Trump claims US gave Iran “week off” for Khamenei’s funeral, touts military might

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South Dakota: US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) punctuated his address with a sharp, provocative swipe at Iran. He claimed to have given the nation a “week off” for the funeral ceremony of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Touching on the ongoing tensions in the Middle East during his address marking America’s 250th Independence Day at Mount Rushmore, the President claimed that US pressure had “broken the spirit” of the Iranian leadership. According to him, this left them “dying to settle.” Trump asserted that the US had granted a temporary suspension of hostilities for humanitarian reasons. He also stated that “we are nice people.”

“We knocked the hell out of Iran. They’re dying to settle. We gave them a week off for a funeral because we’re nice people,” the President told the crowd.

The President also pointed to successes in Venezuela. He stated that his administration’s swift actions saw victory over rivals in the Latin American nation.

“We beat Venezuela in one day,” he added, framing these instances as evidence of the US having “created the strongest and most powerful military” in history.

Beyond the theatre of foreign policy, the President touted what he described as an unprecedented economic turnaround.

“We built the biggest and most dynamic economy, and by the way, our country today is doing better than it’s ever done before. Never had anything like it. As of last week, 19.2 trillion dollars are pouring into the United States right now from all over the world. Those are the investments being made, and the record was three. Four years and four years, the last administration did much less than one, and we did 19.2 in 12 months,” he stated.

He further claimed that tariffs and a favourable business climate have triggered a manufacturing boom. New plants and factories are being built at "a number we've never, ever seen before.” He effectively stated that the nation is currently “the hottest country anywhere in the world.”

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“Thanks to our great election win on November 5th and the tariffs, plants and factories are being built all over the United States right now, and they’re being built at a number that we’ve never, ever seen before. So much more, we’re breaking records by double, triple, quadruple. We created the strongest military. We won two world wars, the Cold War, and left America’s enemies in the depths of history,” Trump said.

Contrasting the nation’s trajectory with the state of affairs two years ago during former President Joe Biden’s tenure, which he characterised as a time when America was “mocked” and “in decline,” President Trump pointed to a staggering surge in foreign investment.

“Two years ago, we were laughed at, mocked, and a nation in decline… and today, we are the hottest country anywhere in the world,” he said, adding, “We’re respected like no nation in the world is respected… and I want to tell you: the best is yet to come!” he stated.

Trump’s remarks were made against the backdrop of ongoing funeral rites for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

According to Press TV, the tribute ceremony marked one of the largest international gatherings in Iran since Khamenei’s death. Iranian officials estimate the multi-day funeral will draw between 15 and 20 million mourners.

Ceremonies will continue through the weekend with the body lying in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla before a funeral procession through Tehran on Monday. Further rites are scheduled in Qom and later in Baghdad, Karbala, and Najaf before burial in Mashhad on July 9.

The gates of the Mosalla are expected to open to the public at 6 a.m.(local time) on Saturday, although organisers said there is a possibility of an earlier opening depending on circumstances.

(ANI)

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