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President Donald Trump said US forces will “finish the job” in Iran soon as “core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” offering a full-throated defence of the war Wednesday night in his first national address since the conflict began more than a month ago.
Trump gained a wide audience and a chance to articulate clear objectives for the war after weeks of changing goals and often contradictory messages about whether he is winding down or ready to escalate military operations – even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbours and airstrikes pounded Tehran.
But he spent much of his time repeating some of the same points he made in recent weeks, while also suggesting that the US was close to meeting its major military objectives in Iran and reiterating his estimated timeline for concluding operations within two to three weeks. He promised US forces would continue to hit Iran very hard.
“For years, everyone has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. But in the end, those are just words if you are not willing to take action when the time comes,” Trump said.
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The president added, “In these past four weeks our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield,” and slammed previous decades of US policy, saying past presidents “made mistakes and I am correcting them.”
“The situation has been going on for 47 years and should have been handled long before I arrived in office,” he said.
Trump also acknowledged rising oil prices and volatile financial markets, but insisted those effects would be temporary.
Polling shows many Americans feel the US military has gone too far in Iran – even as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive. Trump opted not to deliver such an address closer to when the US and Israel first launched attacks, raising questions about whether it is now too late for his speech to break through.
Iranian missile fire targeted Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Israel just before Trump’s speech.
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At an Easter lunch Wednesday afternoon, the president said of Iran: “We could just take their oil. But you know, I’m not sure that the people in our country have the patience to do that, which is unfortunate.”
“Yeah, they want to see it end. If we stayed there, I prefer just to take the oil,” Trump said. “We could do it so easily. I would prefer that. But people in the country sort of say: ‘Just win. You’re winning so big. Just win. Come home.’ And I’m OK with that, too, because we have a lot of oil between Venezuela and our oil.”
The media was not permitted to watch the president’s remarks at the lunch, but the White House uploaded video of the speech online before taking it down. The White House did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on why it was removed.
In a social media post earlier Wednesday, Trump maintained a belligerent tone, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz – the waterway vital to global oil supplies – or the US would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” The president also said the US “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz, an apparent backtrack from a previous threat to attack Iran’s power grid if it did not open the strait by April 6.
At the same Easter lunch, the president reiterated complaints about NATO allies for their reluctance to secure the Strait of Hormuz, while suggesting that China, Japan and South Korea could also step up.
“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force – let South Korea do it,” Trump said. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”
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In another morning social media post, Trump wrote that “Iran’s New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It was unclear to whom the US president was referring, since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to Iranian state television.
Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signalled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Hours before Trump’s address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted a lengthy letter in English on his X account appealing to US citizens and stressing that his country had pursued negotiations before the US withdrew. “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?” he wrote.
Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly said it could be over soon, while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional US troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about why.
Trump has also threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. The US could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile – a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, experts and former government officials say.
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Adding to the uncertainty is what role Israel – which has been bombing Iran alongside the US – might play in any of these scenarios.
Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war, which has pushed up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, is up more than 40% since the start of the war.
The US has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including demands for the strait to be reopened and for Iran’s nuclear programme to be rolled back.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful. Last week, an anonymous official quoted by Iranian state TV’s English-language broadcaster said Iran had its own demands to end the fighting, including retaining sovereignty over the strait.
In the Al Jazeera interview, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the US could yield results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”
He warned against any US attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”
In a deal ostensibly to give diplomacy a chance, US officials have given “clear assurances” that Araghchi and Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf will not be targeted, according to three officials speaking on condition of anonymity.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
