Iran war highlights: Trump warns of strikes on Iran’s power plants: ‘If no deal, we’ll hit every plant’

Iran war highlights: US President Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday to intensify attacks on Iran over the next two to three weeks, saying American forces were close to completing the war. Follow here for live updates on US-Iran war

"Over the next two to three weeks, we are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong," Trump said in an address to the nation, adding that US forces would meet all their battlefield goals “very, very shortly.”

Trump on Wednesday said Iran has asked the United States for a ceasefire and added Washington would consider this once the Strait of Hormuz was open. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said Trump's statement about a ceasefire request was false and baseless.

“Iran's New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!,” Trump said. Trump also referred to a "new president" in an interview with Reuters shortly ahead of his address.

Meanwhile, strikes across Iran, Israel and the Gulf region continued on Wednesday, ahead of US President Donald Trump's address at night. An airstrike appeared to have struck inside the former US embassy's compound in Tehran. Tensions escalated even as Trump said that the war would end within two to three weeks and the American troops will leave Iran soon after.

Trump also said that there is nothing left to do in Tehran, suggesting that the US had achieved the goal it set out for. "I had one goal. They will have no nuclear weapon, and that goal has been attained. They will not have nuclear weapons," Trump said.

According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the US President would address the nation on Wednesday night (local time) "to provide an important update on Iran".

Iran war end ‘coming’

US State Secretary Marco Rubio reportedly said that the end to the war in Iran is "coming". He told Fox News, "End to Iran war not today, it's not tomorrow, but it is coming."

"There's nothing any country is doing to help Iran that is in any way impeding our mission," Rubio added.

Iran has 'zero trust' in US, dismisses ground ops efficacy

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly said that Iran has "zero" trust in the United States, saying that there is no truth to the claim of negotiations with any party in Tehran.

Reacting to reports of a possible US ground operation in Iran, Aragchi said that Tehran is waiting for them. "I don’t think they’d dare to do such a thing. There will be a lot of strength waiting for them," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

"We know very well how to defend ourselves. In a ground war, we can do it even better. We are completely ready to confront any sort of ground attack. We hope they do not make such a mistake," Araghchi added.

Oil prices

Oil prices fluctuated on Wednesday as Trump's remarks on the Iran war ending soon sparked hopes among traders. However, the market remained volatile.

Earlier in the day, the front-month Brent contract for June climbed 1.4 per cent to $105.37 per barrel. Meanwhile, the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May rose 1.6 per cent to $102.97 per barrel.

However, oil prices tumbled later in the day. Brent crude price dropped 5 per cent, below $100 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate was around $97 per barrel.

Tanker hit by off Qatar: UK

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday that a tanker was struck by two projectiles around 17 nautical miles north of Qatar's Doha, causing damage to the hull above the waterline.

The British agency said that of the two projectiles, one was found unexploded. It later noted that the fire triggered by the one projectile was extinguished.

The British agency noted that the vessel's crew was safe, adding that there was no environmental impact.

Later, Qatar said the country was targeted by three cruise missiles from Iran. The Gulf's defence ministry said its military "intercepted two of the cruise missiles, while the third missile struck an oil tanker leased to QatarEnergy in Qatar's territorial waters."

"Coordination was established with relevant authorities to evacuate the tanker, which had 21 crew members on board, without any human casualties," the defence ministry added.

Netanyahu: US-Israel 'systematically crushed' Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hailed the "enormous accomplishments" in the ongoing conflict with Iran, saying that the combined US-Israeli efforts were "systematically crushing" the Iranian government.

He said that Tehran's administration will "sooner or later" collapse. Netanyahu alleged that Iran had sought to achieve its "murderous ambitions" through nuclear development, ballistic missiles, etc., while also trying to survive "heavy sanctions".

"Now, I want to tell you: Over the years, all of this has cost Iran nearly a trillion dollars. And now it can be said: That trillion has gone down the drain," he claimed.