Donald Trump began publicly condemning and criticizing Iran as far back as 1980, though his comments were limited and not part of a sustained political stance at the time—he was a private citizen and businessman.

• An old clip from October 1980 resurfaced in recent years (amid heightened U.S.-Iran tensions), where Trump criticized Iran's handling of the 1979–1980 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran. In the interview, he expressed strong disapproval of Iran's actions during the crisis, calling it unacceptable and highlighting the regime's aggression toward the U.S.

His more consistent and prominent condemnations started in the mid-2010s, as he entered politics and ran for president:

• By 2015, during his presidential campaign announcement and early speeches, Trump repeatedly condemned Iran. He warned that "Iran is going to take over the Middle East," vowed to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons, and denounced the emerging Obama-era nuclear deal (JCPOA, finalized in July 2015) as flawed and dangerous. He described Iran as a major threat gaining influence in Iraq and elsewhere.

• In 2016, he escalated this during campaign events and speeches to groups like AIPAC, calling the JCPOA a "disastrous deal" and making dismantling it a top priority. He portrayed Iran as on the road to nuclear weapons and the "dominant Islamic power" in the region.

From 2015 onward, his criticisms became a core part of his foreign policy rhetoric—focusing on Iran's nuclear ambitions, support for terrorism, regional aggression, and the nuclear deal as a "horrible" or "worst-ever" agreement that empowered the regime. This built into his first presidency (2017–2021), where he withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, reimposed sanctions, and authorized actions like the 2020 killing of General Qasem Soleimani.

In short, while there are isolated early comments (notably 1980 on the hostage crisis), his sustained public condemnations of Iran date to 2015, when he launched his presidential bid and began framing Iran as a primary national security threat.

Donald Trump has condemned Iran on multiple occasions over the last few decades, particularly since entering politics in the mid-2010s. His criticisms have often focused on Iran's nuclear program, support for terrorism, and regional aggression. Here are some key examples:

• During his first presidency, Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) in 2018, calling it "defective at its core" and imposing "maximum pressure" sanctions to curb Iran's "destructive and destabilizing behavior" dating back to 1979. He also ordered the 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, describing him as a terrorist responsible for American deaths.

• In early 2025, shortly after his second inauguration, Trump reiterated that Iran would "never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon" and warned of military action if Tehran did not abandon its program, including threats of "bombing like never seen before."

• By mid-2025, Trump escalated his rhetoric, urging Iran to "make a deal, before there is nothing left" following Israeli strikes on Iranian sites, and stating that failure to negotiate could lead to further "death and destruction."

• In 2026, amid U.S. military operations against Iran, Trump described the Iranian regime as a "vicious group of very hard, terrible people" and a "wicked, radical dictatorship," accusing it of nuclear ambitions and terrorism while calling for regime change.

These statements span his time as a candidate, president in his first term, and into his second term, consistently portraying Iran as a major threat......

Donald Trump has advocated for—and ultimately ordered—military action against Iran on multiple occasions over the last few decades, particularly during his presidencies.

The most direct examples include:

• In January 2020 (during his first term), Trump ordered a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force. Trump described the action as necessary to prevent "imminent and sinister attacks" on Americans, framing it as a defensive military strike against a key Iranian figure responsible for attacks on U.S. personnel. He had publicly justified such targeted actions against Iranian threats prior to and after the event.

• In June 2025 (early in his second term), Trump authorized U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, which he described as having "completely and totally obliterated" key enrichment facilities to prevent nuclear weapon development. He warned of further military action if Iran rebuilt or continued its program.

• Most recently, in late February 2026, Trump launched Operation Epic Fury—a large-scale U.S.-Israeli military campaign involving airstrikes on Iranian military, missile, naval, and leadership targets (including the reported killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei). He authorized this "precise, overwhelming" operation to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat, destroy its ballistic missiles, degrade proxy networks, and cripple its forces. Trump has publicly stated the campaign will continue "as long as necessary" until the nuclear and regional threats are eliminated, and he has not ruled out escalating to ground troops if needed.

Throughout these periods, Trump has repeatedly threatened military strikes if Iran did not abandon its nuclear ambitions or cease aggression, often combining diplomacy warnings ("make a deal") with explicit promises of overwhelming force ("bombing like never seen before" or "eradicate" rebuilds). These actions and statements show consistent advocacy for military options against Iran when he perceived threats to U.S. interests, Israel, or regional stability—spanning threats of force, targeted killings, airstrikes on nuclear/military infrastructure, and full-scale operations.