President Donald Trump addressed an anxious nation Wednesday as the war between the United States and Iran enters its second month. He used prime time to briefly address rising gas prices, outline uncertain next steps and tout his victories in the dispute so far.
President Trump began by stating positively that the United States had already achieved an “overwhelming victory” against Iran. The president said Iran’s navy and air force were “in ruins” and most of their leaders had been killed. He also claimed that the country’s missile-launching capabilities have been “drastically curtailed” and that its weapons and factories have been “blown to smithereens.”
On the topic of oil, President Trump largely ignored the issue of rising gasoline prices due to the war. He said the United States has “abundant gas” and there is no need to open the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s coast through which about 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas passes. He encouraged “countries that don’t have access to fuel” to “just take it, protect it and use it for themselves.” As previously stated, he claimed that the Strait of Hormuz would “open up on its own” once the war ended, and the soaring gas prices would ease.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the war. Oil prices have soared across global markets since coming under Iran’s strict control. On Tuesday, gas prices averaged more than $4 a gallon, the highest since 2022. President Trump issued a series of ultimatums to Truth Social, threatening to escalate the US bombing campaign if Iran did not relinquish control of the strait. However, the president has yet to follow through on his promise to destroy the nation’s power plants.
Regarding next steps, Trump vaguely stated that the United States is “on track to achieve all of our military objectives in the near term,” and that the military will “hit Iran very hard over the next two to three weeks.” President Trump also reiterated his threat to damage Iranian power plants if a deal is not reached. He did not say what he would seek from such an agreement.
President Trump’s motivations for entering the war are varied, primarily between overthrowing Iran’s totalitarian theocracy and dismantling Iran’s nuclear capabilities. A report in the New York Times suggests that the Iranian regime brought in more hardline leaders following the deaths of wartime officials seen as more pragmatic. CNN reports that Iran still has more than 400 kilograms (about 900 pounds) of enriched uranium, enough to build several nuclear bombs.
On the nuclear issue, President Trump said it would take “many months” to access Iran’s uranium reserves due to their destruction in the June 2025 US bombing campaign against Iran, claiming the reserves are under “intense satellite surveillance and control” and that the US would be hit “very hard” if it tried to access Iran.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a barrage of ballistic missiles into the region, starting a war with Iran. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in the first wave of attacks. Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is said to be Iran’s new leader.
