President Donald Trump said Wednesday night that the United States is close to completing its stated military objectives in Iran, but warned that more strikes could follow if talks with Tehran fail. In a primetime White House address on Operation Epic Fury, Trump said the campaign’s “core strategic objectives are nearing completion” and that the U.S. is “on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly — very shortly.”
He also delivered a blunt warning about possible next targets. Trump said that if there is no agreement, the United States would strike “each and every one” of Iran’s electric generating plants “very hard, and probably simultaneously.” He added that the U.S. has not yet hit Iran’s oil sector, calling it “the easiest target of all,” but said it could be destroyed if the conflict continues.
Trump said the military campaign would continue in the near term. “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” he said, adding that Iran would be pushed “back to the stone ages where they belong.” At the same time, he said discussions with Iran are still underway, arguing that Washington now holds the upper hand.
The president also turned to the Strait of Hormuz, saying countries that rely on the waterway for fuel should move to protect it themselves. He said the United States imports “almost no oil” through the strait and suggested that countries affected by disruptions should “go to the Strait and just take it.”
After the speech, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer blasted Trump in a post on X, calling the address “rambling, disjointed, and pathetic.” Schumer said Trump’s handling of Iran could be remembered as a major policy blunder, and accused him of offering no clear objective while turning away allies and overlooking the everyday economic concerns of Americans. He ended the post by saying Trump was “completely unfit to be Commander-in-Chief.”
Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona also condemned Trump’s “stone ages” remark, writing that he was speaking about “a country of 90 million people” and calling the comment “vile, horrifying, evil.”
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