00:00U.S. President Donald Trump walks to a podium to address his country for the first time on its war
00:05with Iran.
00:06He repeats his rationale for U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country,
00:09hitting Iran's military, its missile program, and above all, its alleged nuclear ambitions.
00:15And alongside promises the war may just be a few weeks from ending,
00:19threats of even more punishing strikes.
00:21There is no deal we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants
00:27very hard and probably simultaneously.
00:30We have not hit their oil, even though that's the easiest target of all,
00:35because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding.
00:41But we could hit it, and it would be gone.
00:45Iran says Trump's claims about peace talks are not true.
00:48It's now also taking its message to the American people.
00:51President Masoud Pazeshkian issued a letter to U.S. citizens on Wednesday, Iran's National Day.
00:57In it, he says Iran's enmity is with the U.S. government, not civilians.
01:01And he blames Israel for the conflict.
01:04That letter, read aloud by an anchor on state TV.
01:08Is it not that the U.S. stepped into this war as a proxy for Israel,
01:12manipulated by that regime?
01:13Is it not true that now Israel has now decided that they will fight with Iran
01:19until the last American soldier and American sent?
01:23Impose the expenses on Iran, America, and the countries of the region,
01:26and for it to say, in the safe margin?
01:30And today, is America really on the list of America's priorities?
01:36But many Iranians and Americans have already made their own minds up about this war.
01:41Some Iranians, like these mourners, gathered Wednesday to remember Iran's slain naval commander,
01:47have decided there's little point in a ceasefire given all the bloodshed.
01:50To be honest, as an ordinary member of the society, I don't want one.
01:56I want us, as much as we can, to have revenge for our leader, revenge for our commanders,
02:01and for all these children and young people.
02:04We have given so many of our youth, teenagers, and children.
02:08While other Iranians see a chance for an exit.
02:11If the war ends tomorrow, we will welcome it.
02:15In the case that the enemy, based on the orders that our new supreme leader,
02:19our new Khamenei, has issued, must pay our compensation.
02:25In the U.S., the war does have its supporters.
02:28That includes those who remember the Iranian capture of the U.S. embassy and its staff nearly 50 years ago.
02:34You know, I was alive, I was in high school in 1979, when they took the hostages.
02:42And, you know, I remember when Reagan came in and, you know, I believe in might.
02:48I believe in strength.
02:50So, I think he's doing a good job.
02:52But a Reuters-Ipsos poll from the end of March found two-thirds of Americans want the U.S. out
02:58quickly,
02:59even if Trump's war goals aren't achieved.
03:02Whatever people may think of this war, and no matter how soon it might end,
03:06its impacts are still tangible around the world.
03:09In Iran, U.S.-Israeli strikes continue,
03:12with rescuers, like here in the capital Tehran,
03:14left to treat the injured and sift through the rubble for survivors.
03:18And the energy crisis the war has sparked,
03:20with Iran choking off the critical Strait of Hormuz,
03:23is still a global problem.
03:25Following Trump's address, Asian stocks tumbled,
03:27while Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked 5%.
03:32Even if the war does end in a matter of weeks,
03:35rebuilding could take much longer,
03:36and the pain of this conflict will continue far beyond the Middle East.
03:41Klein Wang and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
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