During his speech last night, President Trump dashed the hopes of many Americans when he didn’t announce that the war with Iran was coming to an end; instead, Trump said that the U.S. will continue Operation Epic Fury’s objectives until they are fully achieved, and “thanks to the progress we’ve made…we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly. We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.”
In his speech, Trump said that because of his administration’s policies, the U.S. produces more oil and gas than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined, adding that the U.S. imports almost no oil through the Strait of Hormuz and that we don’t even need it. He then said that the U.S. and Israel have “completely decimated Iran,” both militarily and economically.
In an article, PressTV, Iran’s state-sponsored news outlet, fact-checked Trump’s speech stating that, “in his 20-minute address,” Trump “largely regurgitated the same talking points that fueled this unprovoked and unjustified war in the first place.”
The article goes on to say that the Islamic Republic remains intact as are Iran’s missile capabilities. In addition, Iran’s nuclear program, which Press TV said was “peaceful in nature” has also “endured,” despite “illegal and unjustified strikes on certain nuclear facilities and the assassination of nuclear scientists.” That, and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to U.S. and allied vessels and that efforts to reopen the strait have failed, even with “Washington signaling a shift in its priorities.”
The speech comes as Trump’s approval ratings have hovered in the mid-30s since March, raising questions about its timing.
