Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga, or volunteer fighters, march during training session in Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)-controlled Arbil. AFP
Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga, or volunteer fighters, march during training session in Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)-controlled Arbil. AFP

1992 - Iraqi Kurds establish their own regional government

Short Url
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

1992 - Iraqi Kurds establish their own regional government

1992 - Iraqi Kurds establish their own regional government
  • They achieved autonomy after decades of struggle but the fight for true independence continues

DUBAI: Since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War, the Kurdish people have aspired to self-rule. 

With more than 20 million Kurds living in parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkiye, Kurdish national movements began to form in the 1920s. However, it wasn’t until 1992 that the Kurds of Iraq made their first significant advance toward autonomy, taking advantage of the defeat of Iraqi forces in the Gulf War to elect their own Kurdistan Regional Government and National Assembly in Erbil. 

The struggle to establish a Kurdish state began in earnest in the 1960s, following the return to Iraq from exile in the Soviet Union of nationalist leader Mustafa Barzani. He had been invited to return by Abdul-Karim Qasim, an army officer who had overthrown the Iraqi monarchy and seized power. Qasim promised autonomy for the Kurds in return for Barzani’s support. 

When this autonomy failed to materialize, tensions between Barzani’s Kurdish Democratic Party and Baghdad escalated into armed conflict; the First Iraqi-Kurdish war lasted nine years, cost thousands of lives and ended in stalemate. 

By that time the Baath Party was in charge in Baghdad, and in 1970 President Ahmed Hassan Al‐Bakr reached an agreement with the KDP, promising the Kurds autonomy in the northern regions of Iraq.

However, the central government in Baghdad failed to take concrete steps to grant the Kurds any real power, and continued to exert control over the region’s military and administrative affairs. Repeated violations of the agreement led to a renewed conflict in the mid-1970s. 

How we wrote it




Arab News featured Iraqi Kurds flocking to the first free elections to vote for rivals Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani.

The 1980s marked another period of intense repression and violence against the Kurds, during the rule of Saddam Hussein. Following his invasion of Iran in 1980, he launched a series of brutal attacks against the Kurds. 

During the 1988 Anfal campaign, which was condemned by human rights groups and governments worldwide as genocidal, tens of thousands of Kurds were killed and their villages destroyed by Iraqi forces. 

Saddam justified his actions as a response to what he perceived as Kurdish disloyalty and collaboration with Iran during the war. 

When the Gulf War ended in 1991, Kurds in the north of the country and in Shiite communities in southern Iraq, encouraged by the defeat of Saddam by US-led coalition forces following his invasion of Kuwait, rose up against the government in Baghdad. 

Saddam’s response was particularly brutal, on a massive scale. In an effort to protect the Kurds, the US and its allies imposed a no-fly zone in northern Iraq. This, along with broader international support for Kurdish autonomy, eventually paved the way for a de facto autonomous Kurdish region in the north of the country. 

At the time, however, Kurdish political forces were divided between the KDP, the nationalist movement still led by the Barzani family, and the leftist Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by Jalal Talabani. 

The two political factions vied for power with the aim of asserting dominance over the Kurdish government. Their rivalry ignited a civil war that began in 1994 and continued for four years. 

Key Dates

  • 1

    Following the First Iraqi-Kurdish War, the Iraqi government recognizes the autonomy of the Kurdish people.

    Timeline Image March 11, 1970

  • 2

    Collapse of autonomy talks leads to year-long Second Iraqi-Kurdish War.

    Timeline Image 1974

  • 3

    Kurds rebel in wake of Saddam Hussein’s defeat during the Gulf War. After expected US support fails to materialize, the rebellion is brutally crushed.

    Timeline Image March 5, 1991

  • 4

    The Iraqi Kurdistan Front, an alliance of political parties, holds parliamentary and presidential elections and establishes the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a new autonomous Government of Kurdistan in Iraq.

