Hours before he was scheduled to deliver a prime-time address on the war in Iran, President Donald Trump sent mixed signals on what it would take to end the conflict, and Iran’s president addressed his own assessment to the American people.
In an interview with Reuters, Trump said the U.S. will be “out of Iran pretty quickly” but could return for “spot hits” if called for. He also said he was no longer concerned about Iran’s supply of near weapons-grade uranium, even though he began the war on Feb. 28 by saying his goal was to prevent the Islamic republic from manufacturing a nuclear bomb.
“That’s so far underground, I don’t care about that,” Trump said of the uranium stockpile.
The comments came a day after Trump said the U.S. could end its offensive in Iran in “two or three weeks,” even if the Strait of Hormuz, the critical shipping channel for about one-fifth of the global oil supply, isn’t reopened. Earlier he had conditioned any cease fire on the waterway’s reopening.
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“Because there’s no reason for us to do this,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “Look, the problem with the Strait — a guy can take a mine, drop it in the water, and say, ‘Oh, it’s unsafe.’ It’s not like you’re taking out an army, or you’re taking out a country, they can drop it. Or you can take your machine gun from the shore and shoot a little, a few bullets on a ship. Or maybe an over-the-shoulder missile, small missiles. That’s not for us, that’ll be for France. That will be for whoever is using the Strait. But I think when we leave, probably that’s all cleared up.”
Iranian president: ‘The world stands at a crossroads’
On Truth Social early Wednesday, Trump said that Iran’s “New Regime President” had asked the U.S. for a cease fire.
However, Iran’s president since 2024, Masoud Pezeshkian, released a letter to Americans later Wednesday calling that claim “false and baseless.”
The letter was somewhat conciliatory, denying that Iran has been the aggressor in what has become a broad regional conflict.
“Today, the world stands at crossroads,” Pezeshkian wrote in the letter, posted on X.
“The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come,” he said.
However, he said that if Iran is attacked, it will continue to retaliate.
Troop buildup continues
Even as Trump talks about exiting Iran, thousands more U.S. troops are heading to the Middle East.
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush deployed Tuesday along with three destroyers. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors.
It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division also have begun arriving in the Middle East, according to The Associated Press.
The majority of those troops are part of a rotation planned before the war started, but some are among roughly 1,500 paratroopers the Trump administration decided to send there last week.
Strait of Hormuz remains closed
Meanwhile, Trump’s April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on the country’s power plants still stands.
Iranian Foreign Minster Abbas Araghchi signaled Tuesday that Tehran is ready to keep fighting, no matter what Trump threatens.
“You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” Araghchi told Al Jazeera.
In a post on social media, Trump told U.S. allies struggling to get oil amid the Strait’s closure that America won’t help them since they’re “not there for us” in the war with Iran.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday the U.K. will host an international diplomatic conference this week on ways to reopen the Strait. Starmer said 35 countries have signed on.
To restore stability to the area, Starmer said “a united front of military strength and diplomatic activity” is needed.
The meeting comes after Trump told The Telegraph that he’s considering pulling out of NATO, as allies have been reluctant join the war with Iran and help reopen the Strait.
