President Trump said US forces will "finish the job" in Iran soon as "core strategic objectives are nearing completion," offering a full-throated defense of the war Wednesday night in his first national address since the conflict began more than a month ago, the AP reports. He used his platform before a wide audience to tout the success of the US operations and argue that all of Washington's objectives have so far been met or exceeded, but said Iran would continue to face a barrage of attacks in the short term. "We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," Trump said. "We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong." (Iran's president issued a letter in advance of Trump's speech.)
But Trump also spent much of an address that lasted just under 20 minutes repeating many things he had already said in recent weeks and providing few new details. The speech appeared unlikely to move the needle of public sentiment at a time when polling shows many Americans feel the US military has gone too far in Iran and as gas and oil prices remain high. A few notable things he didn't say:
- He didn't mention the possibility of sending US ground troops into Iran.
- Nor did he reference NATO, the trans-Atlantic alliance he has railed against for not helping the US secure the critical Strait of Hormuz, where a chokehold by Iran has sent energy prices soaring.
- He also didn't say anything about negotiations with Iran.
- He didn't bring up his April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the waterway or face severe retaliation from the US.
Trump ticked through a timeline of past American involvement in conflicts and noted that the ongoing war in Iran had lasted just 32 days, seeming to appeal to the public for more time to achieve the mission. "World War I lasted one year, seven months, and five days," he said. "World War II lasted for three years, eight months, and 25 days." Trump also added references to Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. He also noted that in "these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield." He said US military action had been "so powerful, so brilliant" that "one of the most powerful countries" is "really no longer a threat"—even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors early Thursday.
Trump also seemed to suggest he had ruled out going into Iran to get its enriched uranium. "The nuclear sites that we obliterated with the B-2 bombers have been hit so hard that it would take months to get near the nuclear dust," he said. "And we have it under intense satellite surveillance and control. If we see them make a move, even a move for it, we'll hit them with missiles very hard again." The president encouraged countries reliant on oil through the Strait of Hormuz to "build some delayed courage" and go "take it." Trump's comments in his address were more measured than some of his previous remarks, including earlier Wednesday at a White House Easter lunch, when he said of Iran, "We could just take their oil." (See the AP's transcript of the speech here, or its fact-checking of the speech here.)
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