Trump to give prime-time update on Iran war after saying it could end in 2-3 weeks
President Donald Trump is set to hold a prime-time address Wednesday night to give “an important update on Iran.” It comes a day after Trump said the U.S. could end its offensive in Iran in the coming few weeks.
He also said that’ll be the case even if the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping lanes, doesn’t reopen.
“I think in two or three weeks we’ll leave. Because there’s no reason for us to do this,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “Look, the problem with the Strait — a guy can take a mine, drop it in the water, and say, ‘Oh, it’s unsafe.’ It’s not like you’re taking out an army, or you’re taking out a country, they can drop it. Or you can take your machine gun from the shore and shoot a little, a few bullets on a ship. Or maybe an over-the-shoulder missile, small missiles. That’s not for us, that’ll be for France. That will be for whoever is using the Strait. But I think when we leave, probably that’s all cleared up.”
Military presence ramps up
Even as he talks about exiting Iran, thousands more U.S. troops are heading to the Middle East.
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush deployed Tuesday along with three destroyers. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors.
It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division also have begun arriving in the Middle East, according to The Associated Press.
The majority of those troops are part of a rotation planned before the war started, but some are among roughly 1,500 paratroopers the Trump administration decided to send there last week.
Strait of Hormuz remains closed
Meanwhile, Trump’s April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on the country’s power plants still stands.
Iranian Foreign Minster Abbas Araghchi signaled Tuesday that Tehran is ready to keep fighting, no matter what Trump threatens.
“You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” Araghchi told Al Jazeera.
In a post on social media, Trump told U.S. allies struggling to get oil amid the Strait’s closure that America won’t help them since they’re “not there for us” in the war with Iran.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday the U.K. will host an international diplomatic conference this week on ways to reopen the Strait. Starmer said 35 countries have signed on.
To restore stability to the area, Starmer said “a united front of military strength and diplomatic activity” is needed.
The meeting comes after Trump told The Telegraph that he’s considering pulling out of NATO, as allies have been reluctant join the war with Iran and help reopen the Strait.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
