New Delhi, April 3 -- Former High Commissioner of India To Bangladesh, Veena Sikri on Friday said that Trump's recent address to the nation on the ongoing conflict with Iran underscores that the US President "wants to keep all options open", even as he reiterated familiar talking points on the war and threats against Tehran since the beginning of the conflict.

Speaking to ANI, Sikri noted the implications of Trump's speech, noting that most commentators in the United States viewed the speech as a reiteration of positions the president had already voiced on social media and at various press briefings, rather than a new policy.

She said Trump's comments -- especially his warning that the US could strike Iran "very hard" in the next two to...