Trump threatens to hit Iran "extremely hard" over next 2 to 3 weeks

This video snapshot shows U.S. President Donald Trump giving an address to the nation at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 1, 2026. (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- While saying the United States is "nearing completion" of its core objectives in Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday night threatened to hit Iran "extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," a timeline he has recently set for ending the monthlong war.

"I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly very shortly. We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong," Trump said in a primetime address to the nation.

The president insisted that the negotiations between the United States and Iran "are ongoing" despite Iran's denial, saying Iran's "regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders' deaths" and "the new group is less radical and much more reasonable."

"If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously," Trump said.