Jamaine Punzalan

President Donald J. Trump Monitors U.S. Military Operations in Iran: Operation Epic Fury, February 28, 2026. White House/X

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775093346152HCRTmmGWQAA_WZD.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Donald J. Trump Monitors U.S. Military Operations in Iran: Operation Epic Fury, February 28, 2026. White House/X</span></span></span></div><p>President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that the United States was nearing victory in Iran as he laid out his case more than a month into a war that has sent his approval rating tumbling.</p><p>In an evening speech from the White House, Trump broke little new ground on how the war would end and vowed two to three weeks further of &quot;extremely hard&quot; strikes against Iran.</p><p>&quot;We are going to finish the job, and we&#x27;re going to finish it very fast. We&#x27;re getting very close,&quot; he said in remarks that largely rehashed his daily streams of social-media postings and rapid media interviews.</p><p>With his approval rating hitting new lows and Americans feeling a pinch from soaring oil prices, Trump offered a retroactive explanation on why he joined Israel in the attack launched on February 28.</p><p>Standing before American flags, Trump delivered the type of speech most presidents would offer at the start of a conflict. Trump on February 28 instead released a video in which he was wearing a baseball cap and no tie.</p><p>In his Wednesday address, Trump said the United States was aiming to crush Iran&#x27;s military, end the clerical state&#x27;s support for regional armed groups and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear bomb -- a prospect that the UN nuclear watchdog and many observers say was not imminent.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,&quot; Trump said in a 19-minute speech.</p><p>Israel on the first day of the conflict killed Iran&#x27;s longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Trump boasted how &quot;their leaders -- most of them&quot; in the Islamic republic are dead.</p><p>But Iran has also responded by taking control over the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway out of the Gulf for one-fifth of the world&#x27;s oil, which was open before the war.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/1/dfa-asks-iran-mark-ph-bound-ships-in-strait-of-hormuz-as-non-hostile-1924">DFA asks Iran: Mark PH-bound ships in Strait of Hormuz as &#x27;non-hostile&#x27;</a></div><p>Gasoline prices in the United States have surged above $4 a gallon (over $1 a liter) for the first time in years, while consumer confidence has weakened, dragging down Trump&#x27;s already fragile standing on the economy.</p><p>Oil prices again surged in early trading Thursday and share prices tumbled, with Trump&#x27;s speech dashing hopes he would call a quick end to the war.</p><p>Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said: &quot;Anyone watching that speech has no idea whether Trump is escalating or deescalating the war with Iran.&quot;</p><p>&quot;But to be fair, neither does he so,&quot; Murphy wrote on X.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>BOMB TO &#x27;STONE AGES&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Trump again threatened that if Iran does not reach a negotiated settlement with him, the United States would &quot;hit each and every one of their electric generating plants.&quot;</p><p>Attacks on civilian energy infrastructure are widely considered to be illegal under the laws of war and could constitute a war crime.</p><p>&quot;Over the next two to three weeks, we are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,&quot; Trump said.</p><p>There was little in his address about actual diplomacy.</p><p>Earlier Wednesday, Trump claimed that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian -- an elected moderate long considered in the shadow of the military and clerical establishment -- was seeking a ceasefire.</p><p>This was swiftly denied by Iran&#x27;s foreign ministry, which also accused Washington of making &quot;maximalist and irrational&quot; demands.</p><p>Boasting of American military might, the 79-year-old former real estate developer used one of his favorite analogies: &quot;We have all the cards. They have none.&quot;</p><p>Trump offered conciliatory words to Gulf Arab allies, saying he would not let them &quot;get hurt or fail&quot; -- even though they have already been hit by more than a month of Iranian retaliatory fire that has shattered their reputation for stability.</p><p>Trump again berated European allies that have balked at supporting his war -- on which he did not consult them in advance -- as he noted that they are more dependent on Gulf oil.</p><p>The countries that &quot;receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage,&quot; Trump said, urging them to &quot;build up some delayed courage.&quot;</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yzascwvXcxI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that the United States was nearing victory in Iran as he laid out his case more than a month into a war that has sent his approval rating tumbling.</p>

President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that the United States was nearing victory in Iran as he laid out his case more than a month into a war that has sent his approval rating tumbling.

Trump tells US that Iran war victory near, but vows big strikes

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Trump tells US that Iran war victory near, but vows big strikes

Agence France-Presse

Published April 02, 2026 09:30 AM PHT

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Updated April 02, 2026 11:02 AM PHT

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