IN BRIEF
- Trump says US forces could return for "spot hits" if he believes it is necessary.
- He stepped up threats of withdrawing from NATO if European nations did not assist with securing the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States will end its war on Iran fairly soon and could return for "spot hits" if needed, President Donald Trump, hours before he was scheduled to make a prime time address to the nation.
Trump also said he would state in the speech, which is due at 12pm Thursday (9pm Wednesday local time) that he was considering withdrawing the US from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Asked when the United States would consider the Iran war over, Trump said: "I can't tell you exactly ... we're going to be out pretty quickly."
He was expected to reiterate a two-to-three-week timetable for ending the war in Iran during the address, a White House official later said.
US action had ensured Iran would not have nuclear arms, Trump said: "They won't have a nuclear weapon because they are incapable of that now, and then I'll leave, and I'll take everybody with me, and if we have to we'll come back to do spot hits."
An Iranian official, Mehdi Tabatabai, said in a post on X that an important letter to the American people from Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian would be released "in a few hours".
Trump considers quitting NATO
Global oil supplies were expected to be hit twice as hard this month as in March, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, underlining the urgent need for an end to the conflict Trump began with Israel on 28 February.
Trump said separately on social media that Iran had asked for a ceasefire but that he would not consider it until Iran ceased blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a major fuel shipment route. Iran denied making any such request.
Two security sources from Pakistan, which is mediating in the conflict, earlier said Pakistan had proposed a temporary ceasefire to both sides but had not heard back from either.
Trump had signalled on Tuesday he could wind down the war in two to three weeks even without a deal, and scaled up threats to pull the US out of the NATO defence alliance if European states did not help stop Iran threatening the waterway.
In remarks on Wednesday, Trump said he would express his disgust with NATO for what he considers the alliance's lack of support for US objectives in Iran.
European states took pains to appear unruffled and France's junior army minister Alice Rufo said operations by NATO in the Strait of Hormuz would be a breach of international law.
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