Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Trump says U.S. military objectives in Iran ‘nearing completion'
Posted
April 2, 2026
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April 2, 2026
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2:25Now PlayingPresident Donald Trump addressed the nation in a prime-time address Wednesday for the first time since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
With the Iran war in its fifth week, Trump said the military’s “core strategic objectives are nearing completion.”
While the president’s Cabinet has given differing and sometimes contradictory reasons why the U.S. attacked Israel, Trump said Wednesday that he’s following through on a campaign promise to keep Iran from accessing nuclear weapons.
“Our objectives are very simple and clear: We are systematically dismantling the regime's ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders,” he said. “That means eliminating Iran's navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting the air force and their missile program at levels never seen before and annihilating their defense industrial base.”
As the conflict has dragged on, polls have shown majorities of Americans opposing the war, though Republicans remain largely supportive, and growing concerned about rising oil prices and affordability. Military casualties climbed to 13 American service members killed in the conflict. Some 1,600 civilians have been killed in Iran, with thousands more wounded, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. At least 50 people have been killed in surrounding Gulf nations.
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