trump used a prime time address to tell Americans that US forces had delivered "swift, decisive, overwhelming victories" in what the White House called Operation Epic Fury, and a White House official said he would reiterate a two to three week timeline for concluding operations.
The president, speaking after more than a month of US and Israeli strikes on Iran, claimed the campaign had undercut Tehran's military capabilities, saying Iran's navy and air force were largely destroyed and that key leaders were dead, a characterization that came from the presidential address and White House materials.
The address repeated previous threats and proposals attributed to the president, including comments at an Easter lunch that "We could just take their oil," a remark the Associated Press reported the White House later removed from online video, and a social media post warning Iran over its control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials have also moved more American troops into the region for a possible ground offensive, while the conflict has pushed oil prices sharply higher, with the Associated Press reporting Brent crude up more than 40 percent since the war began, and concerns mounting about the effect on fuel and living costs.
Regional Fighting And Global Fallout
Across the region Israel expanded operations, striking near Beirut's coast and killing at least seven people in Jnah, the Lebanese Health Ministry told NPR, and Israel said it had killed a Hezbollah commander near Beirut, as fighting continued on multiple fronts.
NPR reported more than 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, and that Lebanon has seen mass displacement after Israeli plans to create a buffer zone in the south, while Israel said it struck hundreds of targets inside Iran in recent strikes.
Fighting has spread beyond Iran and Lebanon. NPR said Iranian missiles and drones have hit Gulf targets, including fuel depots at Kuwait's airport and an oil tanker leased to QatarEnergies, and that air defenses in Dubai intercepted missiles amid warnings of a missile threat.
The conflict has affected civilians and journalists. NPR reported the kidnapping of American journalist Shelly Kittleson in Baghdad, and said the State Department warned her previously and that Iraqi authorities arrested a suspect with ties to an Iranian-backed militia, while the Committee to Protect Journalists urged her swift release.
Diplomacy and threats have followed. NPR reported Britain will host a virtual meeting of 35 countries on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Pakistan and China issued a joint call for talks, and Iranian officials signaled they would not accept threats to Hormuz, according to the Associated Press.
NPR also reported Iran's security forces threatened to strike facilities of major US technology companies it accused of aiding the US and Israel, listing 18 firms in state broadcasts.