  • 5

    4-year civil war breaks out between rival Kurdish factions.

    Timeline Image May 1, 1994

  • 6

    After the fall of Saddam, Kurds are given 5 of the 25 seats on the new Iraqi Governing Council, set up by the Coalition Provisional Authority.

    Timeline Image July 13, 2003

  • 7

    Kurds vote overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum but Kurdistan Regional Government backs down from their demand after Baghdad’s troops occupy Erbil.

After the repeated failure of peace negotiations, the US eventually intervened to broker the 1998 Washington Peace Agreement, which laid the groundwork for a more unified Kurdish leadership. It called for a ceasefire, the return of refugees, and a power-sharing arrangement between the KDP and the PUK, with key positions in the government divided between both parties. 

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the toppling of Saddam’s regime, Kurds were included in the Iraqi Governing Council established by the Coalition Provisional Authority in July 2003. They were also granted significant political power in a new Iraqi Constitution, which recognized the Kurdish region as an autonomous federal region within Iraq. The Kurdistan Regional Government was officially formed. 

On Jan. 31, 2005, the Kurdistan National Assembly elected Masoud Barzani, Mustafa Barzani's son, as the first president of Kurdistan Region. He ruled over three, Kurdish-majority governorates: Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk. 

The regional government was granted full control over its internal affairs. It established its own security forces, called the Peshmerga, and recognized Kurdish as the official language, alongside Arabic. 

Despite this degree of autonomy, tensions between Kurdish authorities and the central government in Baghdad continued to rise over issues such as control of oil resources, territorial disputes and political representation. As the regional government sought greater control over oil fields in the Kurdish region, often in defiance of Baghdad’s wishes, it led to disputes over revenue sharing. 




Iraqi Kurdish women Peshmerga snipers train at the general command base in Suleimaniya. Despite gender equality challenges, Kursdih women play an active role in the battle for democracy and Kurdish national liberation. AFP

When militant group Daesh swept across the north of the country in 2014 and the Iraqi army collapsed, Peshmerga forces took control of the multiethnic, oil-rich region of Kirkuk. 

In 2017, the regional government held a referendum in which a vast majority of voters in Kirkuk supported independence. However, the referendum was met with strong opposition from Baghdad and much of the international community, which feared it would distract from the war against Daesh. 

Haider Al-Abadi, Baghdad’s prime minister at the time, said he would not discuss the outcome of the referendum and instead would “impose Iraq’s rule in all districts of the region with the force of the constitution.” 

The Iraqi army swiftly occupied Kirkuk and, after a series of clashes with Peshmerga, the regional government backed down. On Oct. 24, 2017, it offered to “freeze the results of the referendum” and proposed an immediate ceasefire. 

“We are all obliged to act responsibly in order to prevent further violence and clashes between Iraqi and Peshmerga forces,” it said. 

“The confrontations between Iraqi and Peshmerga forces … have caused damage to both sides and could lead to continuous bloodshed, inflicting pain and social unrest among different components of Iraqi society.” 

Five days later, Barzani announced he would step down as president of Kurdistan Region. In November the regional government announced it would respect a ruling by Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court that no region or province is allowed to secede. 

The ruling, the regional government said, “must become a basis for starting an inclusive national dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad to resolve all disputes.” 

For the Kurds, however, the very existence of the Kurdistan Regional Government still represents a major achievement in their pursuit of political autonomy and cultural recognition. 

  • Nadia Al Faour is a regional correspondent for Arab News.  She previously contributed to international publications such as The Guardian and USA Today. 


