Image source, EPA

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that while Australia supported the objective of "preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon", it is now unclear "what more needs to be achieved or what the end point looks like".

His comments came during an address to the National Press Club, which was occurring at the same time as Trump's speech.

The prime minister was also asked specifically about the time frame Trump has laid out for an end to the conflict, to which he said that "Australia wasn't consulted before this began".

"What I have said very clearly is that we do want to see a de-escalation and I want there to be recognition, greater clarity about how this ends," he says.

The remarks follow a short speech from Albanese nearly 24 hours ago, in which he warned Australians that "the months ahead may not be easy".

"Australia is not an active participant in this war. But all Australians are paying higher prices because of it," he said.

More glaring omissions from Trumppublished at 04:15 BST

04:15 BST

Gary O'Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent

President Trump's speech was largely a rehash of what he has been saying for days. Copy and paste his social media posts over the last week or so, and you get this address to the nation.

There were also a number of glaring omissions which leave a plethora of questions unanswered.

First, Israel: does Benjamin Netanyahu's government agree with this timetable? We just don't know.

Second: what happened to the idea of retrieving the hundreds of kilos of enriched uranium buried under rubble from last year's 12-day war?

Thirdly, what is the president's settled view on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz? He now says it would reopen “naturally” when the war is over.

And finally, is he serious about pulling out of Nato?

The truth is, that after twenty minutes of a national address, we're really none the wiser about what victory in this war looks like.

And given the often conflicting nature of the president's views from one day to the next, everything could change at any time.

Trump's threats to bomb Iran "back to the Stone Ages where they belong" drew sharp criticism from some lawmakers.

"He’s talking about a country of 90 million people," Representative Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat from Arizona, says. "Vile, horrifying, evil."

On X, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote simply: "Back to the Stone Age."

Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, is also critical of the address. "Trump, as always, lied to us," Van Hollen, a Democrat, says. "Over 2 weeks ago he said 'we won.' If so, then why are we still there? What’s next? All we can count on is more lies from Trump. This delusional man is a danger to our country and the world."

US House Majority Leader Steve Scalise complimented the speech.

"Tonight, President Trump laid out an incredibly compelling case to the nation for Operation Epic Fury," Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, says. "The Iranian regime's long history of terror and murdering Americans demonstrates why it was necessary to stop them from getting a nuclear weapon."

Trump revisited many of the points he has raised before today during his primetime address.

The president said the war was a response to 47 years of violence by Iran and their proxies, recalling the bombing of a US Marine barracks nearly four decades ago and the attack on the USS Cole in 2000.

Trump previously wrote on social media on 13 March that the Iran regime has been "killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years now".

"And now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!" Trump wrote then.

On Wednesday, he also repeated that the US will "leave" Iran within two to three weeks, which would extend the conflict past the four-to-six week deadline that the administration had given at the start of the war.

The US will spend the coming weeks bombing Iran "back to the Stone Ages", said Trump, repeating threats he made earlier this week.

Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, Singapore

Major stock indexes in Asia are trading lower after Trump's address, reversing earlier gains.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan is down by 1.5%, South Korea's Kospi is 2.6% lower and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong is 1% lower.

The region's stock markets have been volatile since the Iran war started at the end of February.

Asia is particularly vulnerable to the impact of the conflict as it is heavily reliant on the Middle East for its energy supplies.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel "a short while ago", in a fresh update via Telegram.

The report came just 15 minutes after Trump wrapped up his 19-minute speech, where he said that the strategic objectives in the US war with Iran were "nearing completion", and the Tehran's military capabilities has been destroyed.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.

US lawmakers have also been reacting to the president's speech.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer lambasted the speech before adding "Donald Trump’s actions in Iran will be considered one of the greatest policy blunders in the history of our country".

Schumer, a Democrat from New York, says Trump is "failing to articulate objectives, alienating allies, and ignoring the kitchen table problems Americans are facing".

Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham gave a more positive reaction to the speech. He told Fox News that Iran has the option to make a deal or face more bombing.

"President Trump outlined targets that would destroy the ability of this regime to survive over time," Graham says, referring to Trump's threats to strike Iran's electric grid.

"If you don't take this deal, we're going to blow up all of the things that you need to come back. This was a defining moment in this campaign."

Image source, /EPA/Shutterstock

While Trump gave his national address, a group of military leaders sat and watched on at the Cross Hall in the White House.

Among them was Gen Dan Caine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also present, along with members of Trump's cabinet.

While global oil markets are rising in reaction to Trump's address, US stock futures are falling - pointing to a lower open for Wall Street on Thursday morning.

Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures are around 0.7% lower, while Nasdaq futures are down by about 1%.

Stock market futures are contracts that allow investors to buy or sell a stock index at a set price on a future date.

