President Donald Trump spoke at the United Nations’ General Assembly on Tuesday, where he said that he believes he will make a deal with Iran right after the midterm elections and said that if a deal is not met, he may have to make the decision to “annihilate the Islamic Republic [of Iran] and do it quickly.”
"I can report to you with pride that America is back and our country is stronger today than ever before,” Trump began, speaking about the success of the American economy, and praising the figure that the US has the lowest poverty rate on record for the country.
“We lifted 1.5 million Americans out of poverty last year alone-another record. The African American and Hispanic American poverty rates are at all-time lows,” Trump added.
"More money is being invested in the United States right now than has ever been invested in any nation anywhere in the world,” he later added, speaking about business investment into the country.
He said that illegal immigration has dropped to zero and that the crime rate has dropped significantly. “The entire world is being lifted by the wealth, strength, spirit, and momentum of a newly energized and a very powerful United States of America.”
He compared the action of the United States to the rest of the nations in the world on ending and ceasing conflict. “So while others have talked, I have acted. While others have spoken of peace, I have made peace. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them.”
“Their air force is gone, their radar is gone, their anti-aircraft equipment is gone, their missiles and drone manufacturing capacity is almost gone. Their economy is gone," Trump added about Iran.
Trump later said, “But 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.”
He then added that Iran will likely make a deal with the US right after the midterm elections, and said that he is not up for election, but that he will be around for two more years.
“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations, but I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to,” Trump added.
The comments from Trump come as there has been conflict between the US and Iran and as the US leader has been trying to navigate the handling of the war between Ukraine and Russia. Additionally, Trump has been dealing with escalating tensions with China regarding the development of AI.
Later this week, China’s President Xi Jinping as well as his wife will be visiting the White House. In an announcement from First Lady Melania Trump earlier this week, she said that she and the president will “welcome His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China and Madame Peng Liyuan to the White House on Thursday, September 24, 2026, for an official state visit.”
It is unclear what will be touched on during the widely anticipated summit between Trump and Xi, but AI and conflicts around the world will likely be addressed by the leaders publicly and in private.
Coverage of the UN speech was provided by a number of news outlets, including MS NOW as well as CNN, even though they had said that they would boycott the event.
When Trump walked into the building, he confronted one of the CNN reporters, saying, “You said you wouldn’t be covering me, you shouldn’t be covering me."
MS NOW also had a live feed of the speech on their YouTube channel.
"I can report to you with pride that America is back and our country is stronger today than ever before,” Trump began, speaking about the success of the American economy, and praising the figure that the US has the lowest poverty rate on record for the country.
“We lifted 1.5 million Americans out of poverty last year alone-another record. The African American and Hispanic American poverty rates are at all-time lows,” Trump added.
"More money is being invested in the United States right now than has ever been invested in any nation anywhere in the world,” he later added, speaking about business investment into the country.
He said that illegal immigration has dropped to zero and that the crime rate has dropped significantly. “The entire world is being lifted by the wealth, strength, spirit, and momentum of a newly energized and a very powerful United States of America.”
He compared the action of the United States to the rest of the nations in the world on ending and ceasing conflict. “So while others have talked, I have acted. While others have spoken of peace, I have made peace. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them.”
He said that after Iran has been a threat to the Middle East, with the help of the US “they are the bully no more.”
He added that Iran has been responsible for widespread terror and killed 72,000 of its own people, and said, “Just imagine such a vile regime were ever empowered to carry out large-scale terror attacks from behind a nuclear shield.”“Their air force is gone, their radar is gone, their anti-aircraft equipment is gone, their missiles and drone manufacturing capacity is almost gone. Their economy is gone," Trump added about Iran.
Trump later said, “But 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.”
He then added that Iran will likely make a deal with the US right after the midterm elections, and said that he is not up for election, but that he will be around for two more years.
“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations, but I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to,” Trump added.
The comments from Trump come as there has been conflict between the US and Iran and as the US leader has been trying to navigate the handling of the war between Ukraine and Russia. Additionally, Trump has been dealing with escalating tensions with China regarding the development of AI.
Later this week, China’s President Xi Jinping as well as his wife will be visiting the White House. In an announcement from First Lady Melania Trump earlier this week, she said that she and the president will “welcome His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China and Madame Peng Liyuan to the White House on Thursday, September 24, 2026, for an official state visit.”
It is unclear what will be touched on during the widely anticipated summit between Trump and Xi, but AI and conflicts around the world will likely be addressed by the leaders publicly and in private.
Coverage of the UN speech was provided by a number of news outlets, including MS NOW as well as CNN, even though they had said that they would boycott the event.
When Trump walked into the building, he confronted one of the CNN reporters, saying, “You said you wouldn’t be covering me, you shouldn’t be covering me."
MS NOW also had a live feed of the speech on their YouTube channel.
