'Terrible people...': Trump issues BIG warning to Iran in SOTU speech, sparks regime change fears — What he said

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Feb 24) mentioned Iran in his first State of Union speech after coming to power for the second time. He claimed Iran is seeking to develop missiles that can strike the United States and endanger whole of Europe. From slamming the regime to mentioning the killing of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani and praising Operation Midnight Hammer in which US struck Iranian nuclear sites, Trump went all out about the ongoing conflict.

Trump said that his endeavour from the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran is for them to say the secret words - “We will never have a nuclear weapon.” He also 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. Can’t let that happen.” Adding that US is negotiating with Iran, Trump insisted that Iranian regime wants to make a deal. This comes even as Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X hours before Trump’s speech, said that “Iran will under no circumstances develop a nuclear weapon.” He also reiterated that his preference is diplomatic solution to the problem.

Slamming the Iranian regime under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump said that they have spread terrorism and death, sparking fears of regime change once again. “Since they seized control of that proud country 47 years ago, the regime and its proxies have done nothing but spread terrorism and death and hate,” Trump said.

The POTUS said that he will seek peace wherever is possible but “will never hesitate to confront threats to America," while warning that Iran has build missiles. "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," Trump said. The POTUS also warned, "No nation should ever doubt America’s resolve. We have the most powerful military on earth.”

Trump claimed that Iranian regime has killed 32 thousand protesters in their own country. “Just over the last couple of months with the protests, it looks they killed at least 32 thousand protesters. Imagine their own people… They shot them and hung them. We stopped them from hanging a lot of them with the threat of serious violence. But this is some terrible people."

Praising Op Midnight Hammer, Trump said that they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, "in a particular, nuclear weapons." "Yet they continue starting it all over. We wiped it out, and they want to start all over again, and are at this moment, again, pursuing their sinister ambitions.” Operation Midnight Hammer refers to US operation under which it targeted Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.

Mentioning late Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, Trump said, “We took out Soleimani… it had a huge impact. Qasem Soleimani was the father of roadside IEDs.” US killed Soleimani on January 3, 2020, during Trump's first term, in a targeted drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.