US President Donald Trump briefly laid out his arguments for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, stating that he would not allow the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism to possess nuclear weapons.
Even as he marshals a massive military force in the Middle East, Trump has done little to explain to the American public why he might be leading the U.S. into its most aggressive action against the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
In his speech, Trump pointed to Tehran’s support for militant groups, the deaths of protesters, and the country’s nuclear and missile programs as threats to the region and the United States.
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“The (Iranian) regime and its murderous proxies have spread nothing but terrorism, death and hatred,” the Republican president said about 90 minutes into his annual address to a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
He accused Iran of restarting its nuclear program, working to build missiles that would “soon” be capable of reaching the United States and being responsible for roadside bombings that killed American military personnel and civilians.
Iranian state media have claimed that Tehran is developing a missile capable of reaching North America.
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The build-up to Trump’s speech has been overshadowed by the build-up of US military forces in the Middle East and preparations for a possible conflict with Iran that could last weeks if Tehran fails to reach a deal to resolve a long-running dispute over its nuclear program.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration with negotiators’ failure to reach a deal. “They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,’” Trump said in his speech.
Iran claims its nuclear research is for civilian energy production.
Trump also blamed the government in Tehran for the deaths of thousands of protesters during recent anti-government demonstrations, although the specific number he cited—32,000 people killed—is much higher than most public estimates.
“What is alleged about Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile and the number of people killed in the January riots is nothing more than the repetition of a series of big lies,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in an X post on Wednesday.
