US President Trump says Iran war objectives 'nearing completion'

[0:00] President Trump has said the U.S. core strategic objectives in the war in Iran are nearing [0:05] completion. In a televised address about the conflict, Mr. Trump said that the U.S. was going [0:10] to finish the job fast. He repeated threats to target Iran's energy infrastructure unless a deal [0:16] was agreed by the new leaders of the regime. Addressing rising oil prices, Mr. Trump insisted [0:21] that they would soon be falling and he stressed that the war he had started would be much shorter [0:26] than other recent conflicts the U.S. had joined. Here's our North America correspondent David Willis. [0:33] In his first primetime address since the war with Iran began, President Trump hailed what he called [0:39] America's overwhelming victories and said the conflict was nearing completion. I can say [0:45] tonight that we are on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly, very shortly. [0:51] We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. [0:57] We're going to... [0:57] To bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing. [1:05] Whilst intimating it is open to negotiation, Iran has insisted that no direct talks have been [1:11] taking place, contrary to President Trump's assertion that the regime is desperately [1:16] seeking a ceasefire. And as Iranian missiles continued to pound Israel and U.S. allies in [1:24] the region, there was no word of the potential deployment of U.S. ground troops. [1:28] President Trump appears to have abandoned his demand for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. [1:35] Iran is effectively blocking this vital waterway, driving up global energy prices in the process. [1:42] But Mr. Trump no longer believes that's America's problem. [1:46] We don't need it. We haven't needed it and we don't need it. We've beaten and completely [1:52] decimated Iran. They are decimated, both militarily and economically and every other way. And [2:00] the countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of [2:05] that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily. [2:11] We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately [2:18] depend on. President Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would open up automatically once the war [2:24] has ended. America's allies will be relieved to hear he made no repeat of his threat to, [2:30] out of nato in response to europe's lack of support for the war but there was also no word [2:36] of where the conflict might go from here the white house clearly wants this conflict to end but how [2:45] and on whose terms the world is none the wiser david willis bbc news my correspondent lorna [2:52] gordon is in dubai lorna how have the gulf states reacted to this televised address by mr trump well [3:02] you know the gulf states are actually being courted uh with words by both sides at the moment [3:06] donald trump uh spoke of uh not failing the gulf states not letting them get hurt in any way shape [3:15] or form while it's reported that a spokesperson for the iranian ministry of foreign affairs [3:22] has said that iran does not consider its neighbors in the gulf iran's enemy [3:30] there are of course though [3:32] the gulf states have been [3:37] uh [3:38] in dubai uh saudi arabia said it intercepted a ballistic missile that was heading to the east [3:45] of the country uh sirens sounded overnight in bahrain as well so there are these words [3:53] there are the actions and then of course there is the strait of hormuz that uh pinch point uh that [4:00] choke point where around [4:02] a fifth of the world's oil has to pass and where normally around 140 ships [4:09] uh transit through every single day but at the moment only a handful are getting [4:14] a handful are getting through there is that [4:17] meeting that will take place uh a little later a virtual meeting the gulf states will be taking [4:23] part in that to discuss diplomatic measures to potentially open that water [4:29] way but of course the gulf states do not speak with one voice and the uae is seeking a resolution [4:37] from the un uh calling on the un security council to take immediate action under chapter seven of [4:43] the un charter to ensure safe navigation in and around the strait of hormuz and of course remember [4:49] that would if it passed uh which is you know there's a lot of steps before that point would [4:55] be reached but would give legal cover for a range of options economically diplomatically and using [5:02] force as well how much closer does all this bring to retaliatory strikes of some sort from gulf [5:09] states that haven't so far taken such action i think they want a diplomatic resolution to this [5:21] crisis it is having a deep economic impact on this region not just on the flow of oil [5:29] which would fill the the coffers of the governments here and keep the economy moving but [5:36] it's affecting the flow of liquefied natural gas it's affecting the byproducts of these [5:43] industries as well and of course in a country like the uae which is heavily dependent on tourism and [5:52] the and here in dubai the aviation industry it is having an impact on that as well i mean you know [5:59] we're talking about a more economic and a more economic input at the airport and the people [6:02] who are successfully making flights in and out of the international airport here have picked up [6:09] since this war started over a month ago but they are still uh being carrying on at a vastly reduced [6:17] level as i said earlier they don't all speak with the same voice i think perhaps the uae is one of [6:24] the states which has taken a harder position in terms of uh ways to deal with iran but none of [6:28] these countries want to be the same kind of country in the south as they are and have their own [6:29] want to see this escalate. They