Sri Lanka, April 2 -- US President Donald Trump today framed his war with Iran as just the latest step in his yearslong effort to prevent the nation from obtaining a nuclear weapon, calling the conflict "necessary for the safety of America and the security of the free world."

In an address to the nation, Trump called the war a response to 47 years of violence by Iran and its proxies, invoking the bombing of a Marine barracks nearly 40 years ago and the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000.

"For these terrorists to have nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat," he said. "The most violent and thuggish regime on Earth would be free to carry out their campaigns of terror, coercion, conquest and mass murder from behind a nuclear shield." ...