Trump Offers No New Details In Primetime Address About Iran War

President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military Wednesday evening during a speech briefing the American people on the conflict with Iran, but he gave no new details about operations.

Operation Epic Fury, a military campaign led by the United States and Israel, began on February 28 after attempts to negotiate a halt to Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons failed. During his speech, Trump said the “fundamental strategic objectives” of the military operations were nearly achieved. (RELATED: Trump halts all strikes on Iranian power plants amid negotiations)

“As I stated when I announced Operation Epic Fury, our goals are very simple and clear. We are systematically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America or project power outside its borders,” Trump said. “That means eliminating Iran’s navy, which is now completely destroyed, harming its air force and missile program at levels never seen before, and wiping out its defense industrial base. We’ve done it all. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone. Their missiles are almost exhausted or beaten.”

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“Taken together, these actions will…destroy their ability to support mandated terrorists and deny them the ability to build a nuclear bomb,” Trump said. “Our armed forces have been extraordinary. There has never been anything like it militarily. Everyone is talking about it. And tonight I am pleased to say that these fundamental strategic objectives are nearing completion.”

Trump also paid tribute to the 13 Americans killed during the military operation. As of Wednesday evening, seven American service members had died in hostile actions as part of Operation Epic Fury, and six others had died in the crash of an Air Force KC-135R tanker. Trump also blamed Iranian attacks on shipping in the region for high gas prices, saying their actions proved the need for the military operation.

“Many Americans have been concerned about the recent rise in gasoline prices at home. This short-term increase is entirely the result of the Iranian regime’s deranged terrorist attacks on commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that had nothing to do with the conflict,” Trump said. “This is further proof that Iran can never be trusted with nuclear weapons. They will use them, and they will use them quickly. It would lead to decades of extortion, economic pain and instability worse than we can imagine.” (RELATED: Pete Hegseth Insisted Pentagon Asks for $200,000,000,000 for Iran War)

Trump also warned current Iranian leaders to accept the conditions he laid out, saying that if they did not, the United States would target Iran’s energy infrastructure.

“If there’s no deal, we’re going to hit every one of their power plants very hard and probably simultaneously,” Trump said. “We haven’t touched their oil, even though it’s the easiest target of all, because that wouldn’t give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding, but we could hit it and it would disappear, and there’s nothing they could do about it.”

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, said in a March 2 interview with Fox News that Iranian negotiators had said the theocratic regime would continue to enrich uranium and claimed it already had enough material for nearly a dozen “dirty” weapons.

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