Trump in State of the Union speech: Iran is developing missiles that will soon reach the US
The President of the United States said that Tehran has killed 32,000 protesters and warned that its missiles, which he will not allow it to attain, will soon threaten US soil
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, declared on Wednesday that he would never allow Iran, which he called "the world's biggest sponsor of terrorism," to possess nuclear weapons. In his annual State of the Union address before Congress, Trump presented harsh data indicating that the regime in Tehran killed 32,000 protesters within the country, and warned that the Iranian missile program now threatens Europe and will soon pose a direct threat to the territory of the United States.
"My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain: I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror ... to have a nuclear weapon. They have already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they are working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States," he said.
In the Middle Eastern arena, Trump boasted that as part of the ceasefire agreement brokered by him, all the hostages, both living and deceased, were returned home. The president claimed that Hamas members actively cooperated with Israel in locating the bodies: "They dug and dug to find them," said Trump, who noted that the war in Gaza is now being conducted at "low intensity" while the administration focuses its efforts on ending the war in Ukraine.
He personally thanked Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for their assistance in advancing diplomatic and security moves, including Operation "Midnight Hammer," which was carried out last year against Iranian targets.
"We are in negotiations with them, but they refuse to say the critical sentence: 'We do not want nuclear weapons,'" the president clarified, adding that he would not hesitate to use the strongest military in the world to defend national security.
On the Pan-American front, the president presented a radical economic vision intended to replace the personal income tax system with a system of global protective tariffs. While the capital markets responded positively to the statements, the move was considered controversial even among some of his supporters.
Trump declared that "the nation has become richer and stronger than ever before," and directed his gaze to the VIP box, where the United States ice hockey team sat, having won the gold medal against Canada — "the homeland of the sport" — as a symbol of renewed American superiority.
The speech was accompanied by sharp and unusual confrontations inside the plenary hall. Democratic Congressman Al Green raised a protest sign that read "Black people aren't apes" and was removed from the hall by security forces. Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar also interrupted the president's speech with heckling as Trump attacked the "sanctuary cities" policy for immigrants and demanded mandatory ID presentation at polling stations. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham demonstrated his support for the president's tough stance by arriving at the speech wearing a hat with the inscription "Make Iran Great Again."
The speech took place against the backdrop of a turbulent year that included the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and dramatic decisions by the Supreme Court that invalidated parts of the administration's tariff policy. Trump promised to continue the "America First" approach, focusing on strict immigration enforcement and reducing government bureaucracy.