Donald Trump Tells Iran: You Must Stop Supporting Terrorism and Proxy Wars

Donald Trump, by proposing new conditions for an agreement with Iran, told them they must stop supporting terrorism and proxy wars.

US President Donald Trump, in a meeting with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, while expressing willingness to reach an agreement with Iran, said: “The countries on the shores of the Persian Gulf are at the forefront of creating a stable region in peace and prosperity. I have witnessed remarkable unity and friendship among you. The whole world is watching West Asia, and many view it with envious eyes. If we can only stop the harmful influence of a small group of bad actors and hostility, there are extraordinary opportunities for this region.”

Trump, while criticizing the Biden administration, added: “The Biden administration, through incompetence, by empowering Iran and its proxy forces and pouring billions of dollars into them, brought destruction and chaos. It was truly foolish and I couldn’t believe it. But those days are over, and the people gathered here know what I am committed to, and there has never been any wavering in that commitment. We will stand with our friends and allies and will confront the hostility that threatens all of us.”

He also, referring to indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington over the nuclear program, which have completed four rounds of talks so far, continued: “I want to reach an agreement with Iran. I want to do something if possible, but for this to happen, Iran must stop supporting terrorism and bloody proxy wars, and most importantly, forever and in a verifiable manner, stop efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think anyone in this gathering would say they can have one. Therefore, we ask all countries to support the sanctions we have imposed against Iran.”

Since sanctions against Iran’s government are being implemented by the Trump administration, Trump, referring to this issue, told governments: “I strongly urge all countries to help us fully implement the sanctions we have recently imposed against Iran. We have also applied secondary sanctions that in some cases have even worse effects.”

While defending the “maximum pressure campaign” against Iran, he claimed: “When I left my position as US President, Iran had no money; they were bankrupt. They didn’t have money for Hamas and Hezbollah, there were no attacks, and there wasn’t even any thought of attacks. If I were president, there would be no attacks.”

Trump also, referring to the country’s air campaign against Yemen, said: “We recently conducted attacks against more than 1,100 Houthi-related targets. They agreed last week to stop their attacks and no longer want to attack our commercial ships. They said it’s enough.”

In his remarks, he also referred to America’s defensive capabilities and added: “We recently allocated a trillion dollars in the budget to the military sector, which is the largest budget allocation we have ever made. America is currently very strong. We have been working for one hundred days, and in this short period, we have accomplished things that many others could not accomplish in four years.”

After Trump spoke about the situation in Gaza and Syria, in the concluding part of his speech, while praising the performance of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, he said: “The whole world is talking about your performance, and the world envies you. Together, we will shape a region that will become a prosperous commercial, diplomatic, and cultural corridor in the geographical center of the world. I look forward to cooperating with you.”