US President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to attack Iran relentlessly over the coming two to three weeks, saying American forces were nearing completion of the 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's speech, touted by Washington as an "important update" on the Iran war - was preceded by hours of speculation over whether the president would be calling an end to the war, announcing a ground assault on Iran, or making an announcement on the future of NATO.
Some analysts had speculated that the president would announce a ceasefire, after he had claimed earlier in the day that Iran had requested one. Tehran swiftly denied the claim, saying it was "false and baseless".
In his late-night address, after reiterating previous praise for the US military and claiming significant success in destroying Iran's navy and leaving its military industrial base "crushed", the president signalled that the war would continue.
Speaking on the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said the US did not need Middle Eastern fossil fuels, and urged countries reliant on the Gulf energy trade to "just take it".
“Build up some delayed courage,” he said, echoing earlier remarks in which the president had blasted European allies for not assisting in breaking the Hormuz blockade.
“[They] should have done it before, should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the strait and just take it, protect it.”
Concluding his remarks, Trump threatened to attack all of Iran's power grids simultaneously if a deal were not made to end the war.
Shortly after the speech, Israel's military said air defences responded to three waves of Iranian missile fire, with media reporting several light injuries in the Tel Aviv area.
The third reported salvo came shortly after US President Donald Trump delivered an address to the American public about the Middle East war.
After the first attack, police said officers were called to "several" impact sites in central Israel, with media reports putting the number at nine.
Four people were lightly wounded, the reports said, citing medics.