President Donald Trump declared during his State of the Union address that Iran will not say “those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,’” vowing he “will never allow” the regime to obtain one.
Turning to the topic of Iran before a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, Trump said he would pursue peace — but not at the expense of American security.
“As president, I will make peace wherever I can, but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America,” Trump said.
He pointed to last June’s U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program — particularly nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “Yet they are rebuilding it. We wiped it out, but they want to start all over again and are, at this very moment, pursuing their sinister ambitions.”
Framing the confrontation in historical terms, Trump said the Islamic Republic has posed a threat since its founding.
“Since they seized control of that proud country 47 years ago, the regime and its proxies have done nothing but spread terrorism and death and hate,” he said.
Trump recalled his first-term decision to eliminate Iranian IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani.
“We took out Soleimani … it had a huge impact,” Trump said, referring to the 2020 U.S. strike in Baghdad.
He accused Tehran of violently suppressing domestic unrest in recent months.
“Just over the last couple of months with the protests, it looks like they killed at least 32,000 protesters,” the president said, adding that Iran’s leaders “are terrible people.”
He warned that Iran’s military ambitions extend beyond the region.
“They are working to build missiles that can reach the United States of America,” Trump said.
Despite ongoing negotiations, Trump made clear that Tehran has not met Washington’s core demand.
“We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,’” he said.
While reiterating that diplomacy remains his preference, Trump drew a firm red line.
“My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,” he said. “But one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror — which they are by far — to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.”
The president closed by underscoring American strength.
“No nation should ever doubt America’s resolve,” he said. “We have the most powerful military on earth.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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