U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a primetime national address Wednesday evening outlining the current state of Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran. Speaking for approximately 19 minutes from the White House, Trump declared that core military objectives were nearing completion while warning that American forces would continue to strike Iran hard over the next two to three weeks.
Trump opened by cataloguing what he described as decisive battlefield gains since the operation began on the final day of February. He stated that Iran's navy was "gone," its air force "in ruins," its missile capabilities severely degraded, and its senior leadership — whom he labeled terrorists — killed. "Our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield — victories like few people have ever seen before," the president said.
The speech also served as a justification for the ongoing campaign. Trump alleged that following last year's Operation Midnight Hammer, in which U.S. strikes targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, Tehran had secretly attempted to rebuild its nuclear programme at a new, undisclosed location. He cited this as the primary rationale for launching Operation Epic Fury. He characterized Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon as an "intolerable threat" that would not be permitted during his presidency.
Trump acknowledged the 13 American service members killed during the operation, saying he had visited Dover Air Force Base twice during the conflict. He framed completion of the mission as a duty owed to those who had died.
On the question of further escalation, Trump warned that the United States would hit Iran "extremely hard" over the next two to three weeks, adding that it would bring Iran "back to the Stone Ages." He threatened to target all of Iran's electricity-generating plants if Tehran did not move toward an agreement. The threat to civilian infrastructure signals a potential widening of the conflict's scope.
Despite claiming regime change was never the stated objective, Trump noted that it had effectively occurred, as Iran's original leadership had been killed. He said the new group in place was "less radical and much more reasonable," and that discussions were ongoing. However, Iranian officials had publicly denied any active negotiations were underway.
Trump addressed the sharp rise in domestic fuel prices, attributing the increase entirely to Iranian attacks on commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries. He described the price increase as short-term and expressed confidence it would ease. Oil prices had been hovering near $100 per barrel, with the national average for gasoline reaching $4 per gallon — the highest level since 2022, according to AAA.
Public sentiment on the war remained a visible pressure point. Polls released in the days before the speech showed a majority of Americans believed U.S. involvement had gone too far, with one AP-NORC survey finding nearly 60 percent of adults held that view.
At the time of the address, no ceasefire had been confirmed and no diplomatic resolution was in place. The coming weeks, as outlined by the president, were expected to be decisive in determining whether the conflict moved toward a conclusion or widened further.
Muskan Zahra
