President Trump acknowledges US troop deaths are expected in the ongoing military operation against Iran, which he predicts will last four weeks.

PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump said American soldiers dying during strikes on Iran was to be expected. He described the conflict as a “great deal” for the world.

Trump made the remarks in interviews from his Florida resort after the Pentagon announced three US service members were killed. Five others were seriously wounded in the military strikes.

“We have three, but we expect casualties, but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world,” Trump told NBC News. He described those who died as “great people” in a separate interview with the Daily Mail.

“And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuous — it could happen again,” he told the British newspaper. Five hours after the deaths were announced, Trump or the White House had yet to make a public statement.

The President said the operation, which has killed Iran’s supreme leader and dozens of top officials, was “ahead of schedule”. He added that Iranian and US officials “are talking,” but did not provide details.

Trump offered conflicting remarks about such discussions, however. “They want to talk, but I said you should have talked last week not this week,” he told the Daily Mail.

He also told the paper he expects a four-week military operation against Iran. “We figured it will be four weeks or so,” he said. “As strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks — or less.”

 The Sun Malaysia