Trump thanks Syria, Russia, Iran for ‘restraint’ in Syrian province

President Trump on Wednesday thanked Iran, Syria and Russia for their “restraint” in Idlib province, even as he warned of impending, “tougher than ever before” sanctions against Tehran.

“I want to thank Iran, Russia and Syria for, at my very strong urging and request, substantially slowing down their attack on Idlib province and the 3 million people who live there in order to get 35,000 targeted terrorists,” Trump said Wednesday, referring to the last rebel stronghold in Syria. “Get the terrorists, but I hope the restraint continues. The world is watching.”

A pending offensive in Idlib province, which many feared would be a bloodbath, has slowed after Moscow made a deal with Turkey for a demilitarized zone around the area.

{mosads}Trump also thanked Turkey, with whom Washington has had a frosty relationship in recent months, for helping facilitate the agreement.

Trump was speaking as chairman of a United Nations (U.N.) Security Council meeting in New York officially focused on nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In his opening remarks, Trump spoke about chemical weapons in Syria and nuclear weapons in North Korea. But he reserved his harshest words for Iran, as well as China, which he accused of meddling the U.S. midterm elections.

Had the meeting’s official topic been Iran, U.N. rules would have allowed a representative from the country, which is not part of the Security Council, to participate, a potentially dicey confrontation U.S. officials were keen to avoid.

Trump continued a trend of flattery toward North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, describing him as “a man I have gotten to know and like” who wants “peace and prosperity” for his country.

“I think we will make a deal,” Trump said. “Many things are happening behind the scenes, away from the media, which nobody knows, but they are happening nevertheless, and they are happening in a very positive way. So I think you will have some very good news coming from North Korea in the coming months and years.”

On Iran, Trump slammed the government as exporting “violence, terror and turmoil.”

Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in May, and U.S. sanctions that were lifted as part of the agreement, including on oil sales, are set to come back into effect in early November.

Trump warned members of the Security Council that there would be “severe consequences” for those that continue doing business with Iran after U.S. sanctions come back into force.

“They will be in full force,” Trump said of the sanctions. “After that, the United States will pursue additional sanctions, tougher than ever before to counter the entire range of Iran’s malign conduct. Any individual or entity who fails to comply with these sanctions will face severe consequences.” 

The administration has been working to convince countries that import oil from Iran to reduce their imports to zero, but European allies that support the deal have been scrambling to save it and planning workarounds for their companies to avoid U.S. sanctions.

“I ask all members of the Security Council to work with the United States to ensure the Iranian regime changes its behavior and never acquires a nuclear bomb,” Trump said Wednesday.