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3. Trump in State of the Union Speech: ‘I Will Never Hesitate to Confront Threats to America’

U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union speech at the U.S. capitol on Tuesday evening, defending his foreign policy agenda as escalatory rhetoric and posturing against Iran continues.

Trump highlighted his focus on a policy of “peace through strength” and stated that “as president, I will make peace wherever I can. But I will never hesitate to confront threats to America, wherever we must.” 

Trump also outlined a variety of foreign policy issues towards Iran and Gaza, as well as U.S. actions and policies regarding Venezuela and the NATO alliance, framed around U.S. national security concerns. He referenced a successful operation in Venezuela capturing former president Nicolas Maduro, as well as his efforts to encourage NATO allies to increase military expenditure.

He claimed he was responsible for ending eight wars, including between Israel and Iran and between Israel and Hamas.

In the speech, Trump spoke about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, briefly focusing on U.S. efforts to resolve the hostage issue and facilitating their return from Gaza. He did not elaborate on the “Board of Peace” that he chairs or on Gaza’s current post-ceasefire trajectory.

U.S. policy relating to Lebanon was omitted from the speech.

Iran

Addressing his foreign policy agenda, Trump specifically called out Iran, singling out the nuclear issue as well as adding the ballistic missiles and proxy network issues. 

“I will never allow the world‘s number one sponsor of terror—which they are by far—to have a nuclear weapon,” he commented.

On the rounds of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, Trump expressed a stance of a viable Iranian commitment to no nuclear weapons. He said that the Iranians “want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘we will never have a nuclear weapon,’” demonstrating significant remaining gaps between the U.S. and Iranian positions on the issue. 

However, he reiterated his policy position adopted since January, saying that “my preference is diplomacy.” Despite this, the U.S. is currently undertaking a military buildup in the Middle East, continuing to posture warships and military planes around the region.

Trump voiced his concern over the Iranian missile program, stating that “Iran is working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”

He also addressed the June 2025 U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, “Operation Midnight Hammer,” emphasizing his administration’s willingness to maintain the option to directly intervene militarily against Iran’s nuclear program.