From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
White House: War succeeded in setting back Iran’s ability to stockpile weapons by years
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declares that last night’s ceasefire between the US and Iran is a “victory” for the US.
She reiterates at a press briefing that the 38 days of Operation Epic Fury are within the four-to-six week timeline that the White House gave at the beginning of the war.
Leavitt says the US “has achieved and exceeded those core military objectives.”
While different US officials offered varying war aims, the White House, in more formal lists to the public, stated that they were destroying Iran’s navy, destroying Iran’s missile program, ceasing its support for proxies and preventing it from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Leavitt then says that Iran’s ability to build and stockpile weapons has been “set back by years” — an effective recognition that the capability has not been destroyed completely.
Leavitt says the US destroyed the vast majority of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers and long-range attack drones, in another acknowledgement that Iran still has some missile launchers and drones in its arsenal — something proven by the continued attacks on Gulf neighbors in the hours since the ceasefire was announced.
She reiterates that Iran’s navy and air force have been destroyed in the war.
“Iran’s ability to fund and support its terrorist proxies has been greatly reduced,” she says, stopping short of claiming that Tehran’s ability to back proxies has been completely dismantled.
Still, Leavitt claims that “Iran can no longer distribute weapons to its proxies in the region.”
“Most importantly, Iran will not be able to acquire nuclear weapons,” Leavitt says, even though Iran still has its stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium.
She says that before the operation, Iran was rapidly expanding its stockpile of ballistic missiles in order to create a shield that would allow it to rush toward a nuclear bomb.
“But their murderous and evil plans have been blown up quite literally and figuratively — along with their military, their nuclear program, and most of their senior leadership, including the former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” she says,
Leavitt acknowledges the 13 US soldiers who were killed during the war and stresses that their sacrifices were not in vain.
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