President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) that the United States is “nearing completion” of its objectives in the war against Iran and hailed American forces for scoring “overwhelming victories” in the conflict.

“Tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” Mr. Trump said in his first prime-time address since the start of the conflict in late February.

Trump on strikes on Iran

“In these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield — victories like few people have ever seen before,” he said.

Mr. Trump ‌said on ​Wednesday (April 1) ⁠that Washington will strike Iran “extremely hard” over ‌the next two ‌to ‌three ⁠weeks ⁠and hit the country into the “Stone ​Ages.”

“We ‌are going to hit them extremely ‌hard over ​the next two to three ⁠weeks. We are ‌going to bring them back to the ‌Stone Ages, where they ​belong,” Mr. Trump said.

Trump on Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump called on Wednesday (April 1) for countries that receive oil through the Strait of Hormuz to show “courage” and seize the key waterway, while saying Washington will not allow its West Asia allies to be harmed.

“The countries of the world that… receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage,” Mr. Trump said in his first prime-time address since the start of the war with Iran. “Just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves.”

He also thanked “…Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain,” saying: “They’ve been great, and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form.”

Trump on West Asia allies

Mr. Trump said that the military action is not for getting any of the country’s vast resources, including oil, but instead to help America’s allies.

“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, Mr. Trump said on Wednesday (April 1) night 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.” Mr. 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 claimed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “is being decimated as we speak.”

(With inputs from AFP, AP, Reuters)

Speaking in a video message, Donald Trump said the U.S. would “avenge” the deaths of the service members and that “there will likely be more” killed before the conflict ends.

Three U.S. service members have ​been killed and another five have been seriously wounded, in ‌the first casualties of the unfolding U.S. operations against ​Iran, the U.S. military said on ⁠Sunday (March 1, 2026).

The President made the comments in a roughly six-minute video he posted on social media on Sunday (March 1, 2026) afternoon. He called the three service members “true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.” He added: “Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more.”

The U.S. and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday (March 1, 2026), dropping massive bombs on the country’s ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Blasts rattled windows across the country and sent plumes of smoke high into the sky above the capital city of Tehran. More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said.

Iran vowed revenge, firing missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states in a counteroffensive that the U.S. military said resulted in the deaths of three service members — the first known American casualties from the conflict. Israel’s rescue services said nine people were killed and 28 wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 11. Eleven people were still missing after the strike, police said.