President Donald Trump is expected to address the nation at 9 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday about U.S. operations in Iran after one month of combat.
The message will be an "important update" about the war, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
Trump told reporters Tuesday he expected the mission known as Operation Epic Fury to end in two to three weeks. He posted on Truth Social Wednesday that Iran had asked for a ceasefire, but the U.S. was not open to negotiation until the Strait of Hormuz is open for shipping.
"We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!" Trump said.
US EYES SEIZING IRAN’S OIL LIFELINE — BUT IT MAY NOT CRIPPLE TEHRAN
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said the claim that Iran had asked for a ceasefire was "false and baseless," according to Iranian state TV.
Trump has sent mixed signals in recent days, at times suggesting the conflict could end soon while also threatening intensified strikes if Iran does not meet U.S. demands.
The president told multiple news outlets Wednesday that he is strongly considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO over frustrations at what he sees as insufficient military support from allied countries in the Middle East.
"I was never swayed by NATO," Trump told The Telegraph in an interview published Wednesday.
European nations so far have resisted pressure to offer warships to reopen commerce in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil supply typically passes. The average price of a gallon of gas surpassed $4 on Tuesday, a first since 2022.
Several key European allies have moved to restrict U.S. military access as the Trump administration presses forward with operations against Iran, with Spain closing its airspace to U.S. aircraft tied to strikes and France imposing limits on certain overflights carrying military supplies.
PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS US COULD FINISH IRAN OPERATION WITHIN TWO TO THREE WEEKS
"We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us."
Administration officials have suggested U.S. objectives in the conflict are nearing completion, raising the possibility that Trump could outline a path toward winding down operations.
But at the same time, thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne division along with a task force of 2,500 Marines from the USS Tripoli have reached the Central Command theater in recent days, raising speculation of a potential ground invasion. Meanwhile the USS George H.W. Bush, an aircraft carrier with 6,000 sailors deployed Tuesday to join the USS Abraham Lincoln already in theater.
Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28.
Since then, U.S. forces have struck more than 12,000 targets inside Iran and damaged or destroyed 155 naval ships, according the Central Command. Thirteen U.S. service members have died in the operations and 350 have been injured.
The White House could not immediately be reached for comment.
