Trump says Iran war almost over, warns of more heavy strikes

n n

President Donald Trump insisted om 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.

n

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.

n

“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.

n

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.

n

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.

n

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.

n

“I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” Trump said in a 19-minute speech.

n

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.

n

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.

n

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.

n

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.

n

Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said: “Anyone watching that speech has no idea whether Trump is escalating or deescalating the war with Iran.”

n

“But to be fair, neither does he so,” Murphy wrote on X.

n

Bomb to ‘Stone Ages’

n

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.”

n

Attacks on civilian energy infrastructure are widely considered to be illegal under the laws of war and could constitute a war crime.

n

“Over the next two to three weeks, we are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” Trump said.

n

There was little in his address about actual diplomacy.

n

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.

n

This was swiftly denied by Iran’s foreign ministry, which also accused Washington of making “maximalist and irrational” demands.

n

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.”

n

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.

n

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.

n

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.”

n

AFP

n n