They function as a bet on which direction investors expect the market to head, with prices reflecting market sentiment.

The United Arab Emirates is in the midst of fending off incoming missile and drone threats, its defence ministry said in the last hour, just before US President Donald Trump's address.

The ministry said the attacks have come from Iran and alerted the public about sounds being heard across the country as it works to intercept the missiles.

In his address that wrapped up minutes ago, Trump thanked the UAE and other Gulf allies, which have come under fire by Iran in retaliation to the US-Israeli strikes.

Trump said that the Iranian regime was launching "deranged terror attacks" against oil tankers and neighbouring countries that "have nothing to do with the conflict" as he addressed concerns about rising energy prices.

We can bring you some early reaction to Trump's speech.

Ivo Daalder, former US ambassador to Nato, says Trump's speech didn't answer many critical questions including why the US is still carrying out military action in Iran if Trump says Iran's nuclear capabilities, navy, and missiles have been destroyed.

"I don't see why we think we should be safer... and I think the American public have a similar sense of doubt," he tells the BBC's Sumi Somaskanda.

He says while Trump didn't come out strongly against Nato allies and repeat threats to pull out of the alliance in this speech, he is likely to do later on social media.

Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, Singapore

Trump's address appears to have done nothing to reassure global oil markets that disruption to the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route will ease anytime soon.

The price of benchmark Brent crude was trading at about $100 a barrel before the president started speaking.

It fluctuated during the address but is now heading higher and is currently up by around 4% at $105.38.

The strait is crucial to the global economy as around 20% of the world's energy usually passes through the narrow shipping lane.

It has been effectively shut since the conflict started on 28 February as Iran retaliated to US and Israeli airstrikes by threatening to attack ships using the waterway.

Melissa Toufanian, who was a senior adviser to former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, tells the BBC that she thinks American audiences are likely "more confused" about the Iran war after Trump's speech.

"I don't think there's a single American who was watching that speech today who is going to feel like there is a clear plan, like there is a clear timeline, that we are safer and more secure," she says.

Trump concludes his 19-minute address.

"Tonight, every American can look forward to a day when we are finally free from the wickedness of Iranian aggression and the spectre of nuclear blackmail," he says.

The president promises that when the war is over "the United States will be safer, stronger, more prosperous and greater than it has ever been before".

Trump says the US is unstoppable as a military force. He says the war is "a true investment" for American children and future generation.

He then mentions the lengths of wars in the 20th and 21st centuries, saying they went on for years but this conflict has gone on for only 32 days.

Trump says Americans are no longer under threat from Iranian aggression and "the spectre of nuclear blackmail" and the US will be "safer, stronger, more prosperous" than it has ever been.

The president has concluded his remarks.

Image source, Reuters

Trump also spoke about US and Venezuela's oil production, saying that the US does not need oil from abroad.

He says that countries that need oil from the Middle East should now take the lead to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

Energy shipments from the Gulf have largely come to a standstill after Iran retaliated against the US-Israeli strikes by threatening to attack vessels that try to cross the Strait of Hormuz - a critical trade waterway.

Trump says: "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."

Trump also calls for countries to buy US oil instead.

Trump says the US is "systemically dismantling the regime's ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders".

He says Iran's navy, air force and missile production capabilities have been destroyed.

"Tonight I am pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion," he says.

He says he has traveled to the Dover Air Force base to honour the 13 American soldiers who died in the war. "We salute them and now we must honour them by completting the mission."

Trump declares objectives are 'nearing completion'published at 02:19 BST

02:19 BST

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

As expected, Trump declares the US is "nearing completion" of its various military objectives, and vows to "finish the job" in the near term.

Trump has also sought to lay the blame for rising petrol prices - a key domestic issue - on the Iranian side.

The president's promise that the US is "better prepared" than ever to deal with the economic ramifications of the war, however, will ring hollow for his detractors and those who have opposed the military operation and argued that those threats only began when US and Israeli strikes began.

As he has in recent days, Trump also told US allies to "build up the courage" to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that the US doesn't "need it".

Some observers will immediately wonder whether any US withdrawal from the conflict in the coming weeks would mean that it essentially washes its hands of the task of ensuring freedom of navigation in the region.

Trump thanks US allies in the region, including Israel and the Gulf states.

"They've been great, and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form," he says.

Trump notes that Iran has attacked many of these countries and says this underscores that it should never have a nuclear weapon.

Trump calls the nuclear deal negotiated by former US President Barak Obama a mistake, and says he was honoured to terminate it.

The president then talks about a strike he ordered in June 2025, Operation Midnight Hammer, against Iran's nuclear programme.

"Nobody's ever seen anything like it," he says.

"We totally obliterated those nuclear sites."