Washington, Feb 25: US President Donald Trump in his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday said that he prefers to solve the confrontation with Iran diplomatically. He slammed Iran and dubbed it “world’s no 1 sponsor of terrorism”, adding that as he wants to resolve the problem, he cannot let them have nuclear weapons.
He also called for the SAVE America Act which would require birth certificates or passports to register to vote in federal elections and a photo ID at the polls.
The speech comes amid fears of a possible Iran-US war that continue to linger even as Tehran and Washington are set to hold another round of talks over the nuclear deal in Geneva on Thursday, February 26. In the speech, Trump is likely to mention his ability to direct quick-hit military actions around the world, including in Iran and Venezuela.
Trump’s address comes as two US aircraft carriers have been dispatched to the Middle East amid tensions with Iran. On Tuesday, Trump said that Iran “desperately wants a deal”.
“Important negotiations from Thursday in Geneva. Iran desperately wants a deal. But Iran just can’t say the sacred phrase ‘we won’t build nuclear weapons’,” Trump was quoted as saying by Fox News.
Earlier this week, Trump had said that he would prefer a deal with Iran but warned of ‘very bad day’ for the country if a deal is not reached. Echoing the same, US’ secretary of war Pete Hegseth also said that Iran ‘would be wise’ to make a deal and that it is the outcome President Trump would prefer.
