U.S. President Donald Trump attacked Iran during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, September 25 — saying that the country is sowing “chaos, death and destruction” in the Middle East.
According to the BBC , President Trump criticized the Iranian government and defended his decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal.
“Iran’s leaders sow chaos, death, and destruction. They do not respect their neighbors or borders or the sovereign rights of nations. Instead, Iran’s leaders plunder the nation’s resources to enrich themselves and spread mayhem across the Middle East and far beyond,” Trump said.
The U.S. President abandoned the Iran nuclear deal in May of this year, an agreement set by his predecessor Barack Obama in addition to seven other nations. The foreign policy initiative by the former administration had the intent of restricting the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for an end to international sanctions that crippled its economy.
At the time, Donald Trump said the “horrible” deal should have never happened, and announced the U.S. would reinstate the economic sanctions.
“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made. It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will. Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States,” he claimed.
Laughter in the United Nations General Assembly after President Donald Trump says his administration “has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history” of the United States https://t.co/jzmYciOs5K pic.twitter.com/nzeE7DHCfQ
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 25, 2018
The deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was struck by Iran, the U.S., the U.K., France, China, Russia, and Germany. All of the other countries participating decided to remain on board following Trump’s decision to withdraw from it.
As reported by the BBC , the U.S. reintroduced sanctions that targeted Iran’s purchase of American dollars in August. The sanctions also targeted the country’s automotive sector, and its gold and precious metals trade.
And in November, a new set of sanctions will be imposed on the nation’s oil and shipping industries, as well as on transactions by foreign institutions with the Central Bank of Iran.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has called the U.S.’s strategy “psychological warfare,” and said it was aimed at sowing “division among Iranians,” as he continues to insist that his country’s nuclear program is peaceful.
During his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, President Trump also claimed that his administration had accomplished “more than almost any” in U.S. history — a claim that was greeted with laughter from the audience.
He also focused on the themes of sovereignty and patriotism, which echoed the criticism towards globalism that he had already expressed during his first speech before the United Nations last year.
