In his speech at the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump called on the international community to take action against the threat from Iran, which he said also employs anti-Semitism.
He also said that U.S. sanctions on Iran would continue, despite reports in recent weeks that included the White House reportedly considering allowing France to give $15 million to Iran and Trump previously repeatedly saying he was willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Additionally, the president condemned Iran’s “violent and unprovoked aggression” in attacking two Saudi Aramco facilities on Sept. 14. He defended the United States sanctioning Iran’s Central Bank last week.
“All nations have a duty to act. No responsible government should subsidize Iran’s blood lust,” said Trump. “As long as Iran’s menacing behavior continues, sanctions will not be lifted. They will be tightened.”
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have intensified since the former withdrew in May 2018 from the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump called out in his speech.
Finally, Trump called out Iran’s calls to annihilate the State of Israel.
“They conduct ritual chants of ‘Death to America’ and traffic in monstrous anti-Semitism,” he said. “Last year, the country’s Supreme Leader stated Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor that has to be removed and eradicated. It is possible, and it will happen.”
“America will never tolerate such anti-Semitic hate,” he said. “Fanatics have long used hatred of Israel to distract from their own values.”
Trump’s speech also included subjects such as trade, China, human rights, North Korea, Venezuela and immigration.
