Donald Trump speech today highlights: What did U.S. President say tonight in address to the nation?

Trump Speech today: U.S. President Donald ​Trump told the nation in ​a televised speech on Wednesday night that the U.S. military ​had nearly completed the goals it had set out to accomplish in its war with Iran and that the conflict would soon be ending. "Tonight, I'm pleased to say these core strategic objectives are nearing completion," he said. "We are going to finish the ​job, and we're going to finish it very fast. ⁠We're getting ‌very close," the President said.

When will Iran War end?

Trump, facing a war-wary American public and ‌sliding approval ⁠ratings, said ⁠the U.S. had destroyed Iran's navy and air force, and crippled its ballistic missile and ​nuclear programs. He added that the U.S. would continue to hit targets in the Islamic Republic ​over the next two to three weeks.


Trump and his advisers have offered shifting explanations ​and timelines ​for the conflict, now in its fifth week. Some allies ⁠are pushing the president to assuage growing concerns among ​Americans, most of whom oppose the conflict and are upset ​at rising gasoline prices due to disruptions in the global oil supply.


Rising Oil Prices


President Trump briefly addressed those concerns, saying that prices would come back down. He notably did not commit to any timeline to end the war, and said the U.S. would begin hitting energy and oil targets if it was ‌deemed appropriate, even as he said the end was near.

"Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline ​prices here ​at home. This short-term ⁠increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers of neighboring countries that have nothing to do ​with the conflict," Trump said.

NATO

Trump did not directly discuss NATO, despite telling Reuters in an interview earlier in the day that he would also express his disgust with the alliance for what he considers its lack of support for U.S. objectives in Iran.

Strait of Hormuz

Trump also didn’t talk directly about NATO, at whose members he has fumed over refusal to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said he was strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO, ratcheting up his criticism of European leaders.

The war has sent petroleum prices soaring as Iran has effectively shut the strait, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.

On Wednesday night, Trump said Americans “don’t need” the strait and that the countries who do “must grab it and cherish it.”

Iran Nuclear Activity

The Republican president said that Iran’s various nuclear sites are under “intense satellite surveillance and control” by the U.S. as both Israeli and American forces have targeted the areas repeatedly, first last June, and more recently in the last month.

Despite saying that the joint strikes last summer had “obliterated” the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, Trump has made conflicting statements about the status of Tehran’s activity in the last several months.

“If we see them make a move, even a move for it, we will hit them with missiles very hard again,” Trump said.

Trump Emphasizes Long Timelines of Past Wars

As part of his plea for patience from U.S. voters, the president ticked through the timeline of American involvement in earlier conflicts.

“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.” He added references to Korea, Vietnam and Iraq — noting Vietnam’s nearly 20-year U.S. commitment.

Action in Iran has spanned 32 days by comparison, Trump said, and been “so powerful, so brilliant” that “one of the most powerful countries” is “really no longer a threat.”