US President Donald Trump on Monday justified attacks on Iran, asserting that Tehran was aggressively advancing its ballistic missile program, which posed a threat to the United States. Trump stated that Iran was using its missile program to conceal its nuclear weapons development efforts. He added that an Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would have posed a significant threat to both the Middle East and the United States.
โThe (Iranian) regime’s conventional ballistic missile program was growing rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a very clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas. The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases, both local and overseas, and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America. The purpose of this fast-growing missile program was to shield their nuclear weapon development and make it extraordinarily difficult for anyone to stop them from making these highly forbidden nuclear weapons… An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people,โ he said.ย
Will never let Iran develop nukes, says Trump
Trump said the US was under threat and he would never let Iran develop nuclear weapons.ย
โOur country itself would be under threat, and it was very nearly under threat. I was very proud to have knocked out the Iran nuclear deal by President Obama… They would have had nuclear weapons three years ago, and they would have used them. But I’ll not let that happen,” he said.
Trump rebukes Iranian regime
Calling Iranโs regime โsickโ and โsinisterโ, Trump said Tehran has been attacking the US for the last 47 years and it was the best chance to defeat them. He said 10 ships belonging to Iran were destroyed in the attacks.ย ย
“For almost 47 years, this (Iranian) regime has been attacking the United States and killing Americans… General Soleimani, who was the father of the roadside bomb. I terminated him in my first term. This was our last best chance to strike what we’re doing right now and eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime. Our objectives are clear. First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities… Second, we’re annihilating their Navy. We’ve knocked out 10 ships already. They’re at the bottom of the sea. Third, we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon,โ he said.
Trump expresses anguish over death of 4 US troops
The US president said Iran backed out of a deal on multiple occasions and it was only then that he decided to not go ahead with them. Trump also expressed anguish over the death of four American troops in the military operation against Iran.ย
“We thought we had a deal, but then they (Iran) backed out. Then they came back, and we thought we had a deal, and they backed out. I said, you can’t deal with these people. You’ve got to do it the right way. Today, we grieve for the four heroic American service members who have been killed in action. In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people. We have the strongest and most powerful by far military in the world, and we will easily prevail. We’re already substantially ahead of our time projections. Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks. But we have the capability to go far longer than that,” he added.ย
ALSO READ:ย Iran fires powerful and deadly Qadr ballistic missile with 2,000 km range against Israel