want to find a diplomatic solution to this crisis. [6:35] Lorna, for the moment, thank you very much. Lorna Gordon in Dubai. Let's speak to Dr. Patrick [6:40] Burey, Conflict and Security Lecturer at the University of Bath and a former NATO analyst. [6:46] Dr. Burey, thank you very much for joining us. What are your thoughts having heard [6:50] President Trump speak on television? Good morning. Thanks for having us on again. Well, [6:56] I suppose when you look at your phone in the morning here in the UK, one of relief that [7:01] although the chances were small that there hadn't been some sort of movement and committer of ground [7:06] forces before he made his speech, which would have made more tactical sense. So [7:10] it's essentially more of the same. He put another time stop on how long he thinks this operation [7:18] will go on. But it is a significant addition to when he initially said four to five weeks. So [7:24] we're looking at now seven. [7:26] Seven to seven to eight. And just at the end of his speech, when he said this wasn't about regime [7:31] change, that is not actually what was the stated goal when he spoke on Truth Social, when the [7:37] operation started, when he called for the Iranians to rise up. And also it was also made clear by the [7:44] Israelis that this was about regime change. So a kind of attempt to change the goalposts, as it [7:51] were. What are his options? I think the options are pretty difficult here. What you've seen [7:57] is with the amount of strikes both he and the Israelis have launched, you know, it's probably [8:01] over about, I think, you know, certainly over 15,000, maybe hitting 17,000 now that you've had a [8:09] lot of tactical and operational success in terms of degrading the Iranian military, the ballistic [8:14] missile launches. They're ticking along at a relatively low number. They increase some days [8:21] and then down to about 30, 25 other days. But the real problem is what? So what? [8:27] You know, that's what we ask in the military. What's what's your action for? And unless they [8:32] come out and it's talking now, Secretary Hague says talking about and Donald Trump talking about, [8:36] you know, bombing Iran back to the Stone Age. Well, that implies a level of degradation that [8:41] they can't regain capacity and capability. But I mean, for us to understand this and for there to [8:46] be an end state, there needs to be some some clarity about, well, how far have they been set [8:51] back and how fast can they replenish both their missile and drone capacity? [8:57] And also their their nuclear program, because you can, well, assume that none of that fissile [9:03] material has been stored in the same place. It would have probably been dispersed to you. [9:08] You don't do these things in just certain areas. You obviously have a contingency. So it looks like [9:14] the strategy essentially is one of degradation. And then, of course, the replenishment of that [9:19] degradation becomes a key thing in understanding its strategic effect. [9:24] But eventually you have to negotiate, don't you? [9:27] Yeah, I think this is where. [9:28] We're coming to it was it was good to hear that he didn't actually call out the NATO allies. Again, [9:34] I can understand the frustration in the US, of course, amongst the military of being [9:38] denied airspace across some of NATO allies territories. I think that's probably [9:42] pushing things a bit too far. But yeah, the military side of this, the maritime side of [9:49] trying to force an opening of the strait along 730 miles of the Persian Gulf coastline, which [9:55] Iran holds, it's really tricky operation. It's really, [9:58] really a resource intensive. I would wonder if you can sustain it in the long term as an option, [10:03] depending on the kind of threats that Iran can bring to bear over the same period. And so I think [10:10] personally, the easiest way to open the strait is probably through negotiations. But Iran does hold [10:15] some decent cards as long as it remains capable of firing missiles and drones, especially at these [10:21] slow moving ships. [10:22] Dr. Patrick Beery, good to talk to you. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Let's get more [10:26] on the situation in Lebanon with our correspondent. [10:28] Lina Sinjab, who's in Beirut. What will the Lebanese have taken from what Mr. Trump's been [10:33] saying, Lina? [10:37] Well, this is the situation in the south of the country that they feel they are under a de facto [10:43] situation of an occupation by the Israeli forces and that to finish anytime soon. The Israelis [10:54] made it clear they are here to stay. They are in the south to stay until they eliminate any threat [11:00] coming from Hezbollah in the north, which, you know, [11:04] this is like really an elastic statement because it could last for for long time. You know, the [11:11] Lebanese have lived an occupation in the south in 1982 that lasted 18 years. And now there are still [11:19] tens of thousands of residents, including Christian villages in the south, that are refusing to [11:24] leave. They've made it clear to the government, to the Israelis that they are here to stay. We've [11:30] seen a priest, you know, announcing that they are. [11:34] They're there to live or die. They're eating grass if needed, because Israel cut off all the [11:41] supply routes from the south to the north by bombing infrastructure and bridges. There are [11:48] still hundreds of thousands who've managed to flee, but they are, you know, scattered. Some [11:53] of them are living in tents, waiting to go back home if their homes are still standing. And now [11:58] they have to face a reality of an occupation that may last for long, [12:04] especially in the absence of a diplomatic solution to end the war. [12:07] Lina, for the moment, thank you very much. Lina Sinjar in Beirut.