President Donald Trump has said U.S. forces will “finish the job” in Iran soon as “core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” offering a full-throated defense of the war Wednesday night in his first national address since the conflict began more than a month ago.
Trump used his platform before a wide audience to tout the success of the U.S. operations and argue that all of Washington’s objectives have so far been met or exceeded, but said Iran would continue to face a barrage of attacks in the short term.
“We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said. “We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
But Trump also spent much of an address that lasted just under 20 minutes repeating many things he had already said in recent weeks and providing few new details.
The speech appeared unlikely to move the needle of public sentiment at a time when polling shows many Americans feel the U.S. military has gone too far in Iran and as gas and oil prices remain high.
The effect on global financial markets was more immediate, with oil rising more than 4% and Asian stocks falling after Trump’s comments about the U.S. continuing to hit Iran hard.
“Tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” Trump said. He also acknowledged American service members who had been killed and added: “We are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast. We’re getting very close,” he said.
