President Donald Trump stood at the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday and delivered Iran’s regime a stark ultimatum: strike a deal that rebuilds the country into “one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world” — or face complete annihilation.
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said. “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?”
Iran’s U.N. representative sat motionless with a blank stare as Trump issued the warning.
“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness?”
The speech comes as Trump continues to make Iran’s nuclear program the centerpiece of his foreign policy following U.S. military strikes that crippled the regime’s nuclear and military infrastructure under Operation Epic Fury.
Trump devoted much of his address to Iran, branding the Islamic Republic the “number one sponsor of terror” and defending the U.S. campaign against Tehran.
“There is no better example of a danger that was allowed to gather strength at the world’s peril than the number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said. “For 51 years, the fanatical Iranian regime has ruled by bloodshed and mass murder, spreading death and carnage and chaos across the entire Middle East and beyond. They were the bully of the Middle East, but they’re the bully no more.”
Trump tied Iran’s support for Hamas directly to the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, noting its third anniversary is two weeks away.
“In two weeks, we will mark the third anniversary of the October 7th attack in Israel, where terrorists funded by Iran tortured, mutilated, and killed 1,200 very innocent civilians, including dozens of Americans, and many babies. Babies. Little, tiny, beautiful babies.”
Trump said Iran’s supreme leader celebrated the October 7 massacre and called it a “service to humanity.” He also accused the regime of slaughtering over 72,000 of its own citizens this year, with 10,000 recently taken out for protesting.
President Donald Trump at UNGA:
“Iran’s goal was to complete their mad dash to a nuclear bomb from behind this conventional ballistic missile shield. If they had succeeded, that wicked regime would have been free to spread terror and death forever.” pic.twitter.com/f8DF6KolOO
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) September 22, 2026
Trump laid out the danger the world faced: a vile regime racing toward a nuclear bomb behind a ballistic missile shield, free to “spread terror and death forever, knowing that any attempt to stop them would face an arsenal of nuclear annihilation.”
“Just imagine such a vile regime were ever empowered to carry out large-scale terror attacks from behind a nuclear shield,” Trump said. “This was the reality we had to confront — the reality that far too many preferred to ignore. They all ignored it. Many presