U.S. President Donald Trump declared an all-out offensive against Iran, upending expectations of a ceasefire announcement. Trump said the door to negotiations with Iran remains open and talks are ongoing, but threatened indiscriminate strikes on critical infrastructure including energy facilities if no agreement is reached within a set deadline. The move is widely interpreted as a pressure tactic amid stalled negotiations, but his choice of continued combat over a ceasefire reignited Middle East instability within hours.
In a nationally televised address on April 1 (local time), Trump warned of "extremely hard" strikes over the next two to three weeks. "If no deal is reached during this period, we will hit their power plants very hard, probably simultaneously," he said. "Despite being the easiest targets, we have not hit their oil facilities because doing so would deny them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding," he added. "But if we do strike, those facilities will be completely gone, and Iran will face its end."
Trump's two-to-three-week timeline appears to be a pragmatic decision driven by congressional war authorization procedures. Under the War Powers Resolution, military action requires congressional approval. The president can independently sustain military operations for a maximum of 60 days without such approval. The deadline for the Iran war, which began on February 28, falls on April 28 — roughly four weeks away.