Dust, paper, and crowds: Inside the Peshawar book bazaar that never runs out

Updated 4 min 11 sec ago
Follow

Dust, paper, and crowds: Inside the Peshawar book bazaar that never runs out

Dust, paper, and crowds: Inside the Peshawar book bazaar that never runs out
  • Chaka Gali serves students and collectors with used and rare books at affordable prices
  • Booksellers say many visit the lane out of compulsion, not passion, due to financial hardship

PESHAWAR: In a narrow alley in the heart of Peshawar’s walled city, the scent of dusty pages lingers in the air as visitors step into Chaka Gali, a book bazaar believed to be even older than Partition that continues to serve students and collectors with stacks of used and rare titles at prices few other markets can match.
Thought to have been there in some form before 1947, the market remains one of the oldest surviving second-hand book bazaars in Pakistan. Its tight street is lined with small, dimly lit shops where wooden shelves sag under the weight of textbooks, novels, encyclopedias and exam guides.
Some titles lie in neat piles. Others are scattered on the ground. Most have passed through many hands.
“Chaka Gali is more than 70 years old,” Abdul Jameel, a bookshop owner in his 50s, told Arab News. “You can see the houses [around]. They are almost older than the partition [of Pakistan and India].”
The market’s offerings cater to a wide range of interests. Textbooks for schoolchildren sit alongside Urdu and English fiction, MBBS manuals, CSS prep guides, and religious literature, all at steeply discounted prices.
“You can find any sort of book here,” Jameel continued. “If you need books for primary school for children [or] course books, they can be found here. If you need general English novels, they are also available. If you require Urdu novels, you can get them from here.”
The books, he said, come from multiple sources. Some are purchased from families clearing out private collections while others are supplied by scavengers who collect discarded books from homes and streets and resell them to vendors in the lane.
He identified Lahore’s famed Urdu Bazaar — a historic hub of Pakistan’s publishing trade — as the third source, noting that it supplies unsold or surplus books to dealers across the country.
Jameel said many of these brand-new but excess titles are passed on to vendors at reduced prices.
This benefits the market’s primary customers who come not for the love of books but because they have no other choice.
“The buyers mainly come from the lower class,” he said. “Those who can’t buy books for children [since they can’t afford them] come and take old books from us.”
Jameel said such buyers arrive in the lane “out of compulsion, not a passion for reading.”
“The craze for reading has almost ended,” he added.
Ismail Khan, another second-hand bookseller in his 30s, said he had worked in the market for 15 years.
He pointed out that the rise of digital learning and online reading has cut into sales, though physical books still hold emotional and practical value for many.
“The sales of old books has declined these days,” he noted. “If you see, many people read ebooks.”
However, he noted some readers prefer the tactile experience of a physical book and aren’t drawn to screens.
He also blamed the shrinking customer base on widespread financial hardship.
“A book that previously cost Rs100 is now available for Rs500,” he continued, adding that many people have lost the capacity to buy new books.
Hasir Mir, one of the regular visitors to the lane, said he is a pharmacy student who has relied on Chaka Gali for his academic needs since school.
“I have bought all books of Grade 8, 9 and 10 … from here,” he said. “One of the reasons is that the prices here are reasonable compared to other places.”
Beyond affordability, he observed, the market offers an unmatched range of books.
“I can easily find pharmacy-related books here,” he added. “If you are doing IT, ACCA or you are a student of any other field, you can find the books you want.”
For Mir and many others, Chaka Gali is more than just a marketplace — it’s a lifeline.
Visitors to the second-hand market say that in a country where inflation has turned books into a luxury, the lane quietly preserves the belief that knowledge should remain within reach — even if the pages are a little worn.


Minjee Lee grabs four-shot lead at ‘brutal’ Women’s PGA Championship

Minjee Lee grabs four-shot lead at ‘brutal’ Women’s PGA Championship
Updated 28 min 2 sec ago
Follow

Minjee Lee grabs four-shot lead at ‘brutal’ Women’s PGA Championship

Minjee Lee grabs four-shot lead at ‘brutal’ Women’s PGA Championship
  • Lee, whose 10 LPGA victories include major titles at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open, said there would be plenty of work to do on Sunday despite her four-shot cushion
  • Australian Grace Kim had the low round of the day, firing six birdies in an impressive 4-under par 68

LOS ANGELES: Australia’s Minjee Lee defied difficult, windy conditions with a remarkable bogey-free 3-under par 69 on Saturday to seize a four-stroke lead over Jeeno Thitikul at the Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.

