US President Donald Trump will address the nation on April 2 to provide an “important” update on Iran, the White House said on Wednesday. The address will be delivered on Thursday at 9:00 PM ET (6:30 AM IST). The White House It was announced by press spokesperson Karoline Leavittová
“Tomorrow evening at 9:00 PM ET, President Trump will address the nation to provide important information on Iran,” she wrote.
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The announcement comes as the Iran war involving US and Israeli forces enters its second month, with new polls suggesting growing concern among Americans about the long-running hostilities.
Hours before the White House announcement, Trump said the military could end its Iranian offensive in two to three weeks and shift responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz to countries that depend on it for oil and shipping. Tehran, president of the usa he said, he didn’t have to make a deal as a prerequisite to ending the war.
“We’ll be leaving very soon,” President Trump Reuters quoted him as telling reporters at the White House on March 31 (local time).
On the Iranian side, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that he was receiving direct messages from US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Abbas Araghchi’s comments came in an Al Jazeera interview broadcast late on Tuesday. However, Araghchi insisted that the reports did not constitute negotiations.
President Trump has repeatedly described Iran and the US as negotiating war, while Pakistan, along with Egypt and Turkey, has been a key mediator during the conflict.
“I’m getting messages directly from Witkoff, as before, and that doesn’t mean we’re in negotiations,” he said, adding that Iran does not believe talks with the U.S. will yield any results. “The trust level is at zero,” he said.
When asked about a possible ground offensive by the US, Araghchi replied: “We are waiting for them”.
“We know very well how to defend ourselves,” Araghchi said.
“We can do even better in a ground war. We are fully prepared to face any ground attack. We hope they don’t make that mistake.”
Departure could happen ‘within two weeks’
In comments to reporters at the White House, Trump said the departure could happen “within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three.”
It has been more than a month since the war in West Asia began with joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Tensions escalated after the killing of Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneiin military strikes on February 28.
In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and American assets across several countries Persian Gulf countriescausing further disruption to the waterway and affecting international energy markets as well as global economic stability and disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also clarified on Tuesday that the deal was not a prerequisite for the US to end “Operation Epic Fury” – the term used for military strikes against Iran.
“Iran doesn’t have to make a deal, no,” he said. “No, they don’t have to make a deal with me.
The fresh remarks are clearly a shift from the US president’s earlier stance. on Monday Trump has warned Iran that if the deal is not completed in the near future and the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened, the US could escalate its response. He said in the Truth Social post that this could include strikes on Iran’s key infrastructure, including energy facilities, oil fields, Kharg Island and possibly desalination facilities, targets he claimed he had so far deliberately avoided.
Washington has previously threatened to step up operations unless Tehran accepts a 15-point US ceasefire framework, the main demands of which are for Iran to commit not to seek nuclear weapons, halt all uranium enrichment and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio he said on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” that there was potential for a meeting between the two sides “at some point” and the United States could “see the finish line.”
“It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it’s coming,” Rubio added.
The statements come amid two-thirds of Americans believing the US should quickly end its involvement in the Iran war, even if that means falling short of goals set by the Trump administration, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Iran plays the long game: Vali Nasr
Experts said Iran could sustain its counteroffensive more easily and for much longer. Besides, they said, the ceasefire alone will not lift the shadow of the risk Iran has imposed on the Persian Gulf, which is now experiencing its own nightmare scenario.
“This is why Iran’s leaders say they will not accept a ceasefire until Washington fully understands the global economic costs of waging this war,” wrote Vali Nasr, an Iranian-American academic and political scientist.
It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it’s coming.
Nasr, who specializes in Middle Eastern studies and the history of Islam, is the Majid Khaddouri Professor of International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.
“Businesses, investors and tourists may not return to the Gulf states if they anticipate war could resume. Unless the US is prepared to invade Iran to remove the leader of the Islamic Republic and then stay there to ensure stability and security, confidence in the Gulf will only return if the US and Iran reach a lasting ceasefire,” wrote Nasr, who authored Iran’s Grand Strategy in the March Financial Time.
