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NCRI Staff<\/p>\n
NCRI –\u00a0US President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union Address last night. The annual message is a tradition which is presented by the president to a joint session of Congress and it includes an economic report of the nation and a budget message. The president also takes the opportunity to speak about their priorities and legislative agenda.<\/p>\n
President Trump spoke about the challenges the US faces with regards to China and Russia and of course the North Korean nuclear threat.<\/p>\n
He also spoke about the threat coming from Iran and compared his approach to the recent protests with that of his predecessor. At the end of last year, the people of Iran took to the streets to protest against the economic situation that the corrupt Iranian regime is making worse. However, the protests spread like wildfire and they quickly turned into anti-government demonstrations.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of January when the protests were in full force, Trump tweeted about the corrupt regime. He wrote: \u201cThe people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their \u201cpockets.\u201d The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!\u201d<\/p>\n
A few days before this he had said that the Iranian regime should \u201crespect their people\u2019s rights, including [their] right to express themselves\u201d. This is in contrast to former president Barack Obama\u2019s reaction to the 2009 protests in Iran. Obama remained silent with regards to the people who were being brutally suppressed by the authorities and he admitted that he did not want to meddle in Iranian politics. However, human rights violations need to be upheld everywhere. You cannot just turn a blind eye to it just for the sake of politics.<\/p>\n
At the State of the Union Address, Trump reaffirmed his support for the people of Iran. In criticism of his predecessor, he said: \u201cWhen the people of Iran rose up against the crimes of their corrupt dictatorship, I did not stay silent.\u201d He was met with applause from the assembled lawmakers when he said: \u201cAmerica stands with the people of Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has been very critical of Obama\u2019s whole approach towards Iran \u2013 not just the silences regarding the 2009 protests, but also the many occasions where he made America look weak. Obama gave so many concessions to the Iranian regime during the nuclear negotiations and he failed to bring up some of the most crucial issues that should have been addressed.<\/p>\n
Trump is very critical of these missed opportunities but has vowed to curb the Iran threat. He realises that the nuclear threat is only one of many threats that Iran poses. He has criticised the regime\u2019s meddling across the Middle East and has called it out on its terrorist activities.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, he said: \u201cIran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NCRI Staff NCRI – US President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union Address last night. The annual message is a tradition which is presented by the president […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[178],"class_list":{"0":"post-24264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-iran-protests","7":"tag-save"},"yoast_head":"\n