Lee, chasing her third major title, fired three birdies in one of just three sub-par rounds at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, north of Dallas, where soaring temperatures and wind tested golfers for a third straight day.

“I just try to stay patient out there,” the 29-year-old said after building a six-under total of 210. “You can’t get ahead of yourself, especially in these conditions.”

Trailing Jeeno by three to start the day, Lee grabbed her first birdie at the ninth, where she blasted out of a greenside bunker to four feet and made the putt.

She finally took control at the par-5 14th, drilling a 19-foot birdie putt as Jeeno three-putted for a bogey that dropped her three strokes back.

Lee added a birdie at the 15th, and remained bogey free with a par save at 18 — where her second shot raced through the green but she chipped to three feet.

“I try to stay within myself and play the shot as best as I could,” she said. “Just stayed patient, just take it as it comes.”

Lee, whose 10 LPGA victories include major titles at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open, said there would be plenty of work to do on Sunday despite her four-shot cushion.

“It’s just only getting harder and harder just with I think pressure of a major championship, and also just the course just demands so much from you,” she said.

World No.2 Jeeno’s hopes of a first major title took an early hit with bogeys at the third and sixth.

She rolled in a 12-foot birdie at the eighth, but dropped into a tie for the lead after back-to-back bogeys at 11 and 12.

She bounced back from her bogey at 14 with a birdie at 15, but gave back a shot at the 16th, finishing with a 4-over 76 for 214.

Lee and Jeeno, both based in the Dallas area, were the only players under par heading into the final round.

US veteran Lexi Thompson, playing a limited schedule this season, shook off a horrendous start to post a 3-over par 75 to headline a trio sharing third place on one-over 217.

Thompson opened with a triple-bogey and a bogey and added another bogey at the eighth before she made two birdies coming in.

She was joined on one-over by South Korean Choi Hye-jin, who carded a 72, and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita, who shot 73.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda had five birdies and five bogeys in her even par 72 to headline a group of four on 218.

“It’s brutal out there when it comes to the setup of the golf course, wind conditions, everything,” Korda said. “I’m very happy with even par.

“You’re just happy to get 18 under your belt on a day like this,” added the American, who said having substantial waits on several tees only added to the difficulty of the day.

“You don’t want to be spending 20 minutes and getting up to the next tee and then you’re 15 minutes and getting up to the next tee and it’s another 15 minutes,” she said. “There is just, like, no momentum in it.”

Korda was tied with Ireland’s Leona Maguire, Japan’s Chizato Iwai, South Korean Lee So-mi and American Yealimi Noh — who had two eagles but also six bogeys in her 74.

Australian Grace Kim had the low round of the day, firing six birdies in an impressive 4-under par 68 that gave put her among a group of five players on three-over 219.


Pakistan’s foreign minister meets Saudi, Kuwaiti and Kazakh counterparts on OIC sidelines

Pakistan’s foreign minister meets Saudi, Kuwaiti and Kazakh counterparts on OIC sidelines
Updated 50 min 2 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan’s foreign minister meets Saudi, Kuwaiti and Kazakh counterparts on OIC sidelines

Pakistan’s foreign minister meets Saudi, Kuwaiti and Kazakh counterparts on OIC sidelines
  • Ishaq Dar and Prince Faisal bin Farhan discuss avenues to strengthen ‘strategic cooperation across all sectors’
  • Dar also focuses on enhanced trade and investment in talks with the Kuwaiti and Kazakh foreign ministers

