03/04/2026

FRIDAY | APR 3, 2026

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Trump’s speech gives no timeline on ending war

Not clear what more to achieve in conflict, says Australia PM SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday the original aims of the war in Iran have been met and it is not clear what more remains to be achieved. He called for de-escalation, noting that US-Israeli attacks have degraded Iran’s air force, navy and military industrial base. “Now that those objectives have been realised, it is not clear what more needs to be achieved or what the end point looks like.“ “What is clear is that the longer the war goes on, the more significant the impact on the global economy will be.” Australia, reliant on imported fuel and holding roughly 37 days’ supply of petrol, has sought to soften the impact of soaring prices by cutting petrol taxes and pledging US$680 million (RM2.74 billion) in loans to businesses. Albanese has previously said Australia is not a participant in the war. Defence Minister Richard Marles said yesterday Canberra was in talks with Britain and France on how it could contribute to opening the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes in peacetime. Iran has effectively closed the vital strait since US-Israeli strikes on Feb 28 sparked a larger regional conflict, causing global oil and gas prices to soar. “We have an interest in the Strait of Hormuz being open. It is a function of when conditions allow any of these steps to take place. And those conditions do not exist right now.“ Marles said Australia would attend a multi-nation meeting convened by Britain. Albanese’s comments yesterday come as US President Donald Trump gave a speech laying out his view of the war, vowing two to three more weeks of “extremely hard” strikes against Iran. Trump said the United States is aiming to crush Iran’s military, end the Islamic republic’s support for regional armed groups and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear bomb. “I am pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion.“ – AFP

areas and a drone attack on a village. There were no reports of any casualties or damage. Meanwhile, Iran said maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz would be subject to new rules set by Tehran, Anadolu Ajansi reported. Iran’s Parliament National Security Commission head Ebrahim Azizi said a decades-long period of “hospitality” has ended. – AFP ongoing. Yet, if during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets.” A day earlier, Trump told reporters that Tehran did not have to make a deal as a prerequisite for the conflict to wind down. While he briefly acknowledged on Wednesday growing concerns among Americans that the war is making gasoline unaffordable, he insisted that prices would soon go down and the increases were mainly Iran’s fault. He added that countries that get most of their oil supply from the Gulf region should take the lead in opening the strait. Britain, France and other US allies have said they are willing to help keep the strait open but only after hostilities have ceased. “They can do it easily. We will be helpful but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” said Trump. He has expressed anger that Nato allies have not offered to help open the strait, even threatening to withdraw from the alliance. Although he told Reuters earlier in the day that he would discuss the US relationship with Nato in his speech, he did not mention the bloc. Trump has flirted with options both to escalate and de-escalate the conflict and his next moves are unclear, even to some close advisers. His speech offered little additional clarity. Administration officials have floated a daring operation to physically seize Iran’s remaining stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, as well as ground operations to seize strategic pieces of land, including parts of Iran’s coastline and Kharg Island, through which Iran exports the vast majority of its oil. Thousands of additional troops continue to sail towards the Gulf region, indicating that Trump wants to keep his military options open. He asked Americans to “keep this conflict in perspective”, noting that prior wars in Iraq, Vietnam and Korea had required far longer US involvement. – Reuters

oil rose shortly after Trump’s comments, reflecting the widespread sentiment that the conflict is likely to drag on for some time. Trump and his advisers have offered shifting explanations and timelines for the conflict, as well as what they would require from Iran for it to end. While portraying Iran as militarily neutered, Trump also said the United States would hit the nation hard for another two or three weeks. If the country’s new leaders do not negotiate satisfactorily, the United States would begin attacking the nation’s electricity generation and oil infrastructure, he said. “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong. “In the meantime, discussions are

o ‘We will hit them hard, bring them back to Stone Ages where they belong’

WASHINGTON: In a televised speech on Wednesday night, US President Donald Trump said the US military has nearly accomplished its goals in Iran, but offered no clear timeline for ending the month-long war and vowed to bomb the country back into the “Stone Ages”. Facing a war-wary American public, sliding approval ratings and pressure from some allies to outline his war aims in more precise and consistent terms, he said the United States has destroyed Iran’s navy and air force, and crippled its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes. However, he declined to lay out a concrete plan to wind down the war,

now in its fifth week, beyond saying the United States would finish the job “very fast”. He glossed over some major unresolved issues, such as the status of Iran’s enriched uranium and access through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for global oil supplies that Iran has effectively closed. Trump said the strait would open “naturally” once the war ended. His 19-minute address broke little new ground and offered scant reassurance to Americans and US allies, who are feeling increasing pain at the gas pump and growing impatient with the war. Stocks fell, the dollar firmed and

While portraying Iran as militarily neutered, Trump also said the United States would hit the nation hard for another two or three weeks. – REUTERSPIC

Israel reports several Iranian missile attacks JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said air defences responded to waves of Iranian missile fire yesterday, including at least two attacks after US President Donald Trump delivered an address to the American public on the war. wounded in the Tel Aviv area, the reports said, citing medics. air raid sirens across much of northern and central Israel. The military’s Home Front Command later said residents were “permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas of the country”.

emergency services said Iranian missile fire wounded 14 individuals, including an 11-year-old girl. In northern Israel, there were also air raid sirens yesterday warning of incoming attacks from Lebanon, the Home Front Command said. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an Iranian ally that joined the war on March 2, claimed rocket fire targeting Israeli troops in border

Israeli media attributed the damage across a relatively wide area to the use of cluster munitions, which explode mid-air and scatter bomblets. Within about six hours of the first attack, the military announced that it has “identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel” three more times, triggering

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage as a result of the later attacks. On Wednesday, as Jewish Israelis were preparing to celebrate Passover,

After the first attack, police said officers were called to “several” impact sites in central Israel, with media reports putting the number at nine. Four individuals were lightly

UN urges opening of more Gaza crossings NEW YORK: The United Nations (UN) has again urged the need to open more crossings into Gaza to enhance the movement of people and goods and expand the vital humanitarian response across the territory, Emirates News Agency reported. Its spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said reports from the field to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicate that UN staff and their partners continue to work to ensure the delivery of lifesaving aid to the people of Gaza. This is despite the significant pressure on the Karem Abu Salem

assistance to another 1,000 farmers in Gaza to reactivate their local food crop production. He explained that this increase in the volume of aid provided by the FAO to farmers in Gaza would enable them to feed about 95,000 people for an entire year. – Bernama-WAM

“The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has collected animal feed while Unicef has recovered more than 240 pallets of supplies, including food, medicine, hygiene kits and clothing.“ Dujarric also revealed that the FAO is increasing its cash

crossing, which remains the only functional entry point for commercial goods into the Strip. He noted that humanitarian workers on Wednesday transported more than 270,000 litres of fuel into Gaza to ensure the continuity of essential humanitarian services.