When US President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office he was under tremendous pressure. A latest poll showed his approval rating on the economy was just 31 per cent. His marks on other issues like inflation or gas prices are not much different or perhaps even worse. About 60 per cent of Americans were opposed to the military action against Iran.
But sitting behind the Resolute Desk the President appeared to be unfazed at his worst approvals and went on to give high marks for the war that is in its fifth week and promising to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages”. There was still no clear timeline to end the conflict.
The only certainties are the rising oil prices and the falling stock markets. And Thursday was no exception: the Brent crude which had fallen below the $100 mark surged to $107.69, or a six per cent rise; and Asian stock indices, that had been making some gains in the last few days, started trading lower after Trump’s speech and ended the day in red. Asian markets have particularly been jittery since the start of the war on February 28 as the region is heavily dependent on the Middle East for its oil and other energy supplies.
Aside from putting Iran, the region and the world on notice that the worst is yet to come, Trump tried to make the point that regime change was never the goal “but it has occurred because all of their original leaders are dead”. Analysts and critics point out that though the Israeli-American bombings did take out the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with senior military commanders and political confidants, there is nothing to indicate any serious rupture in the ruling hierarchy.
“Trump hasn’t changed the regime; if anything, he’s honed it to its hardest core. It’s interesting he thinks this clearly false claim is so important to spin. It’s Trump’s way of admitting failure,” Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council, said to Al Jazeera.
Since the start of the conflict, critics say that there is nothing to celebrate in taking out the successors of Ayatollah Khamenei for the system is well entrenched. In fact they argue that Washington and Tel Aviv may actually be looking at the cream of the hardliners who could pursue the nuclear programme with even greater vigour than their deceased predecessors. The new crop of Iranian leaders may may more rabidly anti-Israel and more brutal in their crackdown on domestic dissent.
Europe keeps off
Trump’s views on the North Atlantic Organisation (NATO) and other alliances in the Asia Pacific are well known: rooted in a thinking that Washington’s allies are a bunch of free loaders relying on the US’ largesse and never stepping up to the plate in times of crisis. That has not changed much in this war with Iran when allies like France, Britain, Spain, Italy and Poland frowned upon the use of their facilities for operations against Iran.
An enraged Trump has once again threatened that the US will leave NATO and has called upon those dependent on Middle East oil “to go and get it” and take steps to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. “To those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran… build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait and just take it. Protect it”, said Trump.
France politely responded to Trump’s threat to leave NATO. “Let me remind you what NATO is. It is a military alliance concerned with the security of the Euro-Atlantic region. It is not designed to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz, which would be a breach of international law,” France’s Junior Army Minister Alice Rufo remarked at a conference.
The writer is a senior journalist who has reported from Washington DC on North America and UN
Published on April 3, 2026