Trump acknowledges excess in killing Iranian leaders

US President Donald Trump has admitted that Washington may have gone too far in killing Iranian leaders, following a joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior officials.

Speaking at a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday (November 1), Trump said the US might have overdone its campaign against Iran's leadership.

Trump said the United States had destroyed Iran's navy and air force, eliminated its air defence radars and killed its top leaders. However, he acknowledged that Washington might have gone too far in targeting Iranian leaders, a matter he said was rarely discussed.

Despite the admission, Trump defended the military campaign against Iran. He blamed Tehran for the conflict and claimed that the United States had not started the war but was trying to end it. He also said he had protected the United States from a country he described as one of the world's leading sponsors of terrorism.

Trump further claimed that Iran had opposed US interests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He also blamed Tehran for the 2000 attack on the USS Cole at the Yemeni port of Aden, although al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the bombing.