Cartoon by Awantha Artigala

Trump puts Iran pressure front and center at Presidential rally

Iran International: President Donald Trump told hostage families he would have deprived Iran of the money to aid the Oct. 7 attack, putting the Mideast crisis at the center of his first rally since being sworn in on Monday.

We've got to stop some wars there are some stupid things going on," Trump told thousands of supporters at an indoor gathering in Washington DC.

"Israel would've never been hit on Oct. 7," Trump said. "Iran was broke. Anyone that bought oil from Iran ... China passed, everybody passed."

The newly-minted head of state, an Iran hawk whose sanctions piled pressure on Iran's oil revenue in his first term and hit Tehran's spending on armed allies in the region, also ordered a deadly drone strike on a top Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani.

Since that 2020 attack, Iranian officials have blasted Trump in strong terms but since his November re-election have in some quarters softened their tone and mooted talks.

"They were broke they didn't have money for Hamas, they didn't have money for Hezbollah," Trump continued, and said to the families: "your sons would be alive and they certainly wouldn't be incarcerated where they are, it's such a shame."

Later in the evening Trump inked a raft of executive orders at the White House, telling reporters that Israel had weakened Iran badly over a 15-month conflict in the region.

"They're weakened in a different way, the one attack by Israel really set them back - the pagers," Trump said, referring to an attack on Hezbollah leaders' communication devices last year which maimed many and injured Iran's envoy to Lebanon.

"And others," Trump added. "The attack on air defense was a bad attack for Iran."

Israel appears to have knocked out much of Iran's anti-air capability with an Oct. 26 series of air raids in retaliation for an Islamic Republic missile attack on Israel.

Speaking before Trump at the rally, his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who was instrumental in talks which led to a Gaza-Israel ceasefire last week, told rally-goers Trump could solve the region's deepest problems.

"President Trump's leadership has redefined what is possible in the pursuit of progress and stability in the Middle East. his decisive pragmatic approach ensures that even the most entrenched conflicts are met with fresh perspectives and innovative strategies."

Trump counted the so-called Abraham Accords between several Arab countries and Israel as one of the top accomplishments of his first term.

Witkoff said with Trump's leadership he "would be engaging with leaders across the region to find pathways toward sustainable peace and stability."

"Every nation deserves the right to determine its own destiny free from the interference of foreign powers," he added, in a possible reference to regional states in Iran's orbit.