Trump's address on Iran war tonight will lay out timeframe for ending conflict

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Washington — President Trump is delivering a prime-time code to update the federation connected the warfare successful Iran Wednesday night, arsenic helium predicts the cognition volition proceed for a fewer much weeks and threatens to retreat the U.S. from NATO.

Thirty-three days into Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. is already good wrong the four-to-six-week timeline that the president and his medication had laid retired for the associated U.S.-Israeli operation. The president's remarks Tuesday that the U.S. volition permission Iran successful "two oregon 3 weeks" would enactment the subject struggle beyond the high-end estimation of six weeks, contempt the president's insistence that the warfare is up of schedule. Mr. Trump has said the warfare could extremity sooner if the 2 sides scope a deal.

A White House authoritative told CBS News the president volition "highlight the United States military's occurrence successful achieving each of its stated goals anterior to the operation" — including destroying overmuch Iran's navy, ensuring their determination proxy groups tin nary longer destabilize the portion and guaranteeing that Iran tin ne'er get a atomic weapon. The authoritative said the cognition is gathering oregon exceeding each of its benchmarks truthful far.

Still, hundreds of U.S. Special Operations Forces and thousands of Marines and Army paratroopers are present successful the Middle East, giving Mr. Trump further subject options successful Iran if helium chooses to grow the war, sources told CBS News earlier this week. If needed, those forces could enactment successful operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, people Iran's Kharg Island lipid terminal oregon prehend Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium.

Even arsenic Mr. Trump insists a main extremity is ensuring Iran ne'er attains a atomic weapon, he told Reuters he doesn't attraction astir the highly enriched uranium Iran has stored successful underground tunnels. If further enriched, the material could beryllium used for atomic weapons, but seizing specified worldly would apt necessitate a risky U.S. crushed operation. The U.S. quality assemblage assessed past twelvemonth that Iran was not actively trying to physique a atomic bomb.

"That's truthful acold underground, I don't attraction astir that," the president said of Iran's enriched uranium, overmuch of which is believed to beryllium buried underneath rubble from a erstwhile circular of U.S. strikes past summer. "We'll ever beryllium watching it by satellite."

Mr. Trump said helium volition besides notation NATO allies successful his code Wednesday night, peculiarly his vexation implicit what helium views arsenic their nonaccomplishment to assistance the U.S. unfastened the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries one-fifth of the world's lipid supply. Iran's effectual closure of the strait has disrupted the proviso of lipid and sent prices sharply higher.

The president said helium is "absolutely" considering withdrawing the U.S. from the pact enactment formed successful the aftermath of World War II, successful effect to allies' determination not to assistance the U.S. with the strait.

He told CBS News elder White House analogous Weijia Jiang connected Tuesday that he's not acceptable "quite yet" to wantonness his attempts to unit Iran to unfastened the strait to each shipping traffic. The president said different countries that are reliant connected Middle Eastern lipid "have to travel successful and instrumentality attraction of it."

"Iran has been decimated, but they're going to person to travel successful and bash their ain work," helium said.

Earlier successful the war, Mr. Trump has suggested helium whitethorn ramp up attacks connected Iran and people the country's vigor infrastructure if it doesn't let ships to sail freely done the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the warfare overseas is affecting prices astatine location successful a clip erstwhile Americans view the economy arsenic struggling and fearfulness the warfare volition marque that worse. The mean terms for a gallon of state successful the U.S. topped $4 this week for the archetypal clip successful astir 4 years. Diesel prices person besides soared, and user bully prices are apt to summation with them.

A CBS News poll from past period shows astir Americans aren't sold connected the Iran war, with 60% disapproving of the U.S. taking subject enactment successful Iran and 67% saying they are unwilling to wage much for state during the conflict, though an overwhelming bulk of Republicans enactment the war.

Asked astir spiking state prices, Mr. Trump said Tuesday: "All I person to bash is permission Iran, and we'll beryllium doing that precise soon, and they'll travel tumbling down."

Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report.

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