US President Donald Trump blasted Iran on Tuesday as a "corrupt dictatorship" that is plundering its people to pay for aggression abroad, using his speech to the United Nations General Assembly to threaten more sanctions against Tehran.
"Iran's leaders sow chaos, death and destruction," Trump told the annual gathering. "They do not respect their neighbors or borders or the sovereign rights of nations."
Trump's speech in the green-marbled UN hall, while relatively low key, was aimed squarely at Iran, which the United States accuses of harboring nuclear ambitions and fomenting instability in the Middle East through its support for militant groups in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
"Additional sanctions will resume November 5th and more will follow and we are working with countries that import Iranian crude oil to cut their purchases substantially," Trump told the United Nations.
Trump compared US relations with Iran to what he called improved ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who Trump had met in Singapore in June as part of a still-unfulfilled drive to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.
In his address last year to the UN, Trump insulted Kim as a "rocket man" bent on nuclear destruction.
Trump also used his speech to call for international trade reforms and littered his remarks with vows to protect American sovereignty and reject globalism.
"America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism," he said.
Trump delivered a harsh message to OPEC members, calling on them to stop raising oil prices and to pay for their military protection. He threatened to limit US aid only to countries that are friendly to the United States.
Starting his speech on an upbeat note about his economic record in less than two years in office, Trump prompted some murmuring and chuckles from the crowd of world leaders and diplomats when he boasted that he had accomplished more as president than almost any other administration in history.
"I didn’t expect that reaction, but that's okay," he said.
But Trump's main message was aimed at Iran and attempting to drive a wedge between its leadership and its people, days after an attack in southwestern Iran on a military parade killed 25 people and unsettled the country.
REUTERS