From a lectern at the White House, US President Donald Trump offered his latest assessment on how long the US-Israeli war with Iran might last. Speaking on Wednesday night in his first televised national address on the war since he launched it in late February, Trump said the US was on track to achieve its military objectives in Iran 'shortly, very shortly'. Trump reminded Americans that the conflict had so far been shorter than years-long wars such as World War Two and the Vietnam War, then gave an updated timeline. 'Over the next two to three weeks, we're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,' he said.
The remarks were far from the first time that Trump, or senior members of his administration, have volunteered a timeline. When Trump announced the start of his operation on 28 February, he said it would proceed 'as long as necessary to achieve our objective'. Since then, the president has oscillated between saying the US has already won the war and that the military campaign will continue for a number of weeks, usually ranging between two and six. The six-week mark of the war will fall on 11 April.
Analysts who spoke to the BBC said it was typical for a US president to offer a timeframe for a conflict in an attempt to win favour with the public - only to then shift their estimates. But the approach of the Trump administration had been unique, one expert said. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has appeared to suggest that there could be a tactical advantage to the apparent fluidity. Answering reporters' questions on Wednesday, he said: 'Don't tell your enemy what you're willing to do or not do, and don't tell your enemy when you're willing to stop.'
As the conflict has continued, others in Trump's administration have offered their own predictions for how long the war might last - at times seeming to contradict the president. On 8 March, Hegseth told CBS News' 60 Minutes programme that the action seen so far was 'only just the beginning'. Less than 24 hours later the defence department echoed him in a social media post: 'We have Only Just Begun to Fight.' Yet that same day, in a press conference in Florida, Trump said the US had already made 'major strides' towards achieving its military goals in Iran.
Trump's address to the nation on Wednesday was highly anticipated, because it appeared the president might make major news in his first primetime speech on the war. Washington speculated that Trump could announce that he was sending ground troops into Iran, or even that he was winding down the war. Instead, Trump spoke of another new timeframe.
The remarks were far from the first time that Trump, or senior members of his administration, have volunteered a timeline. When Trump announced the start of his operation on 28 February, he said it would proceed 'as long as necessary to achieve our objective'. Since then, the president has oscillated between saying the US has already won the war and that the military campaign will continue for a number of weeks, usually ranging between two and six. The six-week mark of the war will fall on 11 April.
Analysts who spoke to the BBC said it was typical for a US president to offer a timeframe for a conflict in an attempt to win favour with the public - only to then shift their estimates. But the approach of the Trump administration had been unique, one expert said. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has appeared to suggest that there could be a tactical advantage to the apparent fluidity. Answering reporters' questions on Wednesday, he said: 'Don't tell your enemy what you're willing to do or not do, and don't tell your enemy when you're willing to stop.'
As the conflict has continued, others in Trump's administration have offered their own predictions for how long the war might last - at times seeming to contradict the president. On 8 March, Hegseth told CBS News' 60 Minutes programme that the action seen so far was 'only just the beginning'. Less than 24 hours later the defence department echoed him in a social media post: 'We have Only Just Begun to Fight.' Yet that same day, in a press conference in Florida, Trump said the US had already made 'major strides' towards achieving its military goals in Iran.
Trump's address to the nation on Wednesday was highly anticipated, because it appeared the president might make major news in his first primetime speech on the war. Washington speculated that Trump could announce that he was sending ground troops into Iran, or even that he was winding down the war. Instead, Trump spoke of another new timeframe.
