Trump Says Iran War Could End Soon, but Vows 'Extremely Hard' Strikes Over Next 2–3 Weeks

President Donald Trump delivered a public address from the White House on the war with Iran. In a brief 20-minute speech, Trump emphasized the "overwhelming victory" achieved so far, stating that the war is nearing its end while signaling that more aggressive strikes will be carried out over the next two to three weeks.

Following the speech, risk assets came under pressure. Nasdaq futures fell more than 1%, while Brent crude surged 5%, reclaiming the $105 level.

Trump began by congratulating the successful launch of Artemis II before quickly pivoting to the Iran conflict—much of which reiterated previously disclosed developments. He declared that the U.S. had achieved a "decisive, overwhelming victory" in the war and highlighted key military achievements, including the destruction of Iran's navy and missile production facilities.

The word "win" ran throughout the speech. Trump framed the conflict not as a necessity for the U.S., but as a mission to "help" regional allies—only to then assert that the war was essential to protecting American security. "They made mistakes, and I am correcting them," he said, referring to his predecessor.

Trump also claimed that Iran could "soon" possess missiles capable of striking the U.S. homeland, a statement that overstates U.S. intelligence assessments, which generally place such capability roughly a decade away. "We are systematically dismantling the regime's ability to threaten America or project power beyond its borders," he said.

"Tonight, Iran's navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their leaders—most of them terrorists—and the regime they led are now dead," he said. "Their command and control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is being decimated as we speak. 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 are left."

At this point, Trump described the war as "nearing completion," indicating that core strategic objectives are largely achieved. However, he did not repeat his earlier timeline of "two to three weeks" for ending the war, instead saying, "We are going to finish the job, and we're going to finish it very fast."

Trump also addressed the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has triggered supply concerns and pushed global oil prices higher. He urged U.S. allies to either purchase large amounts of oil from the U.S. or secure it themselves: "They should take the lead in protecting the oil they so desperately depend on"—especially given Iran's weakened position.

He reiterated his claim that the strait would "naturally reopen" once the U.S. ends the war, suggesting that the conclusion of the conflict would automatically restore flows through this critical energy chokepoint.

Trump added that Iran's new leadership appears less aggressive and more rational. However, he warned: "If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard, and probably simultaneously," he said. "We have not hit their oil, even though that's the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding. But we could hit it, and it would be gone—and there's not a thing they could do about it."

Trump asserted that the tempo of U.S. bombing would not slow, even as he suggested the war could soon be over. "We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,"he said. "We're going to bring them back to the Stone Age where they belong."