Iran continues strikes across the Persian Gulf despite Trump's warning

As the war against Iran approaches its sixth week, President Trump told Americans on Wednesday that the U.S. is "on the cusp of ending Iran's sinister threat to America and the world."

In his first formal address to the nation since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Trump did not say, however, when the war would end or how it would end, but said the U.S. was "on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly."

He warned of an intensified period of strikes on Iran, going beyond his initial timeframe of five weeks.

"We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong," Trump said.

Iran continued to target countries in the Gulf region with ballistic missiles and drones into Thursday as the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a security alert, warning of attacks by Iran-backed militias.

Trump said the discussions with Iran were ongoing as he described Iran's new leaders as "less radical and much more reasonable." But he warned that if Iran failed to reach an agreement, the U.S. military would target the country's energy plants and its oil.

"We have all the cards," he added. "They have none."

In an initial reaction to Trump's speech, Esmail Baghai, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said Iran "will not tolerate this vicious cycle of war, negotiations and ceasefire and then repeating the same pattern."

"This is disastrous not only for Iran, but for the entire region and beyond," Baghai said. "We are defending against an illegal war."

Here are more updates on Day 34 of the Iran war:

US military targets | Strait of Hormuz | Iranian president's letter | Iran strikes Gulf countries |Israel strikes Lebanon

U.S. military targets in the war so far

The U.S. Central Command said late Wednesday it had struck over 12,300 targets in its efforts to "dismantle the Iranian regime's security apparatus."

It added that the military prioritized targets that posed "imminent threats" during the month-long conflict.

The U.S. military said it has destroyed or damaged over 155 vessels since the beginning of the war. Other targets, according to a post on X, included command centers, posts of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, air defense systems, ballistic missile sites, navy ships and submarines as well as anti-ship missiles sites, drone manufacturing and other weapon production facilities.

Trump tells allies to step in and protect the Strait of Hormuz as U.K. hosts summit

During his formal Wednesday address, Trump also sought to distance himself from Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping passage that has obstructed the world's oil supply and sent prices of oil, gas and fertilizer rising.

He said the U.S. did not use the strait, and instead called on countries that use the passage to protect it.

"The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it," he added.

His comments came as the United Kingdom is hosting a virtual meeting of 35 countries on Thursday to discuss the reopening of the shipping route. Among the countries attending are Canada, European nations, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The U.S. was not scheduled to attend the meeting.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the countries would come together "to assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities."

Starmer also maintained Britain would stay out of the war with Iran.

"This is not our war and we're not going to get dragged into it," he said. "But I'm equally clear that when it comes to defense and security and our economic future, we have to have closer ties with Europe."

Starmer said military planners would meet to discuss naval options following the meeting, but acknowledged that keeping the Strait open, "will not be easy."

On his part, Trump proposed that the countries affected by the oil blockade in the Strait of Hormuz buy oil from the U.S. or take control of the passage.

"Iran has been essentially decimated," he said. "The hard part is done, so it should be easy."

Iran's president addresses American people

Just hours before Trump's address to the nation, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed a letter to the American public on Wednesday calling into question the rationale for the war and levelling accusations at the U.S. administration.

"Exactly which of the American people's interests are truly being served by this war? Was there any objective threat from Iran to justify such behavior?" he wrote in a letter posted on X.

Pezeshkian defended Iran's strikes against countries in the region and Israel as a "measured response grounded in legitimate self-defense, but by no means an initiation of a war of aggression."

He also appeared to make a veiled offering of dialogue. "Today the world stands at crossroads. Continuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before. The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come."

Pezeshkian's level of influence in Iran's current leadership is unclear, following the take down of the regime in Tehran by U.S. and Israeli strikes, since Feb. 28.

Iran continues to target Gulf countries

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a security alert on Thursday warning of plots by Iran-backed militias in Iraq to attack central Baghdad in the next 24 to 48 hours. It called on U.S. citizens to immediately leave Iraq.

"They may intend to target U.S. citizens, businesses, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, airports, and other locations perceived to be associated with the United States, as well as Iraqi institutions and civilian targets," the U.S. Embassy post on X said.

The security warning comes just days after an American journalist, Shelley Kittleson, was kidnapped in Baghdad. According to the New York Times, Kittleson, a freelance reporter working in Iraq, is reportedly being held by Iranian-aligned militia Kataib Hezbollah, which made contact with Iraq's authorities to demand the release of their detained members in exchange.

In Saudi Arabia, authorities said they intercepted and destroyed four drones on Thursday in addition to a ballistic missile fired at the country's oil-rich eastern region.

In Bahrain, the interior ministry said it closed off traffic on a key highway for several hours on Thursday because of falling debris, while sirens blared across the country signifying incoming strikes. In Kuwait, local media reported that fuel depots of the Kuwait International Airport were set on fire on Wednesday following an attack by an Iranian drone, causing significant damage.

Trump pledged his support to Middle Eastern allies in his Wednesday address.

"They've been great, and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form," he said.

Israel strikes Beirut, other parts of Lebanon 

Israel launched another wave of airstrikes overnight in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has offices.

Lebanon's government said at least 50 people were killed across the country Wednesday.

In the south, Lebanese Army tanks withdrew as Israeli ones rolled in. Many residents have heeded Israel's order to flee from a ribbon of Lebanese territory, where Israeli defense minister Israel Katz says he's creating a security zone and destroying villages. He said it's in accordance with a "Gaza model" to prevent Shia Muslim Hezbollah fighters from firing rockets from them.