President Donald Trump told Americans that US forces were close to completing their main objectives in Iran, while simultaneously pledging another two to three weeks of intense attacks. The roughly 19-minute White House address was his first nationwide speech since fighting had opened over four weeks earlier.
Trump defined the campaign's aims as weakening Iran's military, ending its support for armed groups across the region and preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon. He said battlefield operations had produced decisive results and indicated the mission would be completed quickly. His address did not present a timetable beyond the proposed period of further strikes or specify the political conditions that would mark the war's conclusion.
The president threatened attacks on Iranian electricity-generating facilities if Tehran did not reach a negotiated settlement. AFP noted that deliberate strikes on civilian energy infrastructure are generally prohibited under the laws of war and may constitute a war crime. Trump did not mention deploying American ground forces, and the AP account said he offered no discussion of negotiations or his April 6 deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's control of the strait had become a major economic and strategic consequence of the fighting. The route normally carries about one-fifth of global oil supplies. US petrol prices had risen above $4 a gallon for the first time in years, consumer confidence had weakened and oil markets reacted immediately to the speech, with crude prices climbing more than 4% as Asian equities declined.
Trump argued that countries dependent on Gulf oil should take greater responsibility for securing the passage. He criticized European partners for declining to support the war and urged governments relying on Hormuz to act. He also assured Gulf Arab allies facing Iranian retaliation that the United States would not allow them to fail.
The address came as public support for the president and the campaign was under strain. AFP cited polling that placed Trump's overall approval below 40%, with disapproval above the mid-50s. The AP reported that many Americans believed US military action had gone too far. Trump appealed for additional time by comparing the 32-day campaign with the longer periods of US involvement in earlier wars.
Earlier that day, Trump said Iran's president wanted a ceasefire. Iran's foreign ministry rejected that account as false and described Washington's demands as unreasonable. The contradiction, alongside the limited diplomatic detail in the televised remarks, left the path to an agreement unclear. Trump's central message combined confidence in military progress with an explicit warning that substantial violence could continue before any declared finish.
