Trump strikes belligerent tone on Iran during State of the Union, but says he would prefer a diplomatic solution.
United States President Donald Trump has told Congress that he would prefer to resolve differences with Tehran through diplomacy, while laying out his case for potential attacks on Iran, which he claimed was seeking to develop missiles that could strike the US mainland.
In comments made during his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday, Trump struck a belligerent tone against Iran, accusing it of working to rebuild its nuclear program that was hit by US strikes last year.
Trump has repeatedly said those sites were obliterated, a claim experts have disputed.
“We wiped it out and they want to start all over again. And they’re at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions,” Trump said, as he broached the subject of potential military action against Iran about 90 minutes into his record-length speech.
“We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon.’”
Trump said his “preference” was “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,” he added.
Trump said that after the US attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites in June 2025, “they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons programme, in particular, nuclear weapons – yet they continue.”
Iran has insisted for years that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. Neither US intelligence nor the UN’s nuclear watchdog found any evidence last year that Iran was pursuing atomic weapons.
As well as accusing Iran of restarting its nuclear programme, Trump claimed Tehran was working to build missiles that “soon” would be capable of reaching the US, echoing claims in Iranian state media that Tehran is developing a missile capable of reaching North America.
He also claimed Iran was responsible for roadside bombings that have killed US service members and civilians. He criticised Tehran over the deaths of thousands of protesters killed during recent antigovernment demonstrations.
“The (Iranian) regime and its murderous proxies have spread nothing but terrorism and death and hate,” Trump said.
Araghchi: Deal ‘within reach’
Trump’s latest comments on the tensions come amid a significant US military buildup in the Middle East, and before a third round of indirect talks scheduled for Thursday.
The talks, to be held in Geneva and mediated by Oman, will be attended by Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with Iranian officials.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X that a deal with Washington to avert conflict was “within reach”, as Iran prepared to resume talks in Geneva “with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal – in the shortest possible time”.
“Our fundamental convictions are crystal clear,” he wrote. “Iran will under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon; neither will we Iranians ever forgo our right to harness the dividends of peaceful nuclear technology for our people.”
Iran and the US had “a historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement”, he said, “but only if diplomacy is given priority”.