Trump tells UN he has 'big decision' on whether to 'annihilate' Iran or make peace deal

ByBernd Debusmann Jr, Khashayar Joneidi, Sarah Smith and Nada Tawfik United Nations General Assembly.

Key points

• Trump is additionally gathering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
• President Donald Trump has informed the United Nations General Assembly he faces a "big decision" on whether to strike Iran again or pursue a peace agreement.
• Trump accused Cuba's communist administration of cultivating ties to left-wing groups in the US, including the Communist Party USA, Antifa and the Democratic Socialists of America.
• Before a standing-room-only audience, Trump additionally rejected "global government", vowed to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine and ensure the US wins the artificial intelligence race.

ByBernd Debusmann Jr, Khashayar Joneidi, Sarah Smith and Nada Tawfik United Nations General Assembly. 22 September 2026, 19: 48 BST. Updated 1 hour ago.

In practice, a single member of Iran's delegation watched on during the president's speech in New York, in which he remarked he could "annihilate" the Islamic Republic if the conflict went unresolved.

His tone contrasted with remarks earlier by UN Secretary General António Guterres. This person cautioned global divisions were deepening and underscored the "interdependence" of the world's peoples. Live coverage of Trump at UN.

Trump's speech on Tuesday came on a day of high-level diplomacy at the United Nations. He's session more than a dozen world leaders as wars in the Middle East and Ukraine test his foreign policy agenda.

He began by touting his accomplishments on the economy, immigration, the border and tackling violent crime, in remarks that sounded more pitched to voters in November's US midterm elections than the diplomats in Manhattan.

He spent much of his address justifying the war with Iran. It has spiked global oil rates while dragging down his approval ratings since the US and Israel rolled out the military action in February.

Trump argued that the conflict had prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and demonstrated the value of what he described as peace through strength – ultimatums rather than deal-making or compromise.

"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?" he remarked.

"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it rapidly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy residents and countries again? Do I drive them into hell?"

Trump remarked he believed an Iran agreement. It has so far eluded him, would come right after November's elections.

For context, the remarks were indicative of his foreign-policy strategy of coercive diplomacy – threatening overwhelming force while keeping negotiations open.

Trump afterwards stated to journalists that American authorities had had a "very productive" three-hour gathering with the Iranian delegation on the sidelines of the general assembly.

According to Iran state TV, foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had met US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, although there was no comment from authorities in Tehran.

In his speech, Trump once again predicted his diplomacy would end Russia's war in Ukraine. It has shown little sign of letting up as the two sides trade tit-for-tat missile and drone strikes deep into each other's territory.

"We're working very closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and we will get that one done, " Trump remarked. "It's going to happen, I think, more quickly than people understand."

Trump additionally played down fears concerning AI, vowing that the US would not surrender its lead to China since of alarmism or what he described as a "globalist scheme" to control the technology.

For context, the US president argued artificial intelligence should instead be known as "super intelligence".

"The use of the word artificial makes it sound fake, " he remarked. "It's not fake, it's actually amazing. But we have to be careful."

On the sidelines of the general assembly on Tuesday, Trump signed an agreement with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland to beef up US military presence on the North Atlantic island.

In practice, the accord reaffirms the sovereignty of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but grants the US broad access to the island's airspace and territory.

Earlier, Guterres offered his farewell speech as UN secretary general, urging unnamed superpowers to recognise "that their power isn't so super".

"The fault lines in our world are widening, " Guterres remarked, citing geopolitical rivalries, wars, climate change and artificial intelligence.

By contrast, Trump criticised international institutions, accusing the UN of a "far-left agenda of globalist bureaucrats who nobody ever elected".

Notably, the US president instead emphasised national sovereignty and "unmatched" American military power. "There is no global government, " he remarked.

He additionally cautioned that the US would not allow threats to establish themselves anywhere in the Western hemisphere.

"If necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interests of the United States, " he remarked.

Meanwhile, the Cuban delegation additionally appeared to walk out of the assembly chamber as Trump turned his sights on them, referring to the island as a "failed state".

Taken together, the developments around trump tells UN he has ' big decision' on whether to ' annihilate' Iran point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.