United States President Donald Trump says he believed there would be a deal with Iran after the US midterm elections though he could “annihilate” the country.
Trump said this while addressing world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
He said: “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?
“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?”
After setting out the dilemma, as he saw it, the president said he did believe there would be a deal after the US midterm elections.
Trump again said he will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, to which he received brief applause.
Trump said: “They were the bully of the Middle East, but they are the bully no more.
“I call on all nations to join us in enforcing the complete economic isolation of Iran until they stop their attacks on commercial shipping, relinquish their nuclear ambitions, and cease their support of terror.”
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As Trump was speaking, many anti-Iranian government demonstrators gathered outside the UN headquarters, a few of them holding up signs calling for freedom and democracy and decrying dictatorship.
Trump also attacked the International Criminal Court in vitriolic terms during his speech, describing it as a “rogue” and “out-of-control” institution.
“I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately,” he said.
His comments come as his administration is preparing sanctions against the court that it plans to announce soon.
Based in The Hague in the Netherlands, the court prosecutes war crimes and genocide worldwide. The US has never been a member but many of its traditional allies are.
The Trump administration has made no secret of its disdain for the court and has worked to undermine it. US officials want the court to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders as well as a past probe into American troops in Afghanistan.
Trump also spoke about Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying: “We’re working very closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and we will get that one done.
“It’s going to happen, I think, more quickly than people understand.”
Trump has at times appeared frustrated that he has been unable to broker an end to the war, a goal he declared a priority when he began his second term in January 2025.
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