While paying tributes to the victims of the deadly September 11 terror attacks on its 25th anniversary, US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated that Iran would never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, as he justified Washington’s conflict against Tehran once again.
“We salute our first responders and law enforcement, and we love them. And we salute the service members right now to ensure that the world’s number 1 sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never ever have a nuclear weapon,” said the 80-year-old Republican leader, addressing a gathering at White House.
The Trump administration has opposed Iran’s nuclear programme since its return to office after the 2024 US Presidential elections. It maintains that Iran must end its nuclear programme and consistently threatened to target its nuclear facilities.ย
However, Iran has repeatedly said that its nuclear programme is for civilian use and the country is not developing nuclear weapons. Iran also condemned a recent resolution adopted by the United Nations atomic watchdog’s board of governors that referred Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear “non-compliance”.
Speaking to state television, Reza Najafi, Iran’s representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the resolution was passed because of “political pressure” from the US and its allies.
According to Iran, it is facing extreme pressure and the country is on a “critical and dangerous” stage because of the conflict with the US, hitting out at the sanctions imposed by the West. In response, Tehran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the critical and narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, that has caused the global crude rates to surge.
“Iran has been subjected to heavy sanctions in recent years; this pressure has reached a critical and dangerous stage in recent months following the military aggression by the United States and Israel,” said Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday on sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
“When a country is subjected to political and military pressure on its trade, energy, infrastructure and financial system, the repercussions extend beyond its borders,” Pezeshkian added.
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