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President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US was moving towards wrapping up its war against Iran, but he offered few specifics over exactly when the conflict would end, or how.
In a prime-time address from the White House, Mr Trump said the “core strategic objectives” of the war were nearing completion, and that he expects to end operations in the next two or three weeks, a prediction he already shared on Tuesday.
He made no mention of ground troops potentially being sent on to Iranian soil, nor did he linger long on the global economic fallout from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, focusing only briefly on rising petrol prices in the US.
“Militarily, everyone is talking about it, and tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” he said.
“We are going to finish the job. And we’re going to finish it very fast. We’re getting very close.”
The White House had billed his speech as providing an “important update on Iran”. American television networks were instructed to set aside 20 minutes to air Mr Trump's message.
But ultimately he provided little new information and most of what he said was a rehash of messages he or his officials had already shared.
Observers had speculated he might use his speech to condemn Nato countries or even threaten the defence alliance with a US withdrawal over what he saw as foot-dragging to help secure the strait. Instead, he focused on praising Middle Eastern partners, naming Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.
“They’ve been great, and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Trump said Iran had asked the US for a ceasefire but Washington will only consider it when the strait is fully open, a claim that Tehran denied.
During his speech, he made little mention of the ceasefire talks or diplomacy. He only referenced a “deal”.
“If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously,” he said. The US military had not yet attacked those plants because Iran would have no chance of survival, he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Trump had posted on Truth Social that Iran's “new president” was less “radicalised” than previous leaders.
On the first day of US-Israeli strikes, Iran's longtime supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.
His son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has since taken over as the new leader, although he has yet to appear in public. Iran's President has been Masoud Pezeshkian since 2024.
“Iran’s new regime president, much less radicalised and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a ceasefire,” he wrote.
“We will decide when the Strait of Hormuz is open, free and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion – or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages.”
It was unclear from Mr Trump's post if he was referring to Mr Pezeshkian when he spoke of a “new regime president”.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the claim of a ceasefire request was “false and baseless,” according to state TV.
Now in its fifth week, the conflict has seen Mr Trump oscillate between expressing optimism for diplomacy and threatening further escalation.
A central issue for the Trump administration is the strait, a key transit route for roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Rising oil and gas prices could pose a challenge for Mr Trump ahead of midterm elections later this year.
Iran has maintained a blockade of the waterway, driving up energy prices and drawing sharp criticism from Mr Trump, who has tied his domestic political standing to economic performance.
During his address, he said the US was now independent of the Middle East and did not need its oil, but was in the region to “help our allies”.
“We’re now totally independent of the Middle East, and yet, we are there to help,” he said.
“We don’t have to be there. We don’t need their oil. We don’t need anything they have, but we’re there to help our allies.”
