with Iran could last a month or longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s OK,\u201d he continued, if even more time is needed to complete the operation, dismissing potential readiness concerns, even as he maintained that plans were ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re already substantially ahead of our time projections. But whatever the time is, it\u2019s OK,\u201d Trump said during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House as he honored four service members who were killed by Iranian retaliatory strikes over the weekend. \u201cWhatever it takes. … Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said a four-week plan to remove Iran\u2019s military leadership has already been completed. \u201cAnd as you know, that was done in about an hour,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we\u2019re ahead of schedule there by a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump listed four objectives for the U.S. military operation known as \u201cEpic Fury\u201d: degrading Iran\u2019s missile capabilities, the destruction of Iran\u2019s navy, ensuring it could never obtain a nuclear weapon and containing its proxy forces by ensuring Iran cannot \u201ccontinue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the military is prepared to continue the operation \u201cas long as necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his remarks, Trump also pushed back against what he said were suggestions that he could lose interest in the conflict if it continued past \u201ca week or two,\u201d saying, \u201cI don\u2019t get bored.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing boring about it,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n
He justified the timing of the strikes by saying that this was \u201cour last best chance\u201d to target the threat from the Iranian regime after talks to reach a deal fell apart last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought we had a deal, and they backed out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Those talks played out in Geneva, where Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, told his American counterparts<\/a> that Iran had an \u201cinalienable right\u201d to enrich uranium, a senior Trump administration official said. He told NBC News in an interview Sunday that he decided to attack when \u201cthey weren\u2019t willing to stop their nuclear research.\u201d <\/p>\n Other military leaders have said the war with Iran won\u2019t be \u201cendless,\u201d though the full scale and scope of the mission remains unclear for now. Trump has also floated different timelines.<\/p>\n Trump has acknowledged the possibility that combat forces may be needed.<\/p>\n Earlier Monday, Trump declined to rule out the possibility of sending troops into Iran, suggesting in an interview with the New York Post<\/a> that he could have boots on the ground. He said that while other leaders may be averse to doing so, he is not.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground \u2014 like every president says, \u2018There will be no boots on the ground.\u2019 I don\u2019t say it,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n In the same interview, when asked about the timeline, Trump predicted that the operation was \u201cgoing to go pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n