Donald Trump vows longer border wall in State of the Union address

Washington: US President Donald Trump tended his hand to Iran and said during his State of the Union address that the relationship between the two countries depends only on Tehran. Trump said on Tuesday that US sanctions are hurting the Iranian economy and that his country could prevent this, adding that relieving the pressure on Tehran “depended on them.”

The US President added that Iran had to abandon its nuclear program, ‘stop expanding terror’ and work for the good of its own people. He also boasted of having killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and called him “the world’s greatest terrorist.”

The leader also mentioned the death of slain Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, assuring the extremist group had been ‘100 percent destroyed’, Efe news reported.

However, he added his government is working to end wars in the Middle East, promoting his newly announced Israel and Palestine peace plan.

Trump also spoke of his project to protect the US border with Mexico, saying more than 800 km would be built to separate the two.

He said about 165 km

had already been built to combat the entry of undocumented immigrants through the US southern border.

The US President also boasted of having reduced the flow of immigrants from Mexico, which he said had decreased by 75 percent since May, as a result of his administration’s efforts.

The Washington Post newspaper January 13 that Trump plans to divert another $7.2 billion from the Pentagon budget for the construction of the wall with Mexico. The funds would allow the Executive to build some 1,400 km of wall along the border, which stretches 3,170 km.

He said illegal migrants would be quickly deported and that his government had worked with those of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to address a situation he called a “humanitarian crisis.”

In May alone, 132,859 immigrants were arrested, a figure not seen since March 2006. Trump also praised Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who attended the Tuesday speech and whom he recognizes as the country’s interim president. He told Guaido that Americans were united with the Venezuelan people and that he would challenge Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro, calling him a socialist dictator.

From among the guests of the White House, Guaido stood up after hearing Trump and greeted the President and people in the room. Trump’s tribute to Guaido was received with an ovation by both senators and congressmen, and with the applause of the president of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (IANS)

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