NPR

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

View original article → Apr 1, 2026, 9:01 PM

+1257 words added -1047 words removed

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 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.

+ By NPR Staff Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike hits a building near the airport road in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday.

− 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.

+ Bilal Hussein/AP 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. Eastern time on Wednesday night, with "an important update," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

− Middle East conflict Iranians debate whether the war is worth it 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.

+ Middle East conflict Iranians debate whether the war is worth it Trump said Tuesday 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." In a social media post Wednesday, Trump said he would consider a ceasefire request from Iran once the country opens the Strait of Hormuz.

− and would be something for other countries to deal with.

+ Iran denies making the request and engaging in any negotiations with the U.S.

− "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.

+ In an interview with Britain's Telegraph newspaper published Wednesday, Trump said he was considering pulling the U.S.

out of NATO.

+ Trump was angered after key members of the military alliance criticized the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and rebuffed Trump's request to help police the Strait of Hormuz.

− Meanwhile, Israel has drawn a rebuke from Europe after expanding its invasion of southern Lebanon.

+ Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Fox News Tuesday night that he was a strong defender of NATO but that now the administration should "reexamine the value of NATO and that alliance for our country." Meanwhile, Israel has drawn a rebuke from Europe after expanding its invasion of southern Lebanon.

Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images hide caption An Israeli airstrike in Beirut's Mediterranean coast killed at least seven people, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Video shared by locals on social media shows flames shooting up from a residential area of Jnah, just north of Beirut's airport. It was one of several strikes on the capital's outskirts. Lebanon is another major front in the larger Middle East war, and fighting there might continue even if the U.S. stopped bombing Iran. Israel says it is attacking the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which began firing rockets into northern Israel in early March after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes in Iran.

+ Israel's military said it killed the commander of Hezbollah's southern Lebanese front in an overnight strike around Beirut.

− More than 1,300 people in Lebanon have been killed in about four weeks of Israeli attacks, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

+ More than 1,300 people in Lebanon have been killed in about four weeks of Israeli attacks, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry, and more than a million have been displaced by the fighting and Israel's broad evacuation warnings.

Lebanon's army is withdrawing from some areas of the country's south after Israel announced plans to destroy villages there and create what Israel calls a "buffer zone" to prevent Hezbollah from firing more rockets.

− The European Union and 10 individual European countries including the United Kingdom issued a statement calling for de-escalation.

+ Ten European countries including the United Kingdom, along with the European Union's foreign policy chief, issued a joint statement calling for de-escalation.

They condemned Hezbollah for its attacks in support of Iran, and called for political negotiations between the Lebanese government and Israel.

− And they urged Israel to stop its ground invasion.

+ They also urged Israel to stop its ground invasion.

"We call on Israel to avoid a further widening of the conflict including through a ground operation on Lebanese territory. We strongly reaffirm that the territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected," the statement said.

− The Israeli military said it hit 230 targets in Iran while also widening an invasion into Lebanon.

+ The Israeli military on Tuesday said it hit 230 targets in Iran.

− Meanwhile, Iran is striking back at Gulf neighbors, especially military bases used by the U.S.

+ Iran is striking back at Gulf neighbors, especially military bases used by the U.S.

− Since the war began over a month ago, 13 U.S. service members have been killed. 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. 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, 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. Middle East conflict After Israel's invasion, many in southern Lebanon worry they'll never go home He repeated a previous vow that the U.K.

+ Since the war began over a month ago, 13 U.S.

− will only take "defensive" action against Iranian attacks in the Middle East and would not get drawn into the war.

+ service members have been killed.

− He also announced his foreign secretary would organize an international summit on the Strait of Hormuz aimed at restoring freedom of navigation.

+ Iran says more than 1,700 of its people have been killed.

− 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.

+ U.S.

− 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.

+ journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a cellphone photo in a cafe in Baghdad, Iraq, March 25, 2025.

− 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.

+ AP hide caption U.S. and Iraqi officials say American journalist Shelly Kittleson had been warned about threats against her before she was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad.

− "Trump has finally achieved his dream of 'regime change' — but in the region's maritime regime!" Azizi said.

+ The State Department told reporters that Kittleson had been contacted multiple times to warn her of threats against her, including as recently as the night before she was taken.

− It's not just vessels that are now trapped near the Strait of Hormuz.

