President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address Wednesday to defend his domestic record while delivering stark warnings about Iran and claiming diplomatic success in securing a ceasefire in Gaza.
The speech, which lasted more than one hour and 41 minutes — the longest State of the Union address on record — focused largely on immigration, taxes and the economy. But Trump also devoted significant attention to the Middle East, particularly Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the war between Israel and Hamas.
Trump's State of the Union address
Turning to Iran, Trump said he would pursue diplomacy but would not shrink from confrontation.
“As president, I will make peace wherever I can — but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America,” he said, referencing U.S. strikes last June against Iran’s nuclear program.
“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.
He pointed to the 2020 U.S. strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, saying, “We took out Soleimani… it had a huge impact.”
Trump also accused Iran’s leadership of violently suppressing protests in recent months. “Just over the last couple of months with the protests, it looks they killed at least 32,000 protesters,” he said, adding that Iran’s leaders “are terrible people.”
“They are working to build missiles that can reach the United States of America,” Trump warned.
According to Trump, his administration warned Tehran after last year’s strikes “to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, in particular nuclear weapons, but they continue.”
Trump on Iran
(Video: Reuters)
“We wiped it out but they want to start all over again and at this moment are pursuing their sinister ambitions,” he said.
“They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon.’ 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.”
“No nation should ever doubt America’s resolve. We have the most powerful military on earth,” he added.
On Gaza, Trump claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and said all hostages had been returned.
“Under the ceasefire I negotiated, every hostage — both living and dead — has been returned home, can you believe that?” Trump said. “I said those last 20 are going to be tough, but we got them back.”
He added that Hamas had cooperated in recovering the bodies of slain captives.
“Believe it or not, Hamas worked along with Israel, and they dug, and they dug, and they dug — it’s a tough thing to do,” Trump said. “They found all 28, no one thought that was possible, but we did it.”
Trump on Gaza and hostages
(Video: Reuters)
Referring to the family of Israeli police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last deceased hostage returned from Gaza, Trump described their reaction upon receiving his remains. “They were so grieved, but they were so happy, they were as happy as possible to be. They had their boy back,” he said.
“What a period of time that was, but we got them all back,” Trump added.
The president also said he had “ended eight wars” since taking office, listing conflicts including Israel versus Iran and “of course the war in Gaza, which proceeds at a very low level — it’s just about there.”
Beyond foreign policy, Trump emphasized domestic priorities including immigration enforcement, tax policy and crime reduction. He highlighted declining illegal border crossings and falling homicide rates in several major cities, and defended his tariff strategy despite a recent Supreme Court ruling limiting aspects of his authority.
Democrats delivered rebuttals following the address, criticizing Trump’s economic and foreign policy record as midterm elections approach. Recent polling shows Americans remain divided over his leadership, with persistent concerns about the economy and skepticism about the administration’s use of military force abroad.