Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Mr. Trump said, while adding that he believed an agreement was possible after U.S. midterm elections in November.
As Mr. Trump began to describe the last six months of on-and-off military strikes against Iran, the delegation of Iranians at the UN General Assembly began to walk out, with only one person remaining seated.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are in New York for the annual meeting but didn’t arrive in the General Assembly hall for Mr. Trump’s speech.
It’s an absolutely failed State, it’s failing like never before, and it will fall,” Mr. Trump said in the speech to the UN General Assembly.
Mr. Trump clearly has not gotten over the incidents.
U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) that he had to choose whether to “annihilate” Iran if it fails to make a deal to end the war in West Asia.
“I have a big decision to make -- will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Mr. Trump said, while adding that he believed an agreement was possible after U.S. midterm elections in November.
As Mr. Trump began to describe the last six months of on-and-off military strikes against Iran, the delegation of Iranians at the UN General Assembly began to walk out, with only one person remaining seated.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are in New York for the annual meeting but didn’t arrive in the General Assembly hall for Mr. Trump’s speech. Instead, lower level staff and delegates were seated when he began to speak, only to leave 10 minutes into his speech.
Mr. Trump, in his speech, reiterated that he thought an agreement was possible before U.S. midterm elections in November — in which his Republican party faces losing control of Congress at least partly due to high fuel prices caused by the war. “I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election because it doesn’t make sense for them not to,” he said.
“They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don’t realize is that I’m not running. I did that already, and won in a landslide.”
"No one knows what Trump is going to say, not even Trump's speechwriters," International Crisis Group's Daniel Forti had said earlier in the day. "This year, we expect more of a contrast between Trump, sort of both announcing and celebrating his record as a peacemaker versus defending his ongoing military operations around the world.”
Trump says U.S. to build two ‘very major’ bases in Greenland
The United States will build two major military bases in Greenland under a deal with Demark to be signed on Tuesday (September 22, 2026), President Trump told the UN General Assembly. “We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations. We’ll be building two very major military bases,” he said in the speech.
Freedom will be coming to Cuba: Trump
Mr. Trump criticised Cuba as a failed state and said freedom will be coming to the Communist-run island in the address that touted greater US involvement in the region.
“My administration is also seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is under great pressure-the biggest pressure they’ve ever been under. It’s an absolutely failed State, it’s failing like never before, and it will fall,” Mr. Trump said in the speech to the UN General Assembly.
“Communism will never be coming to America, but freedom will be coming to Cuba.”
Trump calls for all countries to quit ICC
Mr. Trump called for all nations that are part of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to quit the body, calling it “out of control.”
“The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the International Criminal Court,” he said at the UN. “I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately,” he added.
Anti-UN speech at UN?
Last year's speech was characterised by Mr. Trump's extraordinary accusations of UN sabotage when an escalator in the New York headquarters briefly stopped working and the teleprompter glitched.
Mr. Trump has regularly attacked the UN and its leader Antonio Guterres since returning to office, although Washington last week reportedly paid $725 million into its budget, avoiding the embarrassment of losing some of its voting rights.
Mr. Trump is also expected to hold side meetings with Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi and Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.
Ms. Rodriguez has governed under intense American pressure since her predecessor Nicolas Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in January.
Escalator gate
Last year, Mr. Trump's speech to the gathering of world leaders veered into a rant about an escalator that stalled as he was using it, suggesting it was done deliberately. He also railed against a defective teleprompter, falsely accused London's mayor of imposing Islamic law and said Europe was in "serious trouble" over migration.
Mr. Trump clearly has not gotten over the incidents. "They turned off the escalator," he said last week in the Oval Office.
"Fortunately, my first lady was very strong and I was able to grab her back or another part of her body. It was actually a little bit lower than the back," he said.
Trump says he was victim of ‘triple sabotage’ at UN and Secret Service is looking into the matter
The offending escalator "has been checked and rechecked," Mr. Guterres's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday (September 21, 2026). "New arrangements were made to facilitate the US delegation's use of a teleprompter, they now have a separate booth, so we hope that will work without a hitch," he added.
With AFP, AP inputs
