‘We’re here to help our allies’: Trump again changes thinking on Iran war – National
The speech of American President Donald Trump gave an update on the progress made in achieving his goals in the war with Iran, which he said was to destroy the country’s missile production and the Navy, to ensure that its representatives can no longer destabilize the region and to ensure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon.
It was the president’s first speech on the war and comes at a critical time at home and abroad as he faces growing questions about the cost, basis and goals of the war, and the exit plan.
Trump and members of his administration have presented many reasons and reasons why the US joined Israel on February 28 in launching a war against Iran.
“We are now completely independent in the Middle East, but we are here to help,” he said. “We don’t have to be there, we don’t need their oil, we don’t need anything they have.”
Get the latest country news
Get the best Canadian news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you never miss a trending story.
But, he added, “we are here to help our partners.”
Speaking in the Cross Hall at the White House, he said the actions of Operation Epic Fury last month meant that “Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones has been greatly reduced, and its weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces.”
Trump also said that “the country’s navy is dead, their air force is a wreck,” and the country’s leaders, “are dead.”
He also said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “is disappearing as we speak.”
Trump says he is not sure the US people have the ‘patience’ for the war on Iran to continue
In his private speech at the Easter luncheon at the White House, the president appeared to reflect the domestic pressure he feels to end the war.
He said the US could “easily” take over Iran’s oil but said it was “sad” that the American people don’t seem to have the patience for such an effort.
“They want to see it end,” he said.
Trump said he would prefer to take Iran’s oil, “but people in the country say, ‘Just win. You win big. Just win. Come home.’ I live with that too,” he said.
A video of the speech was posted online by a Business Insider reporter who said the White House had uploaded a video of the closed-door event and downloaded it before it was made private.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press about why it took down the video.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said that the Iranian President wanted a ceasefire before his speech to the American people.
He made the claim on his Truth Social website. A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Trump’s remarks were “false and baseless.”
Thousands of soldiers headed for the Middle East
The aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is expected to head to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two US officials said.
The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors.
As this happens, thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also started pouring into the Middle East, according to two other American officials, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the military’s critical plans.
Meanwhile, US gasoline prices jumped to $4 a liter for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the war in Iran continues to push up global fuel prices.
Analysts say those higher fuel costs will trickle down to stores as transportation and packaging costs for businesses pile up.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
