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Trump: reining in Iran Washington, Aug 7 (AFP) Aug 07, 2018 From the time of his electoral campaign, Donald Trump was one of the biggest opponents of Iran and the hard-won nuclear agreement, which he tore up in May. His stated aim is to stop Iran's ballistic program and its influence in the Middle East.
"They are going to be such a wealthy, such a powerful nation, they're going to have nuclear weapons. They are going to take over parts of the world that you wouldn't believe and I think it's going to lead to nuclear holocaust," Trump says.
"This deal is catastrophic for Israel -- for America, for the whole of the Middle East," he says.
On February 3, Trump tweets "Iran is playing with fire -- they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!"
"From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region," he declares.
Trump tells the UN General Assembly Iran's government turned the "wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state."
A day later he denounces the "brutal and corrupt" regime in Iran. "The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The US is watching!" he says.
Describing the deal as "defective at its core," he says at the White House: "Today, we have definitive proof that this Iranian promise was a lie." "Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States."
Trump responds with an all-caps Twitter tirade, warning "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE." On July 30, however, Trump says he is ready to meet with Iranian leaders "anytime they want" and promises "no preconditions." "Threats, sanctions & PR stunts won't work," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says on Twitter.
"I remain open to reaching a more comprehensive deal that addresses the full range of the regime's malign activities, including its ballistic missile program and its support for terrorism," Trump says in a statement.
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