President Donald Trump said Wednesday that U.S. forces plan to leave Iran in the near term, while leaving open the possibility of returning for limited strikes if necessary.

In a phone interview with Reuters conducted hours before his scheduled national address, Trump outlined his expectations for the war effort and hinted at what he would emphasize in his 9:00 p.m. EDT speech.

During the conversation, Trump said he intends to criticize NATO, expressing frustration with what he views as insufficient backing from the alliance in the campaign against Iran.

He confirmed he is “absolutely” weighing a potential U.S. withdrawal from NATO, the military alliance established in 1949 and approved by the U.S. Senate. Trump has previously threatened to leave the alliance and has pushed member countries to boost their military budgets.

“They haven’t been friends when we needed them,” Trump told Reuters. “We’ve never asked them for much … it’s a one-way street.”

While Trump and senior administration officials have offered varying projections for how long the conflict will last, he reiterated that the campaign could conclude soon, though he declined to commit to a firm deadline in the Reuters interview.

“I can’t tell you exactly … we’re going to be out pretty quickly,” he said, adding that once U.S. forces withdraw, “we’ll come back to do spot hits” on Iranian targets as needed.

Trump said he initially expected that the first round of strikes—targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials—might lead to a negotiated agreement.

Mojtaba Khamenei has since taken over as Iran’s supreme leader, replacing his father. U.S. officials have indicated he is believed to be wounded and possibly disfigured, while Iran’s president and foreign minister have remained in place.

According to Trump, Iran’s leadership has now undergone a major shift. “I didn’t need regime change, but we got it because of the casualties of war. We got it. So we have regime change and the big thing we have is they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” he told Reuters, adding, “Nor do they want one.”

“We have had full regime change,” Trump said. “I’m dealing with a very good chance that we’ll make a deal because they don’t want to be blasted anymore.”

Trump has repeatedly said the primary objective of the war was to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and he told Reuters that goal has already been achieved.

Addressing Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, Trump said: “That’s so far underground, I don’t care about that”, adding, “We’ll always be watching it by satellite.”

He also asserted that Iran is now “incapable” of developing a nuclear weapon.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had approached the United States seeking a ceasefire.

He said any such agreement would depend on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. “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!!!”

Iran rejected the claim, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson calling it “false and baseless.”

Separately, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said it continues to control the strategic waterway.

“This strait will not be opened to the enemies of this nation through the ridiculous spectacle by the president of the United States,” the IRGC said, adding that it “is firmly and decisively under the control” of its forces.