US President Donald Trump delivered his first primetime address on the Iran war on April 1, declaring that military objectives were "nearing completion" while simultaneously threatening to destroy Iran's power plants and oil infrastructure and pledging to hit the country "extremely hard" for another two to three weeks.

The roughly 19-minute speech from the White House Cross Hall drew criticism from both domestic opponents and Iranian officials, sent oil prices surging above $105 a barrel and triggered sell-offs across Asian stock markets.

Trump said US armed forces had delivered "swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield" and that Iran's navy, air force and missile capabilities had been destroyed or severely degraded.

He threatened to "hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard, and probably simultaneously" if no deal is reached within two to three weeks, adding: "We're going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong."

Trump claimed regime change had already occurred, despite previously saying it was never a US goal. "Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change. But regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders' deaths — they're all dead," he said, adding that the "new group is less radical and much more reasonable."

He told countries reliant on the Strait of Hormuz to "grab it and cherish it" and suggested nations unable to source their own fuel should buy it from the United States. He said the US had plenty of oil.

Trump blamed Iran entirely for surging global petrol prices, calling Iranian attacks on commercial shipping "deranged terror attacks." He also said he was "absolutely" considering withdrawing from NATO because allied nations had not joined the war.

Oil prices surged more than 4%, with Brent crude climbing above $105 a barrel and WTI rising above $103. US stock futures fell, with S&P 500 futures down 0.75% and Dow futures dropping more than 310 points. Japan's Nikkei fell 2.1%, South Korea's Kospi slid 3.9% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1%.

Former Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif posted on X that "valiant Iranians buried his '3-day unconditional surrender' delusion," adding that the speech contained "22 minutes of noise, 0 substance" and mocking Trump's "stone age" remark by noting that "Iran had a GREAT civilization during the stone age, where he and his Sec of War belong."

US Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, the first Iranian-American Democrat in Congress, wrote on X: "He's talking about a country of 90 million people. Vile, horrifying, evil," 

Former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote: "All I heard from his speech tonight was WAR WAR WAR. Nothing to lower the cost of living for Americans," CNN reported.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Iran's military had been degraded but questioned "what more needs to be achieved, or what the endpoint looks like." 

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei dismissed Trump's earlier claim that Iran's president had requested a ceasefire as "false and baseless." He said Iran had received messages through mediators but ruled out direct talks, describing US demands as "maximalist and unreasonable," Al Jazeera reported.

Multiple polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of the war, which has killed 13 US service members and wounded 348. Trump's approval ratings have hit second-term lows in both the New York Times and Real Clear Politics polling averages, NPR reported.

US petrol prices have risen from an average of $2.46 per gallon before the war to over $4, with California reaching $5.86 per gallon. The next Consumer Price Index report on April 10 is expected to show March inflation jumping to 3.25% year on year, up from 2.4% in February, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland forecast cited by NBC News.