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday met his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Istanbul to discuss bilateral ties and strategic cooperation, as he held a series of diplomatic engagements on the sidelines of the 51st session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers.
The talks came as the escalating crisis in the Middle East, particularly Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and its recent strikes inside Iran, dominated the agenda of the high-level summit, drawing sharp rebukes from several Muslim countries including Pakistan.
“Delighted to meet my brother, HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on the sidelines of the 51st OIC Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Istanbul,” Dar said in a social media post. “We reaffirmed the deep-rooted brotherly ties between our two countries & explored avenues to further strengthen our strategic cooperation across all sectors.”
https://x.com/mishaqdar50/status/1936410048219001309?s=46&t=x28vcP-XUuQ0CWAu-biScA 
The meeting underscored Pakistan’s close relations with Saudi Arabia, which has extended critical financial support to help Islamabad navigate a prolonged economic crisis in recent years. The Kingdom played a key role in unlocking a crucial loan program from the International Monetary Fund and remains Pakistan’s largest source of worker remittances, a major pillar of the country’s economy.
Dar also met Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya to discuss expanding trade and investment ties, amid Pakistan’s efforts to attract Gulf investment and secure more employment opportunities for its workers in the region.
“Met my dear brother Abdullah Al-Yahya, Foreign Minister of Kuwait, on the sidelines of the 51st OIC CFM in Istanbul,” he said. “We discussed Pak–Kuwait bilateral ties, trade & investment, cooperation within OIC, and regional & international developments of mutual concern. Grateful for Kuwait’s steadfast support, especially amidst recent escalations [with India].”
https://x.com/mishaqdar50/status/1936411452463570991?s=46&t=x28vcP-XUuQ0CWAu-biScA 
Dar also held a meeting with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu to reaffirm strong bilateral ties and explore opportunities for regional connectivity.
According to Pakistan’s foreign office, the two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in trade, investment and infrastructure, with Dar welcoming a planned high-level visit from Kazakhstan to Pakistan in October 2025 to strengthen the partnership further.
Islamabad has repeatedly highlighted the importance of ties with Central Asian states, offering its southern ports as a gateway for the landlocked region to access international markets through sea trade.


Fleetwood seizes control after Scheffler blowup and leads Travelers by 3

Fleetwood seizes control after Scheffler blowup and leads Travelers by 3
Updated 53 min 22 sec ago
Follow

Fleetwood seizes control after Scheffler blowup and leads Travelers by 3

Fleetwood seizes control after Scheffler blowup and leads Travelers by 3
  • Scheffler celebrated his 29th birthday by starting a round with a triple bogey for the first time in his PGA Tour career
  • Fleetwood, a 34-year-old from England, was at 16-under 194. He has finished among the top 20 in eight of his 14 starts this season

CROMWELL, Connecticut: Tommy Fleetwood was so locked in on good golf he didn’t realize until after his 7-under 63 that he didn’t miss a fairway in the Travelers Championship. And he certainly wasn’t aware of the stunning blowups behind him by Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas.

All three started a steamy, hot Saturday tied for the lead, but not for long.

Scheffler celebrated his 29th birthday by starting a round with a triple bogey for the first time in his PGA Tour career. All it took was missing the fairway into thick rough, airmailing the green from a front bunker, two chips and two putts.

He never quite recovered, posted a 72 for only his fifth score over par in 55 rounds this year, and was nine shots behind.

Thomas was still in the mix until a wild hook off the tee at the par-5 13th, letting the driver loose that landed near the marshal spotting the shot. After reloaded from going out-of-bounds, it took three chips left of the green and two putts for a quadruple-9. He shot 73 and was 10 shots out of the lead.

Fleetwood avoided those blunders to build a three-shot lead. At stake is a chance to add a PGA Tour title to a resume that includes seven European titles, three Ryder Cup appearances and a regular fixture among the top 25 for the last two years.

“I’m on top of a lot of stat lines for people that haven’t won on the PGA Tour, so to always be a No. 1 at something is always nice,” he said with a laugh.

