Trump claimed significant progress had been made towards achieving his goals in the war with Iran, which are to destroy the country's missile production and Navy, ensure its proxies can no longer destabilise the region and guarantee Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.

In his first address to the nation since the start of the Iran war, Trump says the military action is not for getting any of the country's vast resources, including oil, but instead to help America's allies.

"We're now totally independent of the Middle East, and yet we are there to help," he said. "We don't have to be there. We don't need their oil. We don't need anything they have." But, he added, "we're there to help our allies."

Trump also stressed that Americans have significant gas and oil reserves of their own, seeking to allay fears on rising gas prices in the wake of the global energy crisis sparked by the blockade of Strait of Hormuz.

Arguing that the US has plenty of its own fuel stores because of his "drill baby, drill" attitude on domestic oil production, Trump said that the country produces more oil and gas than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined.