President Donald Trump stated Tuesday night that he believes Iran plans to restart its nuclear program and is “working to build” missiles capable of reaching the U.S., as the United States positions warships, bombers, and fighter jets within striking distance of Iran.
In his State of the Union speech, Trump asserted that Iran had disregarded his warnings against resuming nuclear enrichment and weapons development. This followed his order for U.S. bombers and a submarine to strike Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan with deep-penetrating bombs and cruise missiles. The June strikes brought the U.S. into direct conflict with Iran, aligning it openly with Israel in the effort to dismantle Iran’s uranium enrichment infrastructure, which is applicable to nuclear weapons development.
Addressing the joint session of Congress in his hour and 47 minute address, Trump said, “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy but one thing is certain I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror—which they are by far—to have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump has recently dispatched his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Geneva for negotiations with Iranian officials to forge a nuclear agreement. While talks have proceeded, Trump has directed an “armada” of Navy warships, fighter jets, and bombers to be stationed within range of Iran. According to a U.S. Naval Institute tracker, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently in the Arabian Sea, and the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group has moved from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Mediterranean.
In January, Trump threatened to intervene in Iran during the lethal suppression of protests in Tehran related to the government’s management of an economic crisis. In a Truth Social post on Jan. 13, Trump had declared that “help is on the way.” Iran carried out a harsh crackdown on dissent, although Trump asserted that some executions were called off following his public threats to attack. “They’ve killed at least 32,000 protesters in their own country—they shot a lot of them and hung them,” Trump said Tuesday, referring to the regime as “some terrible people.”
On Tuesday, Trump signaled he was weighing a military strike against Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear program and long-range missile efforts. “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,” he stated. “They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, in particular nuclear weapons. … They want to start all over again and are at this moment pursuing their sinister ambitions.” Trump did not disclose the evidence supporting the U.S. claim that Iran has resumed its nuclear weapons development.
Trump appeared willing to maintain dialogue with Iran in the near future. “We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words, ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon’,” Trump remarked. He added, “No nation should ever doubt America’s resolve. We have the most powerful military on earth.”
