In his inaugural significant address in Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump targeted Iran, asserting that Tehran must decide between renouncing nuclear ambitions permanently or facing severe consequences at his hands.
“Should Iran’s leaders turn down our peaceful approach and persist in their regional aggressions, our only option will be to apply extreme pressure relentlessly,” Trump declared in a speech to business figures in Riyadh.
“The choice is theirs to make,” he added.
President Donald Trump addresses the Saudi-U.S. investment summit held at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump asserted the Biden administration’s removal of some sanctions on Tehran as the chief method in how Iran financed terrorist organizations, including Hamas, which he argued led to the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for President Joe Biden for comment on Trump’s claims.
“If only the Iranian regime had focused on building their nation up instead of tearing the region down,” Trump continued. “Yet I’m here today not merely to condemn the past chaos of Iran’s leaders, but to offer them a new path and a much better path toward a far better and more hopeful future.
“In the case of Iran, I have never believed in having permanent enemies,” he said. “Enemies get you motivated.
U.S Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff shakes hands with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Muscat, Oman, April 12, 2025. (Oman News Agency/ Handout via Reuters)
“In fact, some of the closest friends of the United States of America are nations we fought wars against in generations past,” Trump pointed out.
It is unclear how Trump’s negative comments toward Tehran could impact ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.
The Iranian representative to the U.N. Mission in New York did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.
