President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that the United States was nearing victory in Iran as he laid out his case more than a month into a war that has sent his approval rating tumbling.
In an evening speech from the White House, Trump broke little new ground on how the war would end and vowed two to three weeks further of "extremely hard" strikes against Iran.
"We are going to finish the job, and we're going to finish it very fast. We're getting very close," he said in remarks that largely rehashed his daily streams of social-media postings and rapid media interviews.
With his approval rating hitting new lows and Americans feeling a pinch from soaring oil prices, Trump offered a retroactive explanation on why he joined Israel in the attack launched on February 28.
Standing before American flags, Trump delivered the type of speech most presidents would offer at the start of a conflict. Trump on February 28 instead released a video in which he was wearing a baseball cap and no tie.
In his Wednesday address, Trump said the United States was aiming to crush Iran's military, end the clerical state's support for regional armed groups and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear bomb -- a prospect that the UN nuclear watchdog and many observers say was not imminent.
"I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion," Trump said in a 19-minute speech.
Israel on the first day of the conflict killed Iran's longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Trump boasted how "their leaders -- most of them" in the Islamic republic are dead.
But Iran has also responded by taking control over the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway out of the Gulf for one-fifth of the world's oil, which was open before the war.
Gasoline prices in the United States have surged above $4 a gallon (over $1 a liter) for the first time in years, while consumer confidence has weakened, dragging down Trump's already fragile standing on the economy.
Oil prices again surged in early trading Thursday and share prices tumbled, with Trump's speech dashing hopes he would call a quick end to the war.
Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said: "Anyone watching that speech has no idea whether Trump is escalating or deescalating the war with Iran."
"But to be fair, neither does he so," Murphy wrote on X.
- Bomb to 'Stone Ages' -
Trump again threatened that if Iran does not reach a negotiated settlement with him, the United States would "hit each and every one of their electric generating plants."
Attacks on civilian energy infrastructure are widely considered to be illegal under the laws of war and could constitute a war crime.
"Over the next two to three weeks, we are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong," Trump said.
There was little in his address about actual diplomacy.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump claimed that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian -- an elected moderate long considered in the shadow of the military and clerical establishment -- was seeking a ceasefire.
This was swiftly denied by Iran's foreign ministry, which also accused Washington of making "maximalist and irrational" demands.
Boasting of American military might, the 79-year-old former real estate developer used one of his favorite analogies: "We have all the cards. They have none."
Trump offered conciliatory words to Gulf Arab allies, saying he would not let them "get hurt or fail" -- even though they have already been hit by more than a month of Iranian retaliatory fire that has shattered their reputation for stability.
Trump again berated European allies that have balked at supporting his war -- on which he did not consult them in advance -- as he noted that they are more dependent on Gulf oil.
The countries that "receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage," Trump said, urging them to "build up some delayed courage."
sct/mlm
Commented