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President Donald Trump declared Iran is “essentially really no longer a threat” after a 32-day U.S. military campaign, telling Americans in a primetime address Wednesday that the country has been “eviscerated” following weeks of strikes.
Even so, Trump said the United States is preparing additional attacks in the coming weeks even as diplomatic discussions continue.
“I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly. Very shortly, 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. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing.”
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“We have all the cards. They have none,” Trump said. “American involvement in World War II lasted for three years, eight months and 25 days,” the president went on, noting that the Vietnam War lasted 19 years and Iraq War lasted eight.
“We are in this military operation … for 32 days,” he said. “And the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat.”
Trump pointed to U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, saying sites hit by B-2 bombers were “obliterated” and warning the United States would launch additional strikes if Tehran attempts to recover nuclear material.
“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,” Trump said. “If we see them make a move, even a move for it, we’ll hit them with missiles very hard.”
The remarks come as key questions remain about the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, including roughly 900 pounds to 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, according to international watchdog estimates.
The conflict has driven volatility in global energy markets and rising fuel costs for Americans.
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Addressing those concerns directly, Trump blamed recent increases in gasoline prices on Iranian attacks targeting commercial shipping and regional infrastructure.
“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home,” Trump said. “The short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries.”
Trump also suggested Iran’s leadership structure has been fundamentally altered by the strikes, saying senior figures are dead and warning of additional attacks if Tehran does not reach an agreement with the United States.
“We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders’ death. They’re all dead,” Trump said. “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 further claimed Iran’s air defenses had been eliminated. “They have no anti-aircraft equipment,” Trump said. “Their radar is 100% annihilated. We are unstoppable.”
The mission known as Operation Epic Fury began just more than one month ago, on Feb. 28.
Since then, U.S. forces have struck more than 12,000 targets inside Iran and damaged or destroyed 155 naval ships, according to the Central Command. Thirteen U.S. service members have died in the operations, and 350 have been injured.
“Twice this past month, I have traveled to Dover Air Force Base, and it’s been something I wanted to be with those heroes as they return to American soil. And I was with them and their families, their parents, their wives, their husbands. We salute them,” Trump said in reference to the deceased service members.
“Now we must honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives. And every single one of the people, their loved one said, please, sir, please finish the job, every one of them, and we are going to finish the job and we’re going to finish it very fast. We’re getting very close.”
Trump also called on U.S. allies to take a more active role in securing global energy routes, arguing that countries reliant on Middle Eastern oil should be responsible for protecting the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping chokepoint.
“The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it,” Trump said. “We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on.”
Trump suggested some nations had failed to support U.S. military efforts against Iran and urged them to step up, both militarily and economically.
“So to those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves,” he said. “Go to the strait and just take it. Protect it. Use it for yourselves.”
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He added that global energy flows would stabilize once the conflict subsides, predicting the waterway would reopen and markets would recover.
“When this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally,” Trump said. “It will resume the flowing and the gas prices will rapidly come back down.”
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