President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iran if negotiations fail to end the war and defended U.S. military action in Venezuela during an address Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly.
Nearly seven months into the Iran conflict, Trump presented Tehran with a choice between reaching an agreement and facing further military action. He also predicted a deal after the U.S. midterm elections, reported The New York Times.
“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?” Trump asked. “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?” he continued. American and Iranian officials met for three hours after the address, but it remained unclear whether the talks produced progress.
President Trump says Iran deal will be made after the midterm elections, and says he has decision between a deal with Iran or destroying them: "Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?" pic.twitter.com/Y5K6v4B326
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 22, 2026
Trump also praised the U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas and brought them to detention in Brooklyn. He linked the intervention to an agreement involving Venezuela’s oil reserves.
“It was a war, but it’s perhaps the biggest deal ever made,” Trump said, adding that “to the victor belong the spoils.” He described the arrangement as beneficial to both countries.
“If necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interests of the United States,” he said. Trump also called Cuba a “failed state” and predicted its government would fall.
“We’ll not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep,” Trump said. Cuban officials walked out during the address.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla later responded: “The US government proves incapable of accepting that #Cuba is, and has the right to be, a fully independent and sovereign country. Cuba is not a threat to the US nor to any country.”
Other leaders warned against threats to national sovereignty without naming Trump. French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned against a return to the “law of the jungle,” while Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said democracy was “once again under threat” and defended Venezuelans’ right to self-determination.
Trump announced an agreement with Denmark and Greenland to build two U.S. military bases on the island, following his earlier threats to take control of it. He also claimed credit for ending the Gaza war, although humanitarian conditions remain severe and plans to disarm Hamas and withdraw Israeli forces have stalled.
The president called the International Criminal Court a “rogue institution” and urged its members to withdraw. The court has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump also called climate change a “hoax” and rejected “any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control” artificial intelligence. He proposed renaming the technology “super intelligence.”
“Let’s see if I have any power. Maybe I do and maybe I don’t. We’re going to find out pretty soon,” he said.
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