US President Donald Trump has called the war on Iran an investment in the future of American children as he delivered his first address to the nation since the start of the conflict a month ago.
In his speech on Wednesday, Trump claimed that Washington was never looking for regime change in Tehran, with its goals being the destruction of Iran’s navy and air force, and denying it the ability to create a nuclear weapon. “These core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” he insisted.
During the 32 days of fighting since the US and Israel launched their attack, Iran “has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat… This is a true investment in your children and your grandchildren’s future,” Trump said.
The fighting would continue “over the next two to three weeks” until the US goals are “fully achieved,” he added.
Trump again warned the authorities in Tehran that “if there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously.”
According to the president, after the conflict ends, the US “will be safer, stronger, more prosperous, and greater than it has ever been before.”
Republican Senator Ted Cruz applauded Trump’s address, saying that the president was “exactly right tonight.”
The US military operation “is an investment in the future of our children and our grandchildren. We are on the cusp of ending Iran’s nuclear blackmail – that makes America much, much safer,” he wrote on X.
Tehran has long insisted that its nuclear program is purely peaceful and not aimed at obtaining a weapon. Earlier this week, high-ranking Iranian MP Alaeddin Borujerdi said the country’s parliament is looking into the possibility of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, arguing that participation in the 1968 accord became pointless after the US-Israeli attack.
Iran has continued to strike Israel and US military facilities in the Persian Gulf, while rejecting talks with Washington. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted on Wednesday that the war will go on until “the aggressor” is punished and Tehran receives full compensation.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed due to the fighting, the price of gas in the US went beyond $4 per gallon this week, while Trump’s approval ratings slipped below 40%.