US President Donald Trump will address the nation on Wednesday night on the war with Iran, the White House said. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Trump would speak at 9:00 p.m. ET (0100 GMT Thursday) to provide “an important update on Iran.”
One month into the Iran war, Americans are beginning to feel the economic impact at home, with petrol prices climbing as the conflict disrupts global energy flows.
With the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s busiest shipping routes – effectively cut off by Iran, the average price of petrol in the US has topped $4 a gallon for the first time in nearly four years. The rise is adding new pressure on the White House as consumers feel the cost of the war at the pump.
Earlier in the Oval Office, Trump said he foresaw a conclusion to the war “within maybe two weeks,” while stressing that a deal could still be reached. He also said his main objective had already been achieved.
“We have had regime change. Now, regime change was not one of the things I had as a goal. I had one goal: they will have no nuclear weapon, and that goal has been attained,” Trump said. “They will not have nuclear weapons. But we’re finishing the job, and I think within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer, to do the job. But we want to knock out every single [site] they have.”
Asked by a reporter what he would do to bring oil prices down, Trump said prices would fall as soon as the US ends its military actions.
His speech is expected to stress that Washington has a path to ending both the fighting and the pressure on fuel prices.