“Yeah, of course I would love to win on the PGA Tour. I think it’s like an element of your career that everybody wants, and I of course want it. I haven’t, this year especially, I don’t feel like I’ve given myself ... I’ve given myself a back-end chance a couple of times this year, but I’ve not been in contention. So this is like my first real chance, so I’m really excited about that and looking forward to it.”

The immediate challengers at steamy TPC River Highlands are New England’s favorite son and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (63) and Russell Henley, who had a 61 one day after calling a penalty on himself when there initially was some question it was a penalty.

Henley thought it moved a golf ball dimple away.

“When it happened it kind of shocked me a little bit,” Henley said of his chip on left of the eighth green in the second round. “I still hit the shot, and as the ball was rolling on the green I was thinking, ‘Something just happened there.’ So I knew. I knew that the ball moved. I just felt it was the right thing to do.”

Missing are Scheffler and Thomas, both tied for the 36-hole lead with Fleetwood. On a day without wind — just stifling heat — in which the scoring average was 68, Scheffler and Thomas combined to play 5-over par.

Fleetwood only missed three greens and his toughest save a 6-footer after missing the ninth green to the left with a wedge. He holed a 65-foot putt on the fifth hole and converted plenty of other chances, while running his bogey-free streak to 32 holes going into Sunday.

He also made eagle on the 13th hole for the second day, giving him three eagles for the week. They don’t hand out crystal for that at the Travelers, only red umbrellas. But it allowed Fleetwood to get some separation for Henley and Bradley going into Sunday.

Fleetwood, a 34-year-old from England, was at 16-under 194. He has finished among the top 20 in eight of his 14 starts this season. He just feels he hasn’t given himself any chances.

Jason Day ran off three straight birdies on the back nine to salvage a 67 and was five shots back. No one else was closer than eight shots of Fleetwood.

Scheffler hasn’t finished out of the top 10 since March and remarkably he ended the day with a birdie for a tie eighth. The start was a shocker.

He drove left into the 5-inch rough and hit wedge into a front bunker with a decent lie. But he caught all ball and sent it over the green, leaving him a tough pitch up the slope and over a mound toward the hole. The first pitch came up short and rolled back down into the rough.

He hit a flop to 15 feet and two-putted for triple bogey, his first on the tour since the BMW Championship last August.

Bradley, whose name has not vanished from Ryder Cup consideration as a player, won the Travelers two years ago and cleared a major hurdle trying to perform before New England fans, now chanting, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” at him at every turn.

He likes his position of chasing. He still knows he needs to play well.

“Oh, man, you’re going to have to shoot something at least in the mid 60s, probably where I am, probably lower,” Bradley said. “But it’s doable out here. When you play a course where you’ve got to make birdies it brings a different challenge. You can’t have a stretch of 1-over par for seven holes or you lose a million shots.

“So in some aspects it’s difficult just like a hard course would be.”


Transcript of Trump’s speech on US strikes on Iran

Transcript of Trump’s speech on US strikes on Iran
Updated 18 min 46 sec ago
Follow

Transcript of Trump’s speech on US strikes on Iran

Transcript of Trump’s speech on US strikes on Iran
  • ‘There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days’

WASHINGTON: A transcript of President Donald Trump’s speech on US airstrikes on Iran on Saturday as transcribed by The Associated Press:

Thank you very much.

A short time ago, the US military carried out massive, precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime. Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise.

Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.

Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not. Future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.

For 40 years, Iran has been saying. Death to America, death to Israel. They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs, with roadside bombs. That was their specialty. We lost over 1,000 people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East, and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate in particular. So many were killed by their general, Qassim Soleimani. I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue.

I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they’ve done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight, and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.

Hopefully, we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that’s so. I also want to congratulate the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine, spectacular general, and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack.

With all of that being said, this cannot continue. There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There’s no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight. Not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago.

Tomorrow, General Caine, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will have a press conference at 8 a.m. at the Pentagon. And I want to just thank everybody. And, in particular, God. I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you.