In a primetime address Wednesday night, President Donald Trump signaled what is coming in the next phase of Operation Epic Fury while announcing the United States is nearing its objectives.
Speaking from the White House, President Trump addressed the American people about the war in Iran for the first time and offered an update on the progress of Operation Epic Fury, which is now in its fifth week.
“In these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield,” the president said, in part. “Tonight, Iran’s navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their leaders – most of them terrorist regime they led – are now dead. Their command and control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is being decimated as we speak. Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces, very few of them left. Never in the history of warfare has an enemy suffered such clear and devastating, large scale losses in a matter of weeks.”
Where Americans Stand
As reported on Thursday’s AM Update, the 20-minute address came as a slate of recent polling shows most Americans are not on board with the war effort. A new Economist/YouGov poll found twice as many Americans oppose the war as those who support it – 28 percent of adults support compared to 59 percent opposed.
In this poll, 54 percent of Republicans identified as MAGA, 29 percent said they are not MAGA, and 17 percent were unsure. Among Republicans who self-identified as non-MAGA, 33 percent said they supported the war, compared to 56 percent who opposed. That support is a dramatic drop from two weeks ago when 56 percent of non-MAGA Republicans were in favor.
Speaking of MAGA, 79 percent of self-identified MAGA Republicans still expressed support, while just 8 percent opposed. Among independents, 19 percent are in favor versus 63 percent against.
Trump on War Timeline
With thousands of U.S. troops moving into the region over the last several weeks, questions have mounted over whether President Trump is preparing to put boots on the ground in Iran. Just 14 percent of Americans are in favor of such a move, according to the Economist/YouGov poll.
In last night’s remarks, he stopped short of announcing any ground troop actions, but he did extend the war’s timeline beyond the original four- to five-week estimates and preview what is coming in the next two to three weeks.
“We are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly,” he said. “We’re going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
He also touched on where diplomatic talks stand. “In the meantime, discussions are ongoing,” Trump continued. “Regime change was not our goal. We never said ‘regime change,’ but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders’ death. They’re all dead. The new group is less radical and much more reasonable.”
“Yet, if during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets,” he added. “If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously. We have not hit their oil, even though that’s the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding.”
Trump on U.S. Economy
Despite the relentless attacks on Iranian military infrastructure, the IRGC has managed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed to the vast majority of its usual traffic. The U.S. national gas average rose above $4 per gallon this week, the highest it has been since 2022.
According to a new CNN poll, President Trump’s handling of the economy has fallen to a new low of 31 percent and 65 percent of Americans say his policies have made the economy worse. That figure is the highest of his presidency and higher than any point in the Biden administration.
The president addressed mounting economic concerns in his speech. “Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home. This short term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers in neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict,” Trump explained. “Remember, because of our drill baby drill program, America has plenty of gas. We have so much gas. We are the number one producer of oil and gas on the planet.”
The president went on to say the U.S. does not need oil from the Middle East, citing a fruitful new relationship with Venezuelan leadership following the U.S. military’s capture of its former leader leading to increased oil production.
He also touted the strength of the economy overall. “The United States has never been better prepared economically to confront this threat. You all know that we built the strongest economy in history,” Trump said. “We were a dead and crippled country after the last administration, and made it the hottest country anywhere in the world, by far with no inflation;, record-setting investments coming into the United States, over $18 trillion; and the highest stock market ever, with 53 all-time record highs in just one year.”
“It all positioned us to get rid of a cancer that has long simmered,” the president added. “It’s known as the nuclear Iran.”
Trump on NATO
At various points since the start of the operation, President Trump has attempted to bring NATO allies into the conflict, but those efforts have largely fallen short. He has expressed public frustration with NATO members and suggested earlier this week that he is considering leaving the alliance.
Last night, the president urged countries that rely on the Strait of Hormuz to take a more active role in securing it. “The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it,” Trump urged. “They can do it easily. We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on.”
President Trump had a two-part “suggestion” for countries that rely on Middle Eastern oil but have avoided wading into the war thus far. “To those countries that can’t get fuel – many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves – I have a suggestion,” he said. “Number one, buy oil from the United States of America. We have plenty. We have so much. And number two, build up some delayed courage – should have done it before, should have done it with us as we asked – [and] go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves.
“Iran has been essentially decimated,” Trump said. “The hard part is done, so it should be easy.”
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