New Delhi, Updated At: 12:33 PM Apr 02, 2026 IST
US President Donald Trump warned Iran it would be hit “very badly” over the next two to three weeks if no “peace deal” is reached, outlining plans to intensify the ongoing operation dubbed “Epic Fury.” In an address to the nation on Wednesday night (early Thursday in India), Trump said US forces were “on track to complete all military objectives shortly” and that they would “hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.”
Trump said the US would continue operations until its objectives were met and threatened strikes on Iran’s electric generating plants if no deal is made. “If there is no deal, we are going to hit every one of their electric generating plants—very hard and probably simultaneously,” he said.
He added that discussions were ongoing and noted that Iran’s Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Araghchi had acknowledged receiving direct messages from the US envoy, Steve Witkoff.
On the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has partly blocked and which is central to global oil flows, Trump told nations that need oil they could “go and open [the] Strait of Hormuz” themselves and urged countries to buy oil from the US. “In any case, when this conflict is over, the Strait will open up naturally,” he said, adding that the US had not made reopening the strait a current military objective.
Trump warned Iran against advancing its nuclear program, saying the US was keeping its enriched uranium stockpile “under intense satellite surveillance and control.” “If we see them make a move—even a small move—we will hit them very hard,” he said.
On the state of Iran’s leadership and armed forces, Trump claimed regime change had effectively occurred, saying many leaders were dead and that command and control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been “decimated,” leaving a less radical leadership. He said the US had avoided targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure to preserve any minimal chance for survival or rebuilding.
Trump framed the operation as necessary for US and global security, referencing past US involvement in World Wars I and II. He acknowledged domestic concerns over rising gas prices, blaming them on Iranian attacks on commercial oil tankers and neighbouring countries rather than US actions in the conflict.
