Jake Johnson
Common Dreams / April 2, 2026
In a primetime address, President Donald Trump reiterated his threat to destroy Iranian energy infrastructure and provided no timeline for an end to his illegal war.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday delivered an incoherent primetime address in which he threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” while also claiming negotiations to end the conflict were ongoing, remarks that provided no clear indication of when or how the illegal war of choice would end.
Trump’s speech marked his first major address on the war since the US, in partnership with Israel, started bombing Iran more than a month ago, without congressional approval and in violation of international law. A day after declaring that Iran “doesn’t have to make a deal” to end the war, Trump said during his Wednesday speech, “If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously”—a grave war crime.
In the face of polls showing the Iran War is deeply unpopular with the American public, Trump sought to justify continuing the assault by comparing its duration to that of the two World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. At the president’s direction, thousands of troops are currently heading to the Middle East to join the tens of thousands already there, fuelling fears of a ground invasion and a devastating quagmire.
After baselessly claiming Iran was pursuing nuclear weapons, Trump insisted Wednesday night that the country’s leadership was “rapidly building a vast stockpile of conventional ballistic missiles” that could soon “reach the American homeland”—an assertion contradicted by US intelligence.
The president also waved away concerns about rising gas prices, which have already cost American drivers billions of dollars collectively. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical route through which roughly 25% of global seaborne oil trade passes each year, will “just open up naturally” once the conflict is over, Trump asserted, adding that “the gas prices will rapidly come back down.”
Collin Rees, US campaign manager at the advocacy group Oil Change International, said in a statement that “Trump’s rambling lies can’t conceal how his reckless, illegal war of aggression is sending energy prices for working families through the roof.”
“Trump claims this conflict is different from past wars for oil, but it’s playing out with exactly the same deadly patterns,” said Rees. “War and volatility push prices higher and fossil fuel companies cash in on windfall profits, while everyday people face rising costs for gas, food, and basic necessities. Instead of investing in what people actually need—like childcare, healthcare, and resilient communities—Trump is doubling down on senseless military escalation that serves the interest of his billionaire allies and fossil fuel CEOs.”
“More and more people are seeing through this charade,” Rees added. “This war isn’t about energy security or safety, it’s about protecting a system where fossil fuel profits come before people’s lives and livelihoods. The way to escape this cycle of death is to end this war and advance a swift and just transition to renewable energy sources that can break our dependence on volatile, unreliable fossil fuels.”
“The human cost of this war is unconscionable. The economic cost is dangerous and growing.”
Democratic members of Congress viewed Trump’s speech as further confirmation that the president never had a clear objective for the unlawful war—which has killed nearly 2,000 Iranians and displaced millions—and has no serious exit plan, just a vow to bomb Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.”
“Anyone watching that speech has no idea whether Trump is escalating or deescalating the war with Iran,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “But to be fair, neither does he.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote on social media that Trump “campaigned for the presidency on avoiding foreign wars and lowering costs ‘on day one.’”
“His promises are now in tatters,” wrote Warren. “The human cost of this war is unconscionable. The economic cost is dangerous and growing. The president should end this war today.”
The lone Iranian American in Congress, Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), condemned Trump’s threat to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
“He’s talking about a country of 90 million people,” said Ansari. “Vile, horrifying, evil.”
Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams
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‘Deranged and dangerous’: Trump says ‘I guess’ Americans should expect a deadly attack on us
Jake Johnson
Common Dreams / Marchy 6, 2026
“We have totally unserious, completely incompetent people taking us into mindless, deadly war,” said Democratic US Sen. Chris Murphy.
In an interview with TIME magazine published Thursday, US President Donald Trump responded flippantly to a question on whether Americans should be concerned about the possibility of a retaliatory attack on United States soil amid his illegal and intensifying war on Iran.
“I guess,” Trump said when asked about a direct Iranian attack on the US. “We expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”
Democratic lawmakers quickly seized on the president’s comment as further evidence of his callous lack of regard for the potentially catastrophic consequences of the war he launched.
“This is deranged and dangerous,” said US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired US Navy officer, wrote on social media that the president “has terrible judgment, and Americans have already died because of it.”
“This is officially TRUMP’S WAR,” Kelly added.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Trump’s remark underscored that “we have totally unserious, completely incompetent people taking us into mindless, deadly war.”
The Trump administration has confirmed the deaths of six American soldiers so far. Earlier this week, a top Iranian security official claimed Iran’s response to the massive US-Israeli bombing campaign—retaliation that has hit American military bases throughout the Middle East—has killed 500 US soldiers.
More than 1,200 Iranians have been killed by US-Israeli strikes so far, including the more than 160 people—mostly young girls—massacred in an attack on an Iranian elementary school that US investigators believe was carried out by American forces.
“Six of our fellow Americans and over a thousand Iranians lie dead. Their families have been shattered. Billions of our tax dollars have been spent. The Middle East has been plunged into war,” Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for US Senate in Maine and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote Thursday. “And for what?”
The Trump administration has refused to provide a clear objective, justification, or timeline for the war, which is costing US taxpayers roughly $1 billion per day. Politico reported earlier this week that US Central Command is “asking the Pentagon to send more military intelligence officers to its headquarters in Tampa, Florida to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days but likely through September.”
“The longer this war goes on,” Bruce Hoffman of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote Thursday, “the greater the incentive for Iran to apply all forms of asymmetric warfare in hopes of coercing Trump to abandon his war aims. Sleeper agents, lone actors inspired and motivated by Iran, cyberattacks on US infrastructure, and physical attacks on critical infrastructure are all possible.”
In response to Trump’s comments to TIME, Brian Finucane of the International Crisis Group asked, “Can someone remind me who the heads of the DHS and FBI are at the moment?”
“Surely they will stop any such attack,” Finucane wrote sardonically.
Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams
