US President, Donald Trump, declared in Congress that he will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and that he is ready to confront any threat to America, even though he prefers a diplomatic solution.
In his State of the Union address, Trump argued that the United States had “eliminated” Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons last year and stated that Washington’s policy has been for decades to prevent Tehran from developing such a weapon.
“I will make peace wherever I can, but I will not stop confronting threats to America,” said the White House leader.
Tough message to Iran
Trump accused the Iranian regime of “spreading terrorism and misery” and claimed that it was responsible for the death of tens of thousands of protesters within the country. He argued that Iran already possesses missiles capable of threatening Europe and that, in the future, it could develop capabilities that directly target the US.
The American president specified that Washington is negotiating with Tehran, but that he “has not yet heard the magic words”. “I would prefer diplomacy, but I will not allow the number one sponsor of terrorism to obtain nuclear weapons,” Trump emphasized.
Historical record
The 2026 speech became the longest in the recorded history of State of the Union addresses, surpassing the speech given by Bill Clinton in 2000, which lasted almost an hour and a half.
However, the speech given by Trump in 2025 was not, technically, an official “State of the Union” address.
The record for the shortest State of the Union address is held by Richard Nixon, who spoke for less than 30 minutes in 1972.