President Donald Trump poses in an undated photo. Trump said Tuesday the United States had achieved its military goals in Iran and that Operation Epic Fury would conclude in two to three weeks. (The White House)
U.S. forces will wrap up Operation Epic Fury in two to three weeks, President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday, as the White House announced he will give a major speech about the war against Iran.
“We’ll be leaving very soon,” the president said, speaking from the Oval Office. “I would say that within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three. We’re hitting them very hard.”
Trump will provide an “important update” on the war during an address to the nation on Wednesday evening, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said late Tuesday.
The war, now in its fifth week, has seen Trump alternate between promising a swift end to the conflict and signaling a potential expansion, as thousands of U.S. troops and military assets have surged to the region or are on their way.
In his comments Tuesday, Trump touted the killing of Iran’s top leaders and said the U.S. is now working with a group of people who are “much more reasonable” and “less radicalized.” He also claimed that the U.S. had successfully undercut Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“I had one goal: they will have no nuclear weapons. And that goal has been attained. They will not have nuclear weapons. But we’re finishing the job,” he said.
American forces have struck more than 11,000 targets inside Iran since launching the operation on Feb. 28, decimating much of its missile stockpile, production facilities and largest naval vessels. Early in the conflict, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is now Iran’s supreme leader.
At the start of the conflict, U.S. officials said striking Iran was necessary to undercut the imminent threat of a nuclear attack on Europe or the U.S. In recent days, however, officials have also said the operation aims to take out Iran’s ability to defend its nuclear facilities.
Iran’s Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow nuclear facilities sustained major damage during a joint U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign last summer, but not everything was destroyed, according to Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Grossi, the top official at the international nuclear watchdog, told CBS last month that the recent wave of attacks has included some strikes on nuclear facilities, but they appeared to be “relatively marginal” compared to the entirety of the campaign.
“My impression is, once the military effort comes to an end, we will still inherit a number of major issues that have been at the center of all of this,” he said.
Notably, Grossi said Iran’s inventory of highly-enriched uranium could still be intact. Some facilities, infrastructure and equipment are also likely to have survived the attacks, but the agency will only be able to determine the extent of the damage when its inspectors can reenter the country.
IAEA inspectors have not examined Iran’s nuclear facilities since mid-2025, prior to the U.S. strikes. At that time, Iran had 440 kg, about 950 pounds, of enriched uranium, according to the agency.
Trump has said that Iran is desperate for an end to the war and is negotiating with U.S. officials, a claim that Tehran has vehemently denied. Iran is still controlling the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway as a means of putting pressure on international economies, and neighboring countries in the region continue to report incoming drone and missile fire.
On Tuesday, Trump said he expects the Strait of Hormuz to “automatically open” once the U.S. ends its military operation, but that the U.S. won’t play a role in helping other countries regain access to oil shipments.
“We’ll be leaving very soon, and if France, or some other country, wants to get oil or gas, they’ll go up through the Strait of Hormuz … and they’ll be able to fend for themselves,” he said. “I think it’ll be very safe, actually, but we have nothing to do with it.”
