Trump says Iran's military is "totally destroyed"

President Donald Trump says Iran’s military has been “totally destroyed” following the latest round of U.S. and Israeli strikes, which is not exactly the sort of Yelp review the ayatollahs were hoping for.

During an interview with NBC News’s Kristen Welker on Friday, Trump claimed Iran has only “maybe 21%, 22% of their missiles” remaining after weeks of coordinated attacks on military infrastructure.

“We know where their drones are, and we know where their drone factories are. Most of the drone factories have been knocked out… and most of the missile manufacturing areas have been knocked out,” Trump said.

Somewhere in Tehran, a government spokesman is probably insisting this is all part of a long-term strategic plan while standing in front of a smoking crater where a missile depot used to be.

When Welker pressed Trump on whether he knew exactly how many missiles and drones Iran still possesses, Trump responded that he knows “almost to the number” what remains in Tehran’s arsenal, though he declined to provide specifics.

“They have some missiles. They have some drones,” Trump stated.

In other words, Iran has enough to remain annoying, but not enough to keep pretending they’re the regional superpower of the apocalypse.

Trump emphasized that while 21% still represents “a lot of missiles,” it is dramatically lower than what Iran possessed before the strikes began on February 28. That has to sting for a regime that spent decades pouring money into missile programs while its citizens stood in line for basic necessities.

The Iranian leadership, according to Trump, is having a hard time accepting its new reality.

“I think they can't believe they're in the situation where they've been virtually decapitated,” Trump said. “They're proud. There are things they never thought they'd be doing that they're going to have to do. They've got no choice.”

That may be the understatement of the year. The regime spent generations cultivating the image of untouchable revolutionary strength, only to discover that modern warfare is less forgiving than a campus protest at an Ivy League university.

Trump also told reporters Wednesday that negotiations with Iran are “going well,” though he cautioned that a final agreement “might not happen.” He added that a deal “could happen over the weekend.”

The president noted that it would be “very easy” for the U.S. military to resume strikes, but said he would prefer “get something down in writing which will accomplish the same thing without killing everybody.”

Which is classic Trump diplomacy: negotiate from a position of overwhelming strength while reminding the other side that the alternative option is still sitting on the table polishing its boots.

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