U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his policy on Iran before the UN General Assembly and called on all nations to act against Tehran and not "subsidize Iran's bloodlust."
"One of the greatest security threats facing peace-loving nations today is the repressive regime in Iran," Trump told world leaders gathered at the UN headquarters in New York on September 24.
Denouncing "four decades of failure" since the Islamic revolution, he called for Iran's leaders to "finally put the Iranian people first," and warned that U.S. sanctions "will be tightened" unless Iran's "menacing behavior" changes.
The U.S. president accused Iranian leaders of "fueling the tragic wars in both Syria and Yemen" and blamed the country for a recent attack on Saudi oil facilities.
Tensions in the region have escalated over the September 14 attack that the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Western European countries have blamed on Iran, which denies any involvement.
Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since the United States last year withdrew from a 2015 international deal between Iran and world powers under which Iran agreed to rein in its nuclear activities in return for an easing of sanctions.
The United States has since reimposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy, and Tehran has begun reducing some of its commitments under the nuclear accord.