+ Kittleson is a Rome-based freelance journalist who reported on Iraq, as well as Syria and Afghanistan, for years, according to one of the outlets she contributed to, the Middle Eastern news site Al-Monitor.

− An estimated 20,000 seafarers are onboard, in an active war zone.

+ She entered Iraq in March on a temporary visa issued to allow foreign citizens stranded in neighboring countries to travel through Iraq to get back home, said Hussein Alawi, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, according to The Associated Press.

− Most seafarers are from the Philippines, Bangladesh and India, and some vessels are reportedly running low on food and water.

+ She got to Baghdad a few days before kidnappers took her captive, he said.

− The U.N.

+ The AP quoted an unnamed Iraqi intelligence official as saying authorities believed she is being held in Baghdad.

− International Maritime Organization is negotiating with all sides to try to evacuate them.

+ NPR has not independently confirmed this.

− U.S.

+ Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said Tuesday that a suspect arrested by Iraqi authorities believed to be involved in the kidnapping had ties to an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia. Press freedom groups expressed deep concern and called for her immediate release. "The abduction of Shelly Kittleson in broad daylight reflects an alarming breach of journalists' safety in Iraq that highlights the increased risk of reporting from the Middle East," Sara Qudah, regional director for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said in a statement.

− journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a cellphone photo in a cafe in Baghdad, Iraq, March 25, 2025.

+ "Iraqi authorities must act swiftly to secure her safe release and hold those responsible to account, while ensuring the dark era of journalist kidnappings and assassinations does not return to Iraq.

− AP hide caption American freelance reporter Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad Tuesday, according to Al-Monitor, a Middle Eastern news site for which she has written.

+ Such incidents risk creating a climate of fear that undermines the press and journalists' ability to work safely." The journalists group said surveillance footage showed a car pull up next to Kittleson on Saadoun Street in central Baghdad, and two men take her into the back of the vehicle.

− 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.

+ Iraqi security officials said they intercepted the vehicle and arrested one of the suspected kidnappers, but were searching for other suspects and the captive journalist.

− U.S.

+ The State Department told reporters FBI agents visited Kittleson's family on Wednesday, but would not disclose the location. CPJ said Iraq accounts for 10% of the 90 journalists who are missing worldwide. Al-Monitor said in a statement it is "deeply alarmed" by her kidnapping.

− officials say they're working to get her released.

+ "We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work," it said.

− "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.

+ According to CPJ, Kittleson's most recent article, published Tuesday in the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, was about drone and missile strikes in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.

− He said Americans, including media workers, have been advised not to travel to Iraq and should leave the country.

+ 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. Middle East conflict After Israel's invasion, many in southern Lebanon worry they'll never go home He repeated a previous vow that the U.K.

− The statement did not condemn the kidnapping or express concern for reporter taken captive.

+ 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.

− Johnson said Iraqi authorities apprehended a suspect associated with Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, believed to be involved in the kidnapping.

+ Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also gave a national address on the war on Wednesday.

− Press freedom organizations expressed deep concern.

+ 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.

− 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.

+ 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 in eastern Tehran, Iran, Tuesday. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images 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.

− 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.

+ "Trump has finally achieved his dream of 'regime change' — but in the region's maritime regime!" Azizi said.

− Al-Monitor said in a statement it is "deeply alarmed" by her kidnapping.

+ It's not just vessels that are now trapped near the Strait of Hormuz. An estimated 20,000 seafarers are onboard in the active war zone.

− "We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work," it said.

+ 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 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. 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. This is adding a month to shipping time and costing more because of spikes in fuel prices from the war, the agency says. As people around the world pay more for fuel, more families will struggle to put food on the table. "This is a whole disruption of the global supply chain," said Corinne Fleischer, the World Food Programme's director of supply chain. "What we've seen after COVID is that it took four to five months to get back into place once the situation stabilized. 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. 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.

− The statement called for a halt to fire, an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure and reopening of the State of Hormuz.

+ The statement called for a halt to fire, an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan has been relaying messages between the U.S. 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. The joint statement with China came as Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart. That followed a flurry of meetings Dar has held with other countries working to mediate in the conflict. China's Foreign Ministry has applauded Pakistan's mediation effort. China is a leading customer of Iran's oil and is seen as sympathetic to the country. Lauren Frayer in Beirut, Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, India, Emily Feng in Van, Turkey, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg and Alex Leff and Michele Kelemen in Washington contributed reporting. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor