United States President Donald Trump announces a big decision on Iran amid fears of striking Tehran and nuclear talks.
US president delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term to Congress. He began his speech with a message, “Our nation is back: bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before!”
Donald Trump says that Iran is working on missiles capable of striking the country.
“They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” Trump said.
An enormous concentration of US forces in the Middle East has stoked speculation that Trump could be preparing to launch a war against Iran if the country does not accept a series of US demands. An unprovoked attack on Iran, which the US bombed in June, would likely violate international law.
Trump has again said US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last year “obliterated” the country’s “nuclear weapons programme”.
The US has deployed the largest collection of military assets to the Middle East since the war in Iraq.
Trump said his “preference” was to resolve the standoff with Iran through diplomacy, but said Tehran had not committed to not developing nuclear weapons.
“We haven’t heard those secret words: We will never have a nuclear weapon,’’ Trump said.
Trump on Pakistan-India War
The US president yet again spoke about the India-Pakistan war, saying that “I stopped a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.”
He mentioned Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz, saying that Shehbaz Sharif lauded the US president’s efforts and saved the lives of millions of people in the subcontinent.
Trump praises Field Marshal, PM Shehbaz
Earlier, US President Donald Trump praised Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif during the first formal meeting of the Gaza Board of Peace in Washington.
In his address, President Trump praised Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, describing him as “a great commander and a tough fighter”.
He said that the Field Marshal had appreciated his efforts to prevent wider conflict in the region.
Mr Trump also thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying he valued his support for ceasefire efforts.
“I like him very much,” the US president said, adding that Pakistan had played a constructive role in promoting stability.
The president further claimed that his administration had helped reduce tensions between Pakistan and India, including through economic pressure.
He said multiple global conflicts had been halted during his leadership and expressed hope that ongoing disputes would also be resolved.
