WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said in a televised speech on Wednesday night that the U.S. military had nearly accomplished its goals in Iran, but offered no clear timeline for ending the monthlong war and vowed to bomb the country back into the “Stone Ages.”
Facing a war-wary American public, sliding approval ratings and pressure from some allies to outline his war aims in more precise and consistent terms, Trump said the U.S. had destroyed Iran’s navy and air force, and crippled its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
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But he declined to lay out a concrete plan to wind down the war, now in its fifth week, beyond saying that the U.S. would finish the job “very fast.”
“We have all the cards,” Trump said from the White House in his first primetime address since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on February 28. “They have none.”
He glossed over some major unresolved issues such as the status of Iran’s enriched uranium and access through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for global oil supplies which Iran has effectively closed.
The strait, he said, would open “naturally” once the war ended.
Trump’s 19-minute address broke little new ground and offered scant reassurance to Americans and U.S. allies who are feeling increasing pain at the gas pump and growing impatience with the war.
Stocks fell, the dollar firmed and oil rose shortly after Trump’s comments, reflecting widespread sentiment that the conflict is likely to drag on for some time.
‘BACK TO THE STONE AGES’
The president and his advisers have offered shifting explanations and timelines for the conflict, as well as what they will require from Iran for it to end. While portraying Iran as militarily neutered, Trump also said on Wednesday night the U.S. would hit the nation hard for another two or three weeks.
If the country’s new leaders did not negotiate satisfactorily, he said, the U.S. would begin attacking the nation’s electricity generation and oil infrastructure.
As Trump spoke, air sirens blared across both Doha and Tel Aviv, illustrating how the Islamic Republic is still able to wreak havoc across the Middle East, despite taking heavy losses.
“We’re 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.”
