President Trump will address the nation Thursday evening at 9 p.m. Eastern as military tensions with Iran escalate over control of the Strait of Hormuz and the future of the U.S.-Iran conflict.
The primetime speech, announced Sunday on Trump’s Truth Social account, comes as the Trump administration has intensified military operations against Iran and reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian shipping in the strategic waterway.
The interim ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran collapsed on July 8 after Iran allegedly struck multiple commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Wikipedia’s account of the 2026 Iran war. The U.S. responded with retaliatory strikes, and on Sunday Trump announced the reinstatement of what he called the Iranian blockade. “We are reinstating the Iranian blockade,” Trump said on social media, according to the Associated Press. “All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait.”
The address marks Trump’s second major primetime speech on Iran this year. In April, he delivered a national address outlining the administration’s military objectives in what the White House called Operation Epic Fury. The current escalation represents a significant shift from June, when Trump had lifted the blockade and signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran that included a 60-day negotiation period, according to the BBC.
The U.S. military has launched multiple waves of strikes on Iranian targets since the ceasefire’s collapse. On July 13, the U.S. began fresh strikes after Trump announced the blockade, with the Pentagon stating the operations were conducted at Trump’s direction, according to CNN. Trump has also threatened to strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily fortified underground nuclear site, saying the U.S. could destroy it “relatively soon,” according to Wikipedia.
Iran’s military responded to the escalation with warnings against U.S. interference in the Strait of Hormuz. “Iran’s military has warned it will not allow the United States to ‘interfere’ in the management of the Strait of Hormuz,” according to Al Jazeera.
Sources
- The Hill — Trump’s announcement of the Thursday primetime address amid Iran tensions
- Associated Press — Trump’s statement on the reinstatement of the Iranian blockade
- Wikipedia — Timeline of the 2026 Iran war, ceasefire collapse on July 8, and Pickaxe Mountain threat
- BBC — Details on the June agreement and blockade lifting
- CNN — U.S. military strikes on July 13 at Trump’s direction
- Al Jazeera — Iran’s military warning on Strait of Hormuz
