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US President Donald Trump in an address to the nation said his military campaign against Iran will wind down in three weeks when objectives are met. He claimed to have "obliterated" Tehran's nuclear and military capabilities.
He offered to sell American oil to countries unable to get supplies from the Strait of Hormuz and put the onus of securing the narrow waterway on them.
The conflict in the Gulf region started on Feb. 28 with the joint US-Israeli bombing of Iran which killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu have called for regime change in Tehran. Iran has retaliated by hitting countries around the Gulf with drones and missiles. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.
Read key highlights of Trump's speech on Iran war.
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Market expert Ajay Bagga told NDTV Profit that disruptions in global oil supplies are likely to continue for the next one to two months, adding to market uncertainty. He expressed concern that India has not taken sufficient safeguarding measures to deal with the evolving situation.
According to Bagga, the Indian equity market is not inspiring confidence at the moment, as investors remain worried about the risk of further escalation in the war. He emphasised that the government needs to pay close attention to the issue of foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows, adding that persistent FII selling remains a key concern for the Indian markets.
He also noted that US President Donald Trump had created expectations of a likely ceasefire, which have not yet materialised. He believes the Strait of Hormuz could remain closed for the next three weeks and said that its reopening would depend on parties not directly involved in the conflict.
Geopolitical expert James Bowden told NDTV Profit that Iran appears to be preparing for a prolonged period of confrontation, much like the United States. He said he does not see any meaningful space at present for negotiations with Iran under US President Donald Trump’s approach.
Bowden also cautioned that the Strait of Hormuz should not be expected to automatically reopen following a war, suggesting that tensions in the region could persist even after active hostilities ease.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump’s "powerful speech" was "clear about our objectives in Iran".
"The President’s leadership sends a message to the world that the United States will defend its people and its interests, and uphold peace through strength," Rubio added.
President Trump delivered a powerful speech tonight. He was clear about our objectives in Iran:
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 2, 2026
• Destroy their weapons factories
• Destroy their navy
• Destroy their air force
• Destroy their chances of ever having a nuclear weapon
The President’s leadership sends a…
Shortly after Trump concluded his remarks, in which he claimed that Iran’s military capabilities have been all-but crushed, the Israeli military said it detected Iranian missile launches, Al Jazeera reported.
Crude oil prices soared after Trump said the Iran war will go on for another two-three weeks and shirked responsibility to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
International benchmark Brent rose as much as 5% to $105 per barrel. WTI futures rose 3% to $103.
US President Donald Trump has concluded his remarks by re-asserting that the Iran war is already won and almost over. “We are on the cusp of ending Iran sinister threat to America and the world,” Trump said.
"We are on track to complete all of our military objectives. We will hit them extremely hard over the next two-three weeks. We are going to bring them back to the stone age where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing."
Trump said he took actions that none of his predecessors would on Iran. "Essentially, I did what no other president was willing to do... They made mistakes, and I am correcting them."
He said there would be "no Middle East and no Israel" if he had not terminated former President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. "I want to thank our allies in the Middle East – Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain. They’ve been great and we will not let them fail in any way shape or form."
Donald Trump said the military campaign will wind down in three weeks when its objectives are met.
Donald Trump told oil importing countries to take responsibility to secure the Strait of Hormuz themselves and offered to sell American oil to affected countries.
"We don't need oil from the Hormuz strait. Those who import from there must take care of the passage. We will be helpful but they should take the lead to protect the oil. To those countries who can't get oil, many of which refused to be involved in the decapitation of Iran, I suggest buy oil from the US. Build up some delayed courage. Go to the Strait and just take it, protect is. Iran is decimated."
President Donald Trump said the US must complete mission in Iran and "we will finish the job very fast". "We are getting very close to finishing job in Iran. We will not let Middle East allies get hurt or fail."
"Our objectives are clear. Not letting Iran to threaten American interests in the region and restricting influence within its borders," Trump said.
"Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces – very few of them left," Trump said.
Donald Trump slammed Barack Obama over the Iran deal and said his decision to "hand them green cash" to Tehran in a nuclear deal was a disaster. The nuclear deal signed in 2015 was scrapped by Trump in 2018 during his first term.
"I will never allow Iran to have nuclear weapons," Trump said.
Donald Trump said his military campaign has been a great success. "Most of Iran's leaders are dead. Their navy is gone."
"It’s been just one month since the United States military began Operation Epic Fury targeting the world’s number one state sponsor of terror, Iran. In these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield."
Canadian Prime Minister Marl Carney spoke to President Trump and congratulated him on the successful launch of Artemis II.
"We discussed the courage of the astronauts, including Colonel Jeremy Hansen, the value of cooperation in space, and developments in the Middle East conflict," he said on X.
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Earlier this evening I spoke with President Trump and congratulated him on the successful launch of Artemis II.
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 2, 2026
We discussed the courage of the astronauts, including Colonel Jeremy Hansen, the value of cooperation in space, and developments in the Middle East conflict.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged American people to look beyond "a flood of distortions and manufactured narratives" and ask whose interests are being served by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
In an open letter addressed to the US public and shared by Iran’s state-run broadcaster PressTV, Pezeshkian on Wednesday questioned whether President Donald Trump’s 'America First' policy is "truly among the priorities of the US government today".
"Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?... Does the massacre of innocent children, the destruction of cancer-treatment pharmaceutical facilities, or boasting about bombing a country ‘back to the stone ages’ serve any purpose other than further damaging the United States’ global standing?” the Iranian leader wrote.
Iran's President has asked the United States for a ceasefire, Donald Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. He further added that he will consider it "when Hormuz Strait is open, free and clear".
"Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!," he said in his post on Wednesday.
The comments come after he hinted at ending the Iran war sooner, saying that the US is not going to be there too much longer, despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warning that the upcoming days in Tehran will be decisive amid escalating tensions.
US index futures were little changed Thursday morning, with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures just above the flatline. Dow Jones futures were up 13 points, or 0.03% higher.
Overnight, the S&P 500 advanced 0.72%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.16%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.48%.
Asian stock markets traded higher on Thursday, tracking similar moves on Wall Street as investors await an address by Donald Trump amid hopes that the US president is looking to end the Iran war.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.8%, while the Topix saw a larger gain of 1%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.33% and the small-cap Kosdaq was up 1.14%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.45% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were marginally higher than the HSI’s last close.
The United States could be done with its five week-long war with Iran within two to three weeks, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. He added that it's possible the war will end sooner if a deal is reached on Tehran giving up any capability to develop a nuclear weapon.
"We have had regime change. Now, regime change was not one of the things I had as a goal. I had one goal: they will have no nuclear weapon, and that goal has been attained. They will not have nuclear weapons. But we're finishing the job, and I think within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer, to do the job. But we want to knock out every single they have," Trump said from the Oval Office.
"It's possible that we'll have a deal because they want to make a deal. They want to make a deal more than I want to make a deal. But in a fairly short period of time, we'll be finished," Trump said.
"Now we have a group of people that's very — that are very different. They're much more reasonable," he said, projecting optimism about talks.
US President Donald Trump is set to deliver a major speech on Iran as the war intensifies today morning.
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