Trump to honour US flight team that bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities

US President Donald Trump has announced that the military flight team behind the recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be recognized at the White House during Independence Day celebrations.

He shared the news while speaking to supporters in Iowa on Thursday night.

Tribune Online reports that President Donald Trump, following days of intense war between Israel and Iran over nuclear enrichment and the possibility of Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb, ordered the bombing of the country’s facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Trump pushed back against early media coverage that suggested the strikes only caused partial damage, saying it downplayed the efforts of the military personnel involved.

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“Remember when CNN said it wasn’t obliterated? It was maybe damaged or damaged badly, but obliterated is too strong a word. No, it was obliterated. That’s now been proven,” said Trump.

“They were trying to demean me by saying that, but they were really demeaning those great pilots and people and mechanics that got those planes over there and were able to shoot from high up in the air, going very, very fast, with potentially a lot of things being shot at them, and hit every single one,” he said. “They’re trying to demean me, but to me, they were demeaning them. And they got out of the plane, and they said, ‘What? We hit every single target.’ They know better than anybody.”

He went on to say that the team carried out one of the most impressive military actions in U.S. history and deserved recognition.

“These people did one of the greatest military hits and maneuvers in the history of our country, and I want them to be appreciated for it,” the president went on. “So, they’re coming. They’re coming to the White House tomorrow night.”

“They’re going to be in Washington tomorrow at the White House, and we’re going to be celebrating.”

According to Trump, not only the pilots, but also the full flight crew—including support staff and mechanics—will be part of the event.

“China, Russia, they were all watching. Everybody was watching,” he said. “We have the greatest equipment anywhere in the world. We have the greatest people anywhere in the world, and we have the strongest military anywhere in the world.”

During the same speech, Trump also claimed that Iran reached out to the U.S. in advance of its retaliatory strike on an American military base in Qatar.

“They called me to tell me they have to take a shot at us. This was Iran. Very respectful. That means they respect us because we dropped 14 bombs. They said we’d like to take 14 shots at you. I said, ‘Go ahead, I understand,’” he said.

“They said where they would do it. I said, ‘Good.’ We emptied out the fort. It was a beautiful military base in Qatar who treated us really fantastically well,” he said.

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