Washington, Feb 25 (.) President Donald Trump used his Tuesday state of the union address to highlight what he described as economic progress and emphasize his role in major international conflicts.
The address came shortly after the Supreme Court struck down his signature global tariffs, as he considers a second round of potential military strikes on Iran. The United States has pursued the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons for decades, Trump said.
“For decades, it has been the policy of the United States never to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon,” Trump said in his state of the union address to Congress.
This comes amid a military buildup by the US in West Asia. Delivering his annual address to Congress, Trump reiterated that he would prefer to resolve the conflict through a diplomatic deal, but said Tehran had not committed to refraining from developing nuclear weapons.
Stating that Iran has already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and US bases overseas, Trump claimed Tehran was working to “build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”
He spoke of ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’, the US airstrikes last year against Iran’s nuclear facilities during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran. “After Midnight Hammer, they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons programme, yet they continue and are, at this moment, again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions,” Trump said.
The US President said Iran wants to make a deal to avoid further US strikes but has yet to commit to never developing a nuclear weapon. “We haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,'” Trump said, adding that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. “Can’t let that happen,” he 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,” he said.
He delivered the speech as public polls show declining support for him on key issues, particularly the economy, with midterm elections less than nine months away. Those elections could potentially shift control in Washington away from Republicans.
Trump is also awaiting another ruling from the high court regarding the scope of his authority over the Federal Reserve. At the same time, he is facing an ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, prompted by Democratic concerns about the department’s law enforcement powers.
Democrats have been attacking Trump and Republican incumbents over affordability, a strategy that proved effective in the 2025 off-year elections after Republicans successfully used similar messaging in 2024.
Trump devoted much of his speech to economic issues.
Tuesday marked the first official state of the union of Trump’s second term, following last year’s joint address to Congress, which is customary during a president’s first year in office.
As lawmakers left the House chamber, many Republicans said Trump struck the right tone on cost-of-living concerns.
Trump said, “We’re winning so much,” saying he’d sparked a jobs and manufacturing boom at home while imposing a new world order abroad, hoping that offering a long list of his accomplishments can counter approval ratings that have been falling.
. . PRS