Donald Trump declared the US military has nearly accomplished its goals in Iran in an address to the nation - but also vowed to bomb the country back into the “Stone Ages”.
Facing a war-wary American public, Trump said the US had destroyed Iran's navy and air force, and crippled its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.
But the US President declined to lay out a concrete plan to wind down the war, now in its fifth week, beyond saying that he would finish the job “very fast”.
“We have all the cards,” Trump said from the White House in his first primetime address since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28. “They have none.”
He glossed over major unresolved issues such as the status of Iran's enriched uranium and access through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for global oil supplies which Iran has effectively closed.
The strait, he said, would open “naturally” once the war ended.
Trump's 19-minute address broke little new ground and offered scant reassurance to Americans and US allies who are feeling increasing pain at fuel stations and growing impatience with the war.
Stocks fell, the dollar firmed and oil rose shortly after Trump's comments, reflecting widespread sentiment that the conflict is likely to drag on for some time.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude jumped above $107, having fallen sharply to below $100 on Wednesday in yet another major financial markets swing on the back of Trump’s inconsistent comments on the war.
The president and his advisers have offered shifting explanations and timelines for the conflict, as well as what they will require from Iran for it to end. While portraying Iran as militarily neutered, Trump also said on Wednesday night the US would hit the nation hard for another two or three weeks.
If the country's new leaders did not negotiate satisfactorily, he said, the US would begin attacking the nation's electricity generation and oil infrastructure.
As Trump spoke, air sirens blared across both Doha and Tel Aviv, illustrating how the Islamic Republic is still able to wreak havoc across the Middle East, despite taking heavy losses.
“We're 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.”
“In the meantime, discussions are ongoing,” he added. “Yet if during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets.”
A day earlier, Trump told reporters Tehran did not have to make a deal as a prerequisite for the conflict to wind down.
While the president on Wednesday briefly acknowledged growing concerns among Americans that the war is making gasoline unaffordable, he insisted that prices would soon go down and that the increases were Iran's fault.
He added that countries that get most of their oil supply from the Gulf region should take the lead in opening the strait. Britain, France and other US allies have said they are willing to help to keep the strait open but only after hostilities have ceased.
“They can do it easily,” Trump said. “We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” he said.
Trump has expressed anger that NATO allies have not offered to help open the strait, even threatening to withdraw from the 76-year-old alliance. But he made no mention of this in his address.
