Trump Says It’ll Be ‘Easy’ to Wrap Up the War With Iran ‘Very Shortly’

President Donald Trump declared victory over Iran in a prime time address to the nation Wednesday night, saying that U.S. military objectives are “nearing completion” while suggesting that American forces would not be used to reopen the Strait of Hormuz because it will “open up naturally” once the conflict is over.

“We are in this military operation so powerful, so brilliant, against one of the most powerful countries for 32 days, and the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat,” Trump said.

The conflict, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by the Pentagon, is currently in its fifth week. On Wednesday, Trump said “we’re getting very close” to being done but did not give an exact timeline.

At the outset of the war with Iran, Trump estimated it would take four weeks to accomplish a short list of goals.

“We are systematically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders,” the president said. “That means eliminating Iran’s navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting their air force and their missile program at levels never seen before and annihilating their defense industrial base.”

“We’ve done all of it,” he added. “The hard part is over.”

Trump has for weeks suggested that American negotiators were making progress in their talks with representatives for Iran — though officials there have repeatedly denied that they are engaged in any talks with the Trump administration.

Early Wednesday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social, “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider 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!!!”

But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote an open letter to the American public on Wednesday denying Trump’s claims and warning of the consequences of a prolonged war.

“Continuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before,” he wrote.

Oil, diesel and jet-fuel prices have skyrocketed since traffic through the Strait of Hormuz cratered, with gas prices rising to over $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022.

Immediately following Trump’s address Wednesday night, both S&P 500 and Dow Jones futures fell nearly 1%, while Nasdaq futures fell more than 1%. The price of crude oil also spiked close to 4%.

Trump has blamed Europe’s lack of buy-in for the war effort as a factor in the strait’s closure, suggesting at times that he wanted assistance from NATO countries in reopening the crucial waterway, while at other times saying that the U.S. did not need help from its allies to do so.

“France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday.

In his continued frustration with European countries, Trump said they need to “start learning how to fight for yourself.”

“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” he posted Tuesday on Truth Social.

This week, Trump expressed disappointment with the cross-Atlantic alliance and said he was considering leaving NATO, which has become a frequent punching bag during his second term.

“I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,” Trump said in an interview with The Telegraph published Wednesday morning.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed his frustration on Monday with the alliance, saying in an interview with Al Jazeera that the Trump administration should “reexamine” its relationship with NATO.

“If NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked but then denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement. That’s a hard one to stay engaged in and say this is good for the United States. So all of that is going to have to be reexamined,” he said.