President Donald Trump said the United States could halt its military action against Iran within two to three weeks.
“We’ll be out very soon … We’re finishing the job,” Trump told reporters at the White House on 31 March.
The US president reiterated that there might be a deal with Iran, but added that it was not a prerequisite for the United States to withdraw from the 28 February war it has been waging with Israel.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said that Trump will address the nation on the evening of 1 April (night vs. 2 April Kiev time) regarding developments around Iran. He will provide “important information” on the progress of the war, she said.
At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the day before that military operations against Tehran will continue until “the Iranian terrorist regime is destroyed.”
His remarks came shortly after Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian announced a “necessary will” in his country to end the war with Israel and the United States, provided Tehran received guarantees that the attacks would not be repeated.
On 30 March, Iran said it had received, reviewed and rejected the 15-point US peace plan that had been passed through its Pakistani predecessors, calling the plan “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”.
The joint United States-Israeli operation against Iran, which began on 28 February, resulted in the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a significant number of other senior Iranian regime officials.
In response, Iran’s military has attacked with missiles and drones not only Israel or US military installations in the region, but also many of its regional neighbours, which Tehran considers allies of the United States.