Trump dismissed the country and the threat it poses, asserting that the new war has reduced Iran to being a paper tiger, but that it hadn’t been one before he attacked it — making clear that Trump is a little confused about the meaning of that term.
Iran’s military capabilities have clearly been significantly diminished by the war, but as of now, the regime has survived and it continues to strike back successfully. 13 American servicemembers have been killed in the war, and another 200 wounded or injured across seven countries.
Trump also claimed on Monday that “the greatest experts” didn’t think Iran would retaliate against targets in neighboring countries. (This was another aspect of the war which caught the Trump administration by surprise.) Many Iran experts who actually understand Iran and its military capabilities have been predicting that would happen for a long time.
