WASHINGTON, April 2 -- The United States will be "out of Iran pretty quickly" and could return for "spot hits" if needed, President Donald Trump told Reuters on Wednesday, hours before he was scheduled to make a primetime address to the nation. Trump also said he would express his disgust with NATO for what he considers the alliance's lack of support for U.S. objectives in Iran. He said he is "absolutely" considering an attempt to withdraw the United States from NATO. Asked when the United States would consider the Iran war over, Trump said: "I can't tell you exactly .... we're going to be out pretty quickly." He said US action has ensured Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. "They won't have a nuclear weapon because they are incapable of that now, and then I'll leave, and I'll take everybody with me, and if we have to we'll come back to do spot hits," Trump said. The White House said he would give "an important update on Iran" to the nation at 9:00 pm Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday). Trump said the US would only consider agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, offering his latest signal about an exit plan from the war. Trump posted on social media Wednesday that "Iran's New Regime President" has "just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!" It's unclear to whom Trump was referring and there has been no public indication that Tehran has offered a cessation of hostilities. "We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!" the president posted. It's also not clear what Israel, which began bombing Iran alongside the US on Feb. 28, would do if the US pulls out without a deal. It also leaves open the question of what Iran might do with the highly enriched uranium still in its stockpiles. Iran had no immediate response to Trump's post. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with Al Jazeera aired late Tuesday signalled Tehran's willingness to keep fighting. "You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines," he said. "We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves." Iran's supreme leader vowed Wednesday his nation will continue to support anti-Israeli forces in the Mideast. The message from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, like others since he was named Iran's new supreme leader, came in a statement read on air by a state television anchor. "I firmly declare that the consistent policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in continuing the path of the late Imam and martyred leader, is based on continuing to support the resistance against the Zionist-American enemy," Khamenei said in the comments from a letter to the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Trump's comments offered another mixed signal from the American leader who has offered shifting objectives for the war and repeatedly said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional US troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about the purpose of their deployment. Iran hit an oil tanker off the coast of Qatar and Kuwait's airport on Wednesday, while airstrikes battered Tehran. The US has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the strait to be reopened and for is nuclear program to be rolled back. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. Its own five-point response includes retaining sovereignty over the strait. A cruise missile slammed into an oil tanker off Qatar's coast Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said. The 21-member crew of the tanker, contracted by state-owned QatarEnergy, was evacuated and no casualties were reported. A fully-loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker came under attack off Dubai the day before, one of more than 20 ships attacked by Iran during the war. In the United Arab Emirates, a person was killed when he was hit by debris from an intercepted drone in Fujairah, one of the country's seven emirates. Bahrain sounded two alerts for incoming missiles, while Kuwait's state-run KUNA news agency said a drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a large fire. Jordan's military said it intercepted a ballistic missile and two drones fired from Iran in the last 24 hours. No casualties were reported. Two drones were also intercepted in Saudi Arabia, and air raid sirens sounded in Israel though there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. An airstrike on Tehran, meanwhile, appeared to have hit the former U.S. Embassy compound, which has been controlled by Iran's Revolutionary Guard since American diplomats were held hostage there in 1979. Witnesses said buildings outside the massive compound had their windows blown out and that it appears the strike happened inside the walled facility. Israel also said it hit a plant in Iran producing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. Israel and the United States have alleged in recent years that Iran was experimenting with using fentanyl in chemical weapons. Iran acknowledged a strike Tuesday on Tofigh Daru factory, but insisted it only supplied "hospital drugs." Hospitals use fentanyl to treat severe pain but it can also be fatal. In Lebanon, at least five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a Beirut neighborhood. Israel invaded southern Lebanon after the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the war. Many Lebanese fear another prolonged military occupation. In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday that Britain needed to forge a "closer partnership" with the European Union on defence, security and the economy, citing the war in the Middle East. Starmer told a news conference that "our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union". The British prime minister has sought to rebuild post-Brexit relations with the EU since winning power in July 2024, hoping to fire up Britain's insipid economy. He cited the "volatile" Middle East and the "deep damage" caused by Brexit, 10 years after the referendum in favour. "The opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living are simply too big to ignore," Starmer said....