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Trump to address nation after saying U.S. may leave war within weeks

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Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
− By NPR Staff U.S.
+ By NPR Staff President Trump speaks after signing an executive order to limit mail-in voting as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick looks on in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday.
− President Donald Trump (R) speaks after signing an executive order to limit mail-in voting as U.S.
+ Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption Click here to listen to NPR's State of the World podcast, a human perspective on global stories in just a few minutes, every weekday. President Trump is set to address the nation on the Iran war at 9 p.m.
− Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick looks on in the Oval Office of the White House on March 31, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images North America hide caption President Trump is set to address the nation on the Iran war at 9 p.m.
Eastern time on Wednesday night, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying he would be providing "an important update," without providing further details.
− On Tuesday, Trump said he expected the conflict to be over in two to three weeks, adding, "we'll be leaving very soon," and promising gas prices would then "come tumbling down." Trump shrugged off what would happen to the blockaded Strait of Hormuz – which has cut off one fifth of the world's oil supply – saying, "we're not going to have anything to do with it." He said that it wouldn't affect the U.S.
+ On Tuesday, Trump said he expected the conflict to be over in two to three weeks, adding, "we'll be leaving very soon," and promising gas prices would then "come tumbling down." Trump shrugged off what would happen to the largely blockaded Strait of Hormuz — where about a fifth of the world's oil typically passes — saying, "we're not going to have anything to do with it." He said that it wouldn't affect the U.S.
and would be something for other countries to deal with.
− "They'll be able to fend for themselves," he said, having previously told European allies who have refused to enter the war to "go get your own oil!" The assertion to wrap up the war quickly comes just days after Trump threatened to up the ante if there was no deal and Tehran didn't reopen the strait.
+ "They'll be able to fend for themselves," he said, having previously told European allies who have refused to enter the war to "go get your own oil!" In an interview with Britain's Telegraph newspaper published Wednesday, Trump said he was considering pulling the U.S.
− He said he could seize Iran's oil and blow up all of their Electric Generating Plants and desalinization plants. He also said he was considering an invasion of Iran's key oil export terminal, Kharg Island.
+ out of NATO.
− But on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed his boss's latest comments on the war being over in a matter of weeks, saying the main goal of preventing Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon had been achieved. Rubio has expressed frustration in recent days over news reports accusing the administration of lacking clear objectives in Iran. He said the objectives were: the destruction of Iran's air force, the destruction of its navy, the "severe diminishing" of its capability to launch missiles, and the destruction of its factories. Regime change, previously touted by the administration as a goal, was not mentioned.
+ Here are more updates on Day 33 of the Iran war: Fighting overnight | World leaders | Iran | American journalist kidnapped| Aid hold up | Peace plan The Israeli military said it hit 230 targets in Iran while also widening an invasion into Lebanon.
− Earlier this week Trump said he considered regime change had been achieved, despite the fact that it remains a hardline theocracy led by the son of the previous ayatollah. Here are more updates on day 33 of the Iran war: Fighting overnight | World leaders | Iran | American journalist kidnapped| Hegseth visits troops | Aid hold up | Peace plan The Israel Defense Forces said they hit 230 targets in Tehran while also widening an invasion into Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Iran is striking back at Gulf neighbors, especially military bases used by the U.S.
− this week. One of those attacks injured as many as 20 U.S. service members in Saudi Arabia.
Since the war began over a month ago, 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
− Iran says more than 1,700 people have been killed in Iran.
+ Iran says more than 1,700 of its people have been killed.
− People take cover in a bomb shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
+ People take cover in a bomb shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday.
Oded Balilty/AP hide caption Also overnight Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed missile attacks on Israel, which the Israeli military intercepted. The Houthis have vowed an "escalation" in attacks. Israel's emergency services reported Iranian missiles fired at central Israel had injured 14 people, including children.
− At Kuwait's international airport, Iranian drones hit fuel depots, causing a huge fire, a day after a Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai was hit.
+ At Kuwait's international airport, Iranian drones hit fuel depots, causing a huge fire, a day after a Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was hit.
In Qatar on Wednesday, a missile launched by Iran hit an oil tanker leased to QatarEnergies, which said no one was injured and reported no environmental impact. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the nation on Wednesday about how the rising cost of living caused by the conflict will affect British citizens and what his government is doing to try to mitigate that. He repeated a previous vow that the U.K. will only take "defensive" action against Iranian attacks in the Middle East and would not get drawn into the war. He also announced his foreign secretary would organize an international summit on the Strait of Hormuz aimed at restoring freedom of navigation. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also gave a national address on the war on Wednesday. Earlier this week Albanese announced his government would halve the fuel tax for three months to give Australians some respite from the rising costs. He urged Australians to use public transport and not to hoard fuel.
− He also warned that "the reality is, the economic shocks caused by this war will be with us for months." Ebrahim Azizi, the head of Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee, said on X in a message to Trump that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen "but not for you." People sift through rubble in the aftermath of a drone attack on a residential building in which one civilian was killed on March 31, 2026 in eastern Tehran, Iran.
+ He also warned that "the reality is, the economic shocks caused by this war will be with us for months." Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee, said on social media in a message to Trump that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen "but not for you." People sift through rubble in the aftermath of a drone attack on a residential building in which one civilian was killed on March 31, 2026 in eastern Tehran, Iran.
Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Europe hide caption Referring to the period since Iran's 1979 revolution, he added: "47 years of hospitality are over forever." Iran this week approved a bill to charge vessels for crossing the vital economic waterway. "Trump has finally achieved his dream of 'regime change' — but in the region's maritime regime!" Azizi said. It's not just vessels that are now trapped near the Strait of Hormuz.
− An estimated twenty thousand seafarers are onboard — in an active warzone — and the U.N.
+ An estimated 20,000 seafarers are onboard, in an active war zone.
− is trying to extricate them.
+ Most seafarers are from the Philippines, Bangladesh and India, and some vessels are reportedly running low on food and water.
− Most seafarers are from the Philippines, Bangladesh and India and some vessels are reportedly running low on food and water.
+ The U.N. International Maritime Organization is negotiating with all sides to try to evacuate them.
− The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization is negotiating with all sides to try to evacuate them.
American freelance reporter Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad Tuesday, according to Al-Monitor, a Middle Eastern news site for which she has written. Iraqi security forces said they intercepted a vehicle that crashed and arrested one of the suspected kidnappers, but are still searching for the kidnapped journalist and other suspects. U.S. officials say they're working to get her released. "The State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible," Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said on social media. He said Americans, including media workers, have been advised not to travel to Iraq and should leave the country.
− The statement did not condemn the kidnapping or express concern.
+ The statement did not condemn the kidnapping or express concern for reporter taken captive.
Johnson said Iraqi authorities apprehended a suspect associated with Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, believed to be involved in the kidnapping. Press freedom organizations expressed deep concern. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on "Iraqi authorities to do everything in their power to locate Shelley Kittleson, ensure her immediate and safe release, and hold those responsible to account." Based in Rome, Kittleson has reported on Iraq, as well as Syria and Afghanistan, for years, according to Al-Monitor. Reporters Without Borders said she is "very familiar with Iraq, where she stays for extended periods." "RSF stands alongside her loved ones and colleagues during this painful wait," the organization said. Al-Monitor said in a statement it is "deeply alarmed" by her kidnapping. "We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work," it said.
− U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an undisclosed trip to the Middle East to visit troops on military bases over the weekend. He did not divulge the location for the troops' safety.
+ The World Food Programme says tens of thousands of tons of food aid are stuck in ports as a consequence of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
− Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption "I spoke to Air Force and Navy pilots on the flight line who every day both deliver bombs deep into Iran, but also shoot down drones defending their base. Many had just returned from the skies of Iran and Tehran," he told reporters in a briefing Tuesday.
+ The United Nations' food agency says carriers are not able to use the Strait of Hormuz and choosing not to use the Suez Canal through Egypt out of concerns of attacks there, too.
− He said he "witnessed an urgency to finish the job" and tried to draw a comparison with America's earlier drawn-out wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said the U.S.
+ This is adding a month to shipping time and costing more because of spikes in fuel prices from the war, the agency says.
− is improving bunkers and layered air defenses as a priority to protect troops and aircraft.
+ As people around the world pay more for fuel, more families will struggle to put food on the table.
− This comes after more than a dozen U.S.
+ "This is a whole disruption of the global supply chain," said Corinne Fleischer, the World Food Programme's director of supply chain.
− service members were injured, several severely, and U.S.
+ "What we've seen after COVID is that it took four to five months to get back into place once the situation stabilized.
− aircraft were damaged in Iranian strikes on a base in Saudi Arabia last Friday. The Pentagon says 13 U.S. service members have been killed and 300 wounded in what it calls Operation Epic Fury.
+ We're looking at a longer‑term situation where we will be impacted by higher costs and longer lead times." The food agency predicts 45 million additional people will fall into acute hunger around the world if current conditions continue through June — reaching 363 million globally.
− He repeated the administration's assertion that the U.S.
+ The foreign ministers of Pakistan and China issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for talks as part of a broader peace plan to end the conflict in the Middle East.
− is negotiating with Iran, despite Iranian officials' denial that talks are happening.
+ The statement called for a halt to fire, an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure and reopening of the State of Hormuz.
− The World Food Program says tens of thousands of tons of food aid are stuck in ports as a consequence of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The WFP says there is a whole disruption in the global supply chain with carriers not able to use the Strait of Hormuz and choosing not to use the Suez Canal through Egypt out of concerns of attacks there, too. The agency says this is adding a month to shipping time and costing more because of spikes in fuel prices from the war.
+ Pakistan has been relaying messages between the U.S.
− It noted that as people around the world pay more for fuel, more families will struggle to put food on the table.
+ and Iran but there are conflicting reports from both sides about talks, with President Trump repeating that negotiations are progressing while Iranian officials deny this.
− Some 45 million additional people will fall into acute hunger around the world if current conditions continue through June- reaching 363 million globally, the WFP said. Pakistan's and China's foreign ministers issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for talks to the war on Iran as part of a broader peace plan.
+ The joint statement with China came as Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart.
− The statement called for a halt to fire, an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure, and reopening of the State of Hormuz.
+ That followed a flurry of meetings Dar has held with other countries working to mediate in the conflict.
− For days Pakistani officials had said they hope to help mediate talks to end a war that has seized up the global economy, pushed up the price of fossil fuels, and key commodities like fertilizer — and that has killed thousands of people, mostly Iranians and Lebanese. The joint statement with China came after high-ranking Pakistani officials led a flurry of meetings with regional powers.
+ China's Foreign Ministry has applauded Pakistan's mediation effort.
− China is Iran's biggest customer for oil — and it's seen as sympathetic to the country.
+ China is a leading customer of Iran's oil and is seen as sympathetic to the country.
− Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, Quil Lawrence in New York, Giles Snyder, Michele Kelemen in Washington, Emily Feng in Van, Turkey, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, and Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg contributed to reporting.
+ Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, India, Quil Lawrence in New York, Michele Kelemen in Washington, Emily Feng in Van, Turkey, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg contributed to reporting.
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