Trump threatens to annihilate Iran in bombastic UN speech

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he must decide whether to strike a deal with Iran or "annihilate" the country, in a bombastic speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The address appeared tailored to war-weary American voters ahead of the November midterms.

What did Trump say about annihilating Iran?

Trump said he faces a decision on Iran: allow a deal that lets the country "rebuild and create a far greater nation," or annihilate the Islamic Republic and drive it "into hell with no chance of survival." He framed the choice as ending the nearly seven-month war he said began to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The 80-year-old president repeatedly boasted that the United States is successfully confronting its adversaries under his leadership. He claimed credit as a peacemaker while defending the war, telling world leaders he had "made peace" while others merely spoke of it.

Will Iran make a deal with the US?

Trump repeated his belief that Iran would agree to a deal soon after the US midterm elections in November. His Republican Party faces a tough fight to hold Congress in that vote, a struggle partly tied to high fuel prices caused by the unpopular war.

What else did Trump cover in his UN speech?

Much of the rest of Trump's address focused on his own achievements in making the United States the "most powerful country in the world." He threatened to deploy US "military might" to secure Washington's interests across Latin America and said Communist-run Cuba would soon "fall."

Trump also hailed a deal with Greenland under which Washington would build two military bases on the Arctic territory, signing the agreement with Danish and Greenlandic leaders on the sidelines of the UN gathering. The deal has strained long-standing alliances, including within NATO, and revived concerns that the US is no longer a reliable partner. Trump renewed his criticism of what he called "globalist" institutions, including the UN itself and the International Criminal Court, urging other nations to boycott the court.

How did this speech compare to Trump's past UN appearances?

Trump's 37-minute address was calmer than last year's, when an escalator malfunction and a teleprompter glitch prompted him to accuse the UN of sabotage. This year he climbed the escalator with wife Melania without incident and largely stuck to his prepared remarks.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the UN and outgoing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres since returning to office. Guterres opened the week's speeches by warning of the "specter of ethnic cleansing" tied to Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, and called for US-China dialogue on AI while criticizing energy companies over emissions.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke just before Trump, as tradition dictates for the annual gathering's opening speaker. Lula, who is running for re-election and has faced Trump's backing of his political rivals, said Brazil does not belong in anyone's "backyard," a line at odds with Trump's claims of dominance across the Americas.

Alongside his UN address, Trump held side meetings with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. He was also set to hold his first meeting with Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, who has governed under heavy US pressure since American forces captured her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, in January.