U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22 that he had to choose whether to “annihilate” Iran if it fails to make a deal to end the Middle East war.
“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Trump said, while adding that he believed an agreement was possible after U.S. midterm elections in November.
Trump also said that Iran is “waiting to see how I do in the midterm election,” adding that he is not running and will not let election affect his Iran policy.
The U.S. president touted his decision to confront Iran in the beginning of his speech before the United Nations General Assembly.
“As president of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester; they only become harder to solve. While others have talked, I have acted,” Trump said.
“There is no better example of a danger that is allowed to gather strength at the world’s peril than the number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he asserted. “They were the bully of the Middle East, but they are the bully no more.”
He recalled having long pledged to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while highlighting that he still offered to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the problem upon taking office last year.
“They absolutely refused. That was a big mistake,” he says, noting that it led to his decision to strike three of Iran’s nuclear sites in June 2025.
Trump again claimed the U.S. “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, even though Tehran still has others enrichment sites, including Pickaxe, which Trump has threatened to bomb in recent weeks. Iran also has stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that can be quickly converted into a nuclear weapon.
Trump lamented that Iran refused to make a deal after the U.S. strikes in June 2025 and instead began building a “vast missile and drone stockpile that threatened the security of every American service member in the region and everyone else in the region.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that Washington is open to talks with Iranian officials on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, although no meeting has been scheduled.
“We’re open to that,” Rubio told NBC’s “Today” show, adding that any talks should have the potential to produce a positive outcome and ultimately prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
A senior Iranian official, meanwhile, told Reuters that Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if Washington eases military pressure and lifts its blockade
