WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump addressed the nation Wednesday night, offering an update on the war in Iran during his first prime-time speech since launching strikes alongside Israel more than a month ago.
With the speech, Trump was getting a wide audience to articulate clear objectives for the war that could attempt to reconcile weeks of changing goals and often contradictory messages about whether he’s winding down or ready to escalate military operations — even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors and airstrikes pounded Tehran.
“In these past four weeks our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield,” Trump said.
It comes amid rising oil prices, volatile financial markets and polling showing many Americans feel the U.S. military has gone too far in Iran — even as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive. Trump opted not to deliver such an address closer to when the U.S. and Israel first launched attacks, and questions now remain about whether it is now too late for what he says to break through.
A White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the address and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president will talk about U.S. progress on achieving his goals in Iran and will reiterate his estimated timeline for concluding operations within two to three weeks.
Just before Trump began speaking, the United Arab Emirates warned the public about a missile threat from Iran. A series of blasts could then be heard in Dubai as air defenses worked to intercept the Iranian barrage.
Trump says ‘we could just take the oil’ …
