US President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters that Iran could be taken out in one night, "and that night might be tomorrow night."
Trump has threatened to rain "hell" on Tehran if it did not make a deal by the end of Tuesday that would allow traffic to start moving again through the vital route for global energy supplies. During a press conference on Monday, Trump claimed that every bridge and power plant in the country would be demolished if a deal acceptable to him was not resolved by midnight on Tuesday.
While answering reporter questions outside the White House earlier on Monday, Trump said that the war could end "very quickly" if Iran went along with the deal, adding that the people the US is currently negotiating with were "reasonable and not as radicalized." He stressed that the Tuesday deadline he has set for Iran to make a deal is final, adding that Iran's proposal was significant but not good enough.
Trump also discussed the rescue operation which had taken place after two US Air Force pilots had been shot down over Iran on Friday.
The operation, he said, involved 155 aircraft, some of which flew low enough to face rifle gunfire at close range.
CIA Director describes difficult rescue operation
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the mission was a "daunting challenge, comparable to hunting a single grain of sand in the desert."
The CIA executed a deception campaign, Ratcliffe said, in order to confuse the Iranian forces searching for the US pilots.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described the Iranian threat towards the pilots as "impotent."
"This was deep into Iran," he said, describing the necessity of deep collaboration, synchronization and deception. "The Iranians are still asking themselves, right now: How did the Americans do this?" he said.
Both Ratcliffe and Hegseth attributed the success of the mission to Trump's leadership and courage, praising him for immediately approving the rescue operation.
"When the President says he has the backs of our war fighters, he means it," Hegseth declared.
Hegseth also stated that Monday would have the largest volume of strikes since the first day of Operation Epic Fury, and that Tuesday would have an even greater number of strikes.
"And then Iran has a choice," he said. "Choose wisely. Because this President does not play around. You can ask Soleimani, you can ask Maduro, you can ask Khamenei."
US General Dan Caine described the details of the mission, explaining how a line of unarmed drones fought Iranian forces in order to protect the aircraft intended for extraction.
Ratcliffe said that on Saturday morning the CIA got confirmation that "one of America's best and bravest was alive and concealed in a mountain crevice, still invisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA."
The pilot, shot down on Friday, was recovered on Sunday morning.
"In a breathtaking show of skill and precision, lethality and force, America's military descended on the area, the real area, engaged the enemy, rescued the stranded officer, destroyed all threats and exited Iranian territory while taking no casualties of any kind," Caine said.
Hegseth said the lost airman used an emergency transponder to show where he was and his first message was: "God is good."
Trump threatens leaker, reporter
During the press conference, Trump also mentioned an unknown leaker who reported that one of the pilots had been rescued, threatening the reporter who broke the story with jail time if they did not reveal their source.
When asked about how it would help Iranian civilians to destroy their country's infrastructure, Trump said that the people would be willing to accept it if it meant receiving their freedom.
Trump stated that messages had been intercepted from the Iranians, asking the US to "Please keep bombing."
"All I can tell you is they want freedom," he said. "If you protest, you are shot."
He also said that he thought the Iranian people should rise up against the government in the country if a ceasefire were declared.
The United States had an active and willing participant on the other side in talks with Iran, he said, adding that Tehran would like to make a deal. Free traffic of oil through the Strait of Hormuz must be part of it, he added.
Trump also criticized NATO, Australia, Japan, and South Korea for not helping the US with its war with Iran.
Amichai Stein and Danya Saperstein contributed to this report.