![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776554705_276_.jpeg\")
People watch as smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq\u2019s autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\t\tPeople watch as smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq\u2019s autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
As the war against Iran approaches its sixth week, President Trump told Americans on Wednesday that the U.S. is \u201con the cusp of ending Iran\u2019s sinister threat to America and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his first formal address to the nation since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Trump did not say, however, when the war would end or how it would end, but said the U.S. was \u201con track to complete all of America\u2019s military objectives shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He warned of an intensified period of strikes on Iran, going beyond his initial timeframe of five weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We\u2019re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776554705_174_.jpeg\")
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak in the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Pool\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Iran continued to target countries in the Gulf region with ballistic missiles and drones into Thursday as the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a security alert, warning of attacks by Iran-backed militias.<\/p>\n
Trump said the discussions with Iran were ongoing as he described Iran\u2019s new leaders as \u201cless radical and much more reasonable.\u201d But he warned that if Iran failed to reach an agreement, the U.S. military would target the country\u2019s energy plants and its oil.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have all the cards,\u201d he added. \u201cThey have none.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an initial reaction to Trump\u2019s speech, Esmail Baghai, a spokesman for Iran\u2019s foreign ministry said Iran \u201cwill not tolerate this vicious cycle of war, negotiations and ceasefire and then repeating the same pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is disastrous not only for Iran, but for the entire region and beyond,\u201d Baghai said. \u201cWe are defending against an illegal war.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are more updates on Day 34 of the Iran war:<\/p>\n
US military targets <\/a>| Strait of Hormuz<\/a> | Iranian president\u2019s letter<\/a> | Iran strikes Gulf countries<\/a> |Israel strikes Lebanon<\/a><\/p>\n U.S. military targets in the war so far<\/p>\n The U.S. Central Command said late Wednesday it had struck over 12,300 targets in its efforts to \u201cdismantle the Iranian regime\u2019s security apparatus.\u201d<\/p>\n It added that the military prioritized targets that posed \u201cimminent threats\u201d during the month-long conflict.<\/p>\n The U.S. military said it has destroyed or damaged over 155 vessels since the beginning of the war. Other targets, according to a post on X, included command centers, posts of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, air defense systems, ballistic missile sites, navy ships and submarines as well as anti-ship missiles sites, drone manufacturing and other weapon production facilities.<\/p>\n Trump tells allies to step in and protect the Strait of Hormuz as U.K. hosts summit<\/p>\n During his formal Wednesday address, Trump also sought to distance himself from Iran\u2019s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping passage that has obstructed the world\u2019s oil supply and sent prices of oil, gas and fertilizer rising.<\/p>\n He said the U.S. did not use the strait, and instead called on countries that use the passage to protect it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n His comments came as the United Kingdom is hosting a virtual meeting of 35 countries on Thursday to discuss the reopening of the shipping route. Among the countries attending are Canada, European nations, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The U.S. was not scheduled to attend the meeting.<\/p>\n British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the countries would come together \u201cto assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer also maintained Britain would stay out of the war with Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not our war and we\u2019re not going to get dragged into it,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m equally clear that when it comes to defense and security and our economic future, we have to have closer ties with Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer said military planners would meet to discuss naval options following the meeting, but acknowledged that keeping the Strait open, \u201cwill not be easy.\u201d<\/p>\n On his part, Trump proposed that the countries affected by the oil blockade in the Strait of Hormuz buy oil from the U.S. or take control of the passage.<\/p>\n \u201cIran has been essentially decimated,\u201d he said. \u201cThe hard part is done, so it should be easy.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s president addresses American people<\/p>\n Just hours before Trump\u2019s address to the nation, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed a letter to the American public on Wednesday calling into question the rationale for the war and levelling accusations at the U.S. administration.<\/p>\n \u201cExactly which of the American people\u2019s interests are truly being served by this war? Was there any objective threat from Iran to justify such behavior?\u201d he wrote in a letter posted on X.<\/p>\n Pezeshkian defended Iran\u2019s strikes against countries in the region and Israel as a \u201cmeasured response grounded in legitimate self-defense, but by no means an initiation of a war of aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n He also appeared to make a veiled offering of dialogue. \u201cToday the world stands at crossroads. Continuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before. The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Pezeshkian\u2019s level of influence in Iran\u2019s current leadership is unclear, following the take down of the regime in Tehran by U.S. and Israeli strikes, since Feb. 28.<\/p>\n Iran continues to target Gulf countries<\/p>\n The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a security alert on Thursday warning of plots by Iran-backed militias in Iraq to attack central Baghdad in the next 24 to 48 hours. It called on U.S. citizens to immediately leave Iraq.<\/p>\n \u201cThey may intend to target U.S. citizens, businesses, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, airports, and other locations perceived to be associated with the United States, as well as Iraqi institutions and civilian targets,\u201d the U.S. Embassy post on X said.<\/p>\n The security warning comes just days after an American journalist, Shelley Kittleson, was kidnapped in Baghdad. According to the New York Times, Kittleson, a freelance reporter working in Iraq, is reportedly being held by Iranian-aligned militia Kataib Hezbollah, which made contact with Iraq\u2019s authorities to demand the release of their detained members in exchange.<\/p>\n In Saudi Arabia, authorities said they intercepted and destroyed four drones on Thursday in addition to a ballistic missile fired at the country\u2019s oil-rich eastern region.<\/p>\n In Bahrain, the interior ministry said it closed off traffic on a key highway for several hours on Thursday because of falling debris, while sirens blared across the country signifying incoming strikes. In Kuwait, local media reported that fuel depots of the Kuwait International Airport were set on fire on Wednesday following an attack by an Iranian drone, causing significant damage.<\/p>\n Trump pledged his support to Middle Eastern allies in his Wednesday address.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been great, and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Israel strikes Beirut, other parts of Lebanon\u00a0<\/p>\n Israel launched another wave of airstrikes overnight in Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has offices.<\/p>\n Lebanon\u2019s government said at least 50 people were killed across the country Wednesday.<\/p>\n In the south, Lebanese Army tanks withdrew as Israeli ones rolled in. Many residents have heeded Israel\u2019s order to flee from a ribbon of Lebanese territory, where Israeli defense minister Israel Katz says he\u2019s creating a security zone and destroying villages. He said it\u2019s in accordance with a \u201cGaza model\u201d to prevent Shia Muslim Hezbollah fighters from firing rockets from them.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2026 NPR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People watch as smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[34,37,93,1284,39,101,10303,12508,1142],"class_list":{"0":"post-72242","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-persian-gulf","8":"tag-iran","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-lebanon","11":"tag-national","12":"tag-persian-gulf","13":"tag-strait-of-hormuz","14":"tag-u-s-war-in-iran","15":"tag-uncategorized","16":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116428296875700169","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"British](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776554706_205_.jpeg\")
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Frank Augstein\/Pool | AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Members](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776554706_604_.jpeg\")
Members of security forces watch over the crowd during a funeral procession held for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri, alongside other senior naval commanders and their families who were killed in US-Israeli strikes in late March, on April 1, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi | Getty Images Europe)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776554707_134_.jpeg\")
A man holds in place a protective helmet on the head of a child as other motorists take shelter from an incoming missile attack in a ditch on the side of the highway in Latrun on April 1, 2026. (Marco Longari | AFPAFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776554707_166_.jpeg\")
A man carries his child as he walks past destroyed vehicles and debris at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that killed seven people on April 01, 2026 in Beirut, Lebanon. (Chris McGrath | Getty Images Europe)<\/p>\n