Trump says to deliver 'speech to the nation' Thursday as Iran tensions escalate

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will deliver a prime-time address to the nation on Thursday, without disclosing the topic. The announcement came hours after Trump said he would reimpose a US naval blockade on Iran and impose a 20% fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump says to deliver 'speech to the nation' Thursday as Iran tensions escalate US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will deliver a prime-time address to the nation on Thursday, without disclosing the topic. The announcement came hours after Trump said he would reimpose a US naval blockade on Iran and impose a 20% fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump said he would make a primetime address to the nation on Thursday, in an announcement that comes amid a major flare-up of hostilities with Iran.

"President Trump will be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening, at 9 P.M. Eastern (0100 GMT Friday). Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said Monday on his Truth Social network.

Trump did not reveal the subject of the speech, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for details. But the announcement comes hours after he declared that he would reimpose a US naval blockade on Iran, and that Washington will institute a 20 percent fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Trump's last major televised address to the nation was on April 1, when he gave his first full public justification of the Iran war more than a month after the US-Israeli military campaign began.

In that speech from the White House, he laid out his case for a conflict that had sent oil prices soaring and his approval ratings tumbling. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)