There are several thousand Iranian natives living in Colorado. Many came in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and oppose the current government.

His remarks are the first public ones to reporters since the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran began Saturday despite weeks of talks designed to stave off a conflict.

President Trump said the campaign could last “four to five weeks,” or even longer, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. ground troops remained an option. Strikes pounded Tehran for a third day.

The message carried the weight of war but arrived like any other social media post from President Trump: via Truth Social.

The Israel Defense Ministry said in a statement that it launched the strike because it was expecting "a missile and drone attack" from Iran "in the immediate future."

Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Saturday, the Islamic republic had retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones “in over 25 waves” against targets across Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, western officials said on Sunday.

Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO. The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over. Freedom of maritime navigation has underpinned American and global… pic.twitter.com/nzdkMVMqZC

The Middle East is home to some of Europe's key trading partners, and a number of strategic trading routes. Many Europeans live in cities such as Beirut, Dubai or Jerusalem.