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03:26
Trump: US Will Send Iran 'Back To The Stone Ages'
US President Donald Trump speaks during a televised address on the conflict in the Middle East on April 1.
US President Donald Trump on April 1 hailed American forces' "swift, decisive, overwhelming victories" in Iran and said his administration's strategic objectives are "nearing completion," vowing that the military operation will be completed "very shortly."
Still, he signaled no immediate letup of in military action, saying US forces will hit Iran "extremely hard" for the next two to three weeks and that "we are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong."
Speaking in a nationally televised address, Trump did not provide a clear exit date for the end of the conflict, which began when the United States and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on February 28. Tehran has retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz and firing missiles and drones at Israel and US Gulf Arab allies.
"Tonight, I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion," Trump said in nationally televised address from the White House on April 1, his first prime-time address since the start of the conflict on February 28.
"In these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield -- victories like few people have ever seen before," he said.
"They didn't know what was coming," Trump said, referring to Iran.
Critics have charged that the war is spinning out of control, spilling over throughout the Middle East and causing an energy crisis that is driving up prices worldwide.
Trump defended his actions and said it was the only way to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, which he insisted would have happened had he not pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that was agreed with world powers.
The JCPOA provided Iran with relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program. Tehran insists that its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes.
Trump pulled the United States out of the accord in 2018 during his first term, saying it wasn't strong enough to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon
Trump said that if Tehran did not agree to a peace deal, the United States would hit all of Iran's electric generating plants.
"We going to finish the job and we are going to finish it fast," he said.
He said the United States does not need the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway through which 20 percent of the world's oil and natural gas supplies pass.
He said that countries that do rely on the passage for their supplies should "build up some delayed courage" and open the strait, which has been effectively closed by Iran.
Read morehere.
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01:51
Trump to Outline Final Weeks of Iran Operation in Address: Officials
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By
Alex Raufoglu
WASHINGTON -- Senior US administration officials say President Donald Trump will use his April 1 address to present Operation Epic Fury as a success that is meeting or exceeding all benchmarks, while reaffirming a two-to-three-week timeline to conclude the war in Iran.
According to the officials, Trump will highlight progress toward key objectives set before the campaign began, including dismantling Irans ballistic missile program, destroying production facilities, crippling its naval forces, weakening regional proxy networks, and preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The speech is expected to frame the coming weeks as the final phase of the operation, even as the timeline now stretches beyond the administrations original four-to-six-week estimate.
US President Trump will address the nation on April 1, focusing on Iran.
Gregory Brew,an analyst at Eurasia Group, told RFE/RL Trump is likely to pair claims of success with justification for continued fighting.
He will emphasize how much damage has been done and argue the US has already achieved a victory, Brew said, while maintaining that several more weeks are needed to secure a lasting outcome.
Brew added that Trump may avoid detailed discussion of the Strait of Hormuz -- which remains disrupted despite weeks of military pressure -- or use the issue to threaten further escalation if Iran does not reopen the critical waterway.
He also expects continued criticism of NATO allies for what Trump sees as insufficient support in the conflict.
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22:28
1.4.2026
Former Iranian Foreign Minister Kharazi Injured In Air Strike
Iranian media are reporting that former Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi was seriously wounded in an air strike that also killed his wife. Kharazi had served as foreign minister from 1997-2005 under reformist ex-President Mohammad Khatami. He is still an adviser to the Iranian government. Iranian media reported that his home in Tehran was targeted on March 31 in a US-Israeli strike. He was badly injured and hospitalized following the attack, media reported.
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21:25
1.4.2026
Pezeshkian Claims Iranians 'Harbor No Enmity' Toward Ordinary Americans
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian (file photo)
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian has addressed the American people, saying that Iranians "harbor no enmity" toward ordinary Americans.
In aletterpublished on April 1, he rejected portrayals of Iran as a threat, calling such claims neither consistent with historical reality nor with present-day observable facts.
Pezeshkian also defended Tehran's actions in the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel, saying that they were a "measured response grounded in legitimate self-defense."
Washington has long maintained that Irans nuclear ambitions and regional activities pose a serious security threat, and continues to press Tehran to curb both as a condition for any peace deal.
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20:57
1.4.2026
How Iran's Hormuz Blockade Chokes Global Trade Beyond Oil And Gas
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By
Ray Furlong
A ferry moves past the Jag Vasant, an LPG tanker arriving in Mumbai, India, on April 1 after transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
When an Indian tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) passed through the Strait of Hormuz recently, its progress was followed by excitedlive TV news coverage.
Its position was received eight minutes ago. Its currently at 12.5 knots and is moving at 154 degrees. Its reported ETA in India is at 9.30 p.m. tomorrow, reported one journalist, providing running commentary while following a tracker app.
Later, videos showed the ship with a military escort from the Indian Navy in the Gulf of Oman.
The attention was not unwarranted. Thewar in Iran, and Tehrans decision to largely close theStrait of Hormuz, have not only stopped supplies of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Shipments of a whole range of other vital commodities have also almost completely ground to a halt.
Even if the war ends, markets may not return to normal quickly. Iranian attacks have caused untold damage to industrial infrastructure in the region. Iran is also insisting that it has a sovereign right over the strait, though Washington says reopening the waterway is a condition for a cease-fire.
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20:11
1.4.2026
Houthis Launch Third Missile Attack On Israel As US Strikes Continue On Iran
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By
RFE/RL's Radio Farda
The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen said they launched a missile attack on Israel on April 1, simultaneously with Iran. This is the third attack of this type by the Houthis since their entry into the Middle East war. Meanwhile, US-Israeli strikes on Iran continued as the conflict entered its fifth week. Iran also targeted neighboring Kuwait and Iraq with drones.
