World

Trump criticizes Iran as ‘corrupt dictatorship’ in UN speech

September 25, 2018
US President Donald Trump addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. — Reuters
US President Donald Trump addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. — Reuters

NEW YORK — US President Donald Trump criticized Iran on Tuesday as a “corrupt dictatorship” that is plundering the Iranian people to pay for aggression abroad, using his speech to the United Nations General Assembly to lay down a tough message for Tehran.

“Iran’s leaders sow chaos, death and destruction,” Trump told the annual gathering. “They do not respect their neighbors or borders or the sovereign rights of nations.”

Trump compared US relations with Iran to what he called improved ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, praising him for halting nuclear and missile tests and returning some US remains from the 1950s Korean War. Trump had called Kim a “rocket man” bent on nuclear destruction in his UN speech last year.

Trump used his speech to call for international trade reforms and insist that his main objective as president is to protect American sovereignty.

And Trump prompted some murmuring from the crowd of world leaders and diplomats when he declared that he had accomplished more as president than almost any other administration in history.

“I didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay,” he said.

But Trump’s main message was aimed at Iran and attempting to drive a wedge between its leadership and its people, days after an attack in southwestern Iran on a military parade killed 25 people and unsettled the country.

In remarks to reporters on his way to his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Trump said he would not meet the Iranians until they “change their tune.”

“Iran has acted very badly,” said Trump. “We look forward to having a great relationship with Iran, but it won’t happen now.”

“Despite requests, I have no plans to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani,” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter earlier on Tuesday.

Trump’s administration is pushing allies to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero as Washington prepares to restore sanctions on Iran’s oil sales in November. — Reuters


September 25, 2018
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