In a landmark address in Riyadh to Arab and many other Muslim leaders, President Donald Trump called for a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out the plague of extremism and providing the next generation in the Middle East with a hopeful future.
Starving terrorists of their territory, their funding, and the false allure of their craven ideology, President Trump said, will be the basis for the terrorists’ defeat:
“But no discussion of stamping out this threat would be complete without mentioning the government that gives terrorists all three -- safe harbor, financial backing, and the social standing needed for recruitment. It is a regime that is responsible for so much instability in that region. I am speaking, of course, of Iran.”
President Trump noted that 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. For decades,” he said, “Iran has fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terror:”
“Among Iran’s most tragic and destabilizing interventions have been in Syria. Bolstered by Iran, Assad has committed unspeakable crimes. And the United States has taken firm action in response to the use of banned chemical weapons by the Assad regime – launching 59 missiles at the Syrian air base from where that murderous attack originated.”
Mr. Trump urged responsible nations to work together to end the humanitarian crisis in Syria, eradicate ISIS, and restore stability to the region.
He also pointed out that in addition to the havoc the Iranian regime has helped wreak throughout the region, “the Iranian regime’s longest suffering victims are its own people:”
“Iran has a rich history and culture, but the people of Iran have endured hardship and despair under their leaders’ reckless pursuit of conflict and terror.”
President Trump urged “all nations of conscience” to work together “to isolate Iran, deny it funding for terrorism, and pray for the day when the Iranian people have the just and righteous government they deserve.”
