Press Review – On the occasion of his first live address since the beginning of the conflict in Iran, the American president failed to dispel the fears of both the markets and the public opinion, according to an almost unanimous consensus in the international media this Thursday.
The disappointment is of the same magnitude as the expectation: great. Donald Trump’s address to the nation on Wednesday night, the first live one since the start of the war in Iran last February 28, brought none of the answers that the world was anxiously awaiting on how the United States will proceed with their operations in the Middle East. This is clearly highlighted in a roundup of the international press on Thursday morning, with British newspaper The Telegraph winning the prize for conciseness: “Tired-looking Trump has run out of things to say.”
“No clear strategy to end the conflict”
“If one were to copy and paste his recent posts on Truth Social, one would get more or less this national address,” rebukes the BBC. “Those hoping for clear answers on the outcome of this war or on the exit possibilities for the United States found little here,” insist our British colleagues, while Swiss journalists from Le Temps simply refer to it as a “non-event.”
“Minimizing the economic consequences”
The press even notes contradictions in the statements of the American president. “He has denied wanting a regime change, as he had previously suggested at the beginning of the offensive,” notes Le Figaro in its columns. In reality, Trump mainly “boasted of his successes” on the field of this Epic Fury operation, “while promising new bombings” if the Iranian leaders do not comply with Washington’s demands. Bombing the country, yes, “until bringing it back to the Stone Age.” This is what prompts the Financial Times to say that his address to the nation “suggests an escalation rather than a quick peace agreement.”
“A convincing message,” according to the Wall Street Journal
But for a trace of true enthusiasm in the American press this Thursday, one must read the editorial of the Wall Street Journal. The economic daily heard an “effective speech, with a convincing message that should buy him enough time to continue his campaign and achieve all his war objectives.” In line with Donald Trump, the newspaper reminds Europeans that they “have an order to help the United States reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” and deplores “the negative media coverage of the war” which can “truly make Iranian leaders believe they are winning.”
