WASHINGTON, D.C. -President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Grand Foyer at the White House after Iran launched more than a dozen rockets at airbases in Iraq housing U.D. troops.
“As long as I’m president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” said Trump.
Trump went on to say that the U.S. suffered no casualties in Iran’s attacks on military bases. “All of our soldiers are safe,” he said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made it clear that Iran’s actions were in response to the killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who died last week in a drone strike by the U.s. in Baghdad. According to reports, Khamenei himself wept at the funeral in a sign of his bond with the commander.
“Last night they received a slap,” Khamenei said in a speech after the missile strikes. “These military actions are not sufficient (for revenge). What is important is that the corrupt presence of America in this region comes to an end.”
In his speech to the nation, Trump went on to say that Iran has been the leading sponsor of terrorism and their “pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the civilized world.”
“For far too long, all the way back to 1979 to be exact, nations have tolerated Iran’s destructive and destabilizing behavior in the Middle East and beyond,” Trump said.
“Those days are over,” he added.
He also said his administration will impose new sanctions on iran in response to the attacked and called on the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China to break off from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.