Middle East War: Donald Trump announces that Iran will be hit extremely hard for another two

Published on 02/04/2026 at 05:47 – Updated on 02/04/2026 at 08:35

Reading time: 5min

In a twenty-minute address to his fellow citizens on Wednesday, the American president considered that the United States were “close” to achieving their goals.

Another “two to three” weeks of strikes against Iran

In his first address to the nation since the early hours of the conflict that began at the end of February, the American president praised the “decisive” and “overwhelming” victories achieved by the United States. Donald Trump reiterated that the strikes were necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

He also repeated that the United States were “close to fulfilling” their war objectives. “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We will bring them back to the Stone Age, where they belong. In the meantime, discussions continue,” said the U.S. president.

Donald Trump once again threatened to target Iranian energy infrastructure, stating that in the absence of an agreement, the United States would “hit each of their power plants very hard and probably simultaneously.”

An appeal to “take” the Strait of Hormuz

The American president urged countries dependent on the Strait of Hormuz to “take care” of this strategic maritime route, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes and is controlled by Iran. “Go to the strait, take it, protect it, use it,” insisted the American president, criticizing many NATO allies for not coming to the aid of the United States.

Mid-March, Donald Trump called on several countries, including France, to intervene to help his country unblock the strait. “Let’s hope that China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and others (…) will send ships to the region so that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer threatened by a completely dismembered country,” he declared.

A week later, 22 countries, including France, the UK, Canada, Japan, said they were “ready to contribute to the efforts” necessary to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Signatories of the agreement included the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Donald Trump also promised on Wednesday that he would not abandon these Gulf allies, including “Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain.”

The surge in fuel prices, a “short-term” issue

Throughout his speech, the American leader only briefly mentioned a subject that is at the heart of Americans’ concerns: the soaring fuel prices due to the conflict. This is a “short-term” phenomenon, and the American economy has “never been stronger,” assured Donald Trump. The populist head of state claimed that investments were pouring in and falsely stated that his country was experiencing “no inflation.” It stood at 2.4% in February, according to government data.

This address comes against the backdrop of a decline in Donald Trump’s popularity regarding the economy. The proportion of Americans who trust their president to manage the national economy dropped to 31% in the latest CNN/SSRS poll, a career-low for Trump. This percentage dropped by eight points in just three months.

An increase in the Brent crude oil price after the address

Boosted by hopes of de-escalation, European and Wall Street markets ended higher on Wednesday before Donald Trump’s speech. However, the price of Brent crude oil from the North Sea, the global benchmark, rose by 5.12% at 3:15 am (Paris time), to $106.34. It was around $107 shortly after 7:00 am.

Asian markets turned red. After opening higher, the Nikkei index in Tokyo fell 1.82% to 52,758.46 points around 02:20 GMT, while in Seoul, the Kospi dropped by 3.9%. Indices also declined in Sydney (-0.8%), Taipei (-1.1%), and Hong Kong (-0.9%).