President Donald Trump staunchly defended his handling of the month-old, US-Israeli war on Iran in a prime-time address on Wednesday. Here are some key takeaways:
LOOKING FOR AN EXIT – BUT NOT QUITE YET
Trump, facing a war-wary American public and sliding poll numbers, said the US had destroyed Iran’s navy and air force, crippled its ballistic missile and nuclear program and would continue to hit them “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks.
THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Trump’s comments on Wednesday were not clear about whether U.S. military operations could end even before Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway on which it has a chokehold that has created the worst global energy shock in history.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED?
Trump touted the US military’s successes in the conflict but questions remain about whether he has truly achieved the main goal he laid out at the start of the war: Closing off Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.
DOMESTIC POLITICS
Trump’s speech, his first prime-time address since the war started on February 28, was originally seen as being aimed at easing Americans’ concerns about the interventionist tendencies of a president who campaigned for his second term on a promise to keep the US out of “stupid” military interventions.
(Reuters)
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