President Donald Trump’s “major update” on the Iran war was a belated sale Wednesday night as he sought to rally American voters’ support for the conflict he started more than a month ago.
In a roughly 20-minute speech, President Trump said the U.S. attack was retaliation for nearly half a century of violence by Iran and its proxies, and insisted that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
He touted the military progress the United States has made in recent weeks, describing weeks of bombing as “a victory unlike anything most people have ever seen.” He implored patience, calling the war an “investment” in the future of the American people.
But he offered no new answers to the key question on many voters’ minds: when exactly the war will end.
“I’m happy to say we’re nearing completion on these core strategic objectives,” Trump said, declining to provide any new details about his exit strategy other than repeating his vow to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age” over the next two to three weeks.
The president also did not specify specific endpoints to the war, such as whether there were plans to send ground troops to seize Iran’s enriched uranium or reduce its ability to control the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Trump offered no new signs of optimism about diplomatic negotiations, which he had previously claimed were making progress. Instead, he simply reiterated that he would escalate his threat by attacking Iranian power plants, an action that risks escalating the war further and that President Trump has only just begun to sell to the American people.
“The new group is less radical and much more rational,” he said. “But even if no deal is reached within this period, we have our sights set on important targets.”
