U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to use a primetime address Wednesday night (9 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time; 3 a.m. CET) to declare that the month-long war in Iran is winding down, against a backdrop of spiking oil prices and increasingly dismal poll numbers.
Roughly two-thirds of Americans say they want the administration to stop the fighting, even if it means the country falls short of the president’s goals, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The president has telegraphed the expected message in interviews, social media posts, and public comments, laying the groundwork for a speech anticipated to claim that all military objectives have been met, according to people familiar with the planning and granted anonymity by Politico.
Trump also intends to harshly scapegoat NATO allies for the biggest unresolved matter of the war, Iran’s ongoing restrictions of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The president’s decision to deliver a major address about the war’s endgame, coming as an additional 2,500 U.S. Marines make their way to the region, may be primarily an attempt to assuage voters’ concerns and Wall Street’s unease about energy markets and the knock-on effects of the Strait closure.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country has the “necessary will” for a ceasefire, but only if its adversaries guarantee that hostilities will not resume.
Hours before Trump’s address, Pezeshkian questioned whether the conflict was truly putting “America First,” accusing Washington of committing war crimes and acting under Israel’s influence.
The speech can be watched at the White House website.
