{"id":8707,"date":"2026-04-02T02:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/once-again-trump-declines-to-describe-desired-end-state-to-his-iran-war\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T02:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:58:15","slug":"once-again-trump-declines-to-describe-desired-end-state-to-his-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/once-again-trump-declines-to-describe-desired-end-state-to-his-iran-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Once again, Trump declines to describe desired end-state to his Iran war"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump promised a swift end to his war in Iran during a Wednesday-night speech that didn\u2019t describe what military objectives his administration is pursuing nor what it wants from the Iranian government.<\/p>\n

Speaking during the fifth week of Operation Epic Fury, Trump made no mention of thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division who arrived in the Middle East in recent days, nor of\u00a0reports that the Pentagon had put together plans for a ground operation to seize Iran\u2019s highly enriched uranium.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to the progress we’ve made, I can say tonight, we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly,\u201d the president said. \u201cWe’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump did not detail which military objectives are still left to achieve, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said during briefings over the past month that those had included destroying Iran\u2019s ability to produce and deploy ballistic missiles and drones to target U.S. interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe country has been eviscerated,\u201d Trump said, adding that Iran \u201cis really no longer a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

One day earlier, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that B-52 bombers had entered the fray, continuing air strikes that have hit more than 12,000 targets thus far.<\/p>\n

Three weeks ago, when only 6,000 targets had been struck, Trump told Axios there was \u201cpractically nothing left\u201d to target in Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Trump did not say what he wants from Iran to end the war, though he mentioned he could still \u201chit\u201d their oil.<\/p>\n

He characterized Iran\u2019s new leadership as \u201cless radical,\u201d though newly ascended Ayatollah Mojtaba Khameinei, son of assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khameinei, has been described as even more extreme than his father.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump also called on other countries to \u201cgo to the Strait\u201d of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively shut down by firing on commercial vessels, and \u201cjust take it\u2026 It will open up naturally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday that the United Kingdom would convene a meeting of 35 countries, not including the U.S., to discuss possibilities for reopening the strait.\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n