U.S. President Donald Trump’s prime-time address offered an update on the progress made toward achieving his goals in the war with Iran, which he said are to destroy the country’s missile production and Navy, ensure its proxies can no longer destabilize the region and guarantee Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.
It was president’s first address on the war and it comes at a pivotal moment at home and abroad as he faces mounting questions about the costs, rationale and objectives of the war, as well as the exit plan.
Trump and members of his administrations have cited many reasons and rationales for why the U.S. joined Israel on Feb. 28 in launching a war against Iran.
“We’re now totally independent of the Middle East, and yet we are there to help,” he said. “We don’t have to be there. We don’t need their oil. We don’t need anything they have.”
But, he added, “we’re there to help our allies.”
Speaking in the Cross Hall at the White House, he said that Operation Epic Fury’s actions over the past month meant that Iran’s “ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces.”
Trump also said that the country’s “navy is gone, their air force is in ruins,” and the country’s leaders, “are now dead.”
He also said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “is being decimated as we speak.”
Trump says he’s not sure people in the U.S. ‘have the patience’ for Iran war to continue
In his private remarks at an Easter lunch at the White House, the president seemed to reflect the domestic pressure he’s feeling to wrap up the war.
He said that the U.S. could “very easily” take Iran’s oil but said it “is unfortunate” that there did not seem to be patience among the American people for such an effort.
“They want to see it end,” he said.
Trump said he would prefer to take Iran’s oil, “but people in the country sort of say, ‘Just win. You’re winning so big. Just win. Come home.’ And I’m OK with that too,” he said.
Video of the speech was posted online by a Business Insider reporter who said he noticed the White House had uploaded video of the closed-press event and downloaded it before it was later made private.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on why it took the video down.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people.
He made the claim on his Truth Social website. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Trump’s remarks were “false and baseless.”
Thousands of soldiers headed to the Middle East
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two U.S. officials said.
The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors.
It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other U.S. officials, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.
Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide.
Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
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