Donald Trump: Five biggest takeaways from US president’s address to the nation about Iran war

Donald Trump made some wild threats and big claims during his White House address to the nation. Here’s what you need to know.

US will hit Iran ‘back to the Stone Ages’

Mr Trump has vowed to hit Iran hard over the next two to three weeks, blasting it back to the “stone ages” if it didn’t agree to a peace deal.

“We are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly,” he said.

“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.

“We are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”

If Iran fails to negotiate a deal, Mr Trump has threatened to take out “each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously”.

“We have not hit their oil even though that’s the easiest target of all. Because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding”.

He said Iran had no anti-aircraft equipment and its radar system had been completely annihilated.

“The nuclear sites that we obliterated with a B-2 bombers have been hit so hard that it would take months to get near the nuclear dust and (they) have been under intense satellite surveillance and control.

“If we see them make even a move for it, we’ll hit them with missiles, very hard again.

“We have all the cards. They have none.”

Trump’s message for countries reliant on Strait of Hormuz

The US president said countries reliant on oil flowing through an open Strait of Hormuz must to take the lead in protecting it.

“The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. . . They can do it easily. We will be helpful but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” Mr Trump said.

“To those countries that can’t get fuel — many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves — I have a suggestion: Number one, buy oil from the United States of America, we have plenty. We have so much.

“And number two, build up some delayed courage. Should have done it before, should have done it with us as we asked.

“Go to the strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourself.

“Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy.”

Mr Trump said when the war was over the strait would open up regardless because Iran would need the to be able to sell oil in order to rebuild.

Rise in fuel prices ‘entirely Iran’s fault’

Mr Trump blamed Iran’s “deranged terror attacks” on commercial oil tankers in neighbouring countries for rising fuel prices, claiming it had “nothing to do” with the conflict.

He thanked US allies in the Middle East: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

“They’ve been great and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape, or form.”

US ‘totally independent’ of Middle East oil

Mr Trump boasted that the US was now totally independent of the need for oil from the Middle East.

After the US took Venezuela in a “matter of minutes” in January, he said the countries were now getting along “incredibly well” as joint venture partners in the production and sale of massive amounts of oil.

“We are now totally independent of the Middle East and yet we are there to help. We don’t have to be there. We don’t need their oil. We don’t need anything they have but we’re there to help our allies.”

Later in his speech, Mr Trump lauded his administration’s “drill baby, drill” program.

“America has plenty of gas. We have so much gas. Under my leadership, we are the number one producer of oil and gas on the planet without even discussing the millions of barrels that we’re getting from Venezuela.

“Because of the Trump administration’s policies, we produce more oil and gas than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined . . . and that number will soon be substantially higher than that.

“The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait and won’t be taking any in the future. We don’t need it.”

Nearly mission accomplished

Mr Trump said the core objectives of US’ military mission in Iran was close to being achieved.

In the meantime, discussions were ongoing.

He said while regime change was not one of their objectives, it had occurred because all the original leaders were now dead.

“The new group is less radical and much more reasonable.”

He said the objectives of the US mission to Iran were simple and clear.

“We are systematically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders.”

“That means eliminating Iran’s navy, which is now absolutely destroyed.

“Hurting their air force and their missile program at levels never seen before and annihilating their defence industrial base. We’ve done all of it. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their missiles are just about used up or beaten.

“Taken together these actions will cripple Iran military, crush their ability need to support terrorist proxies and deny them the ability to build a nuclear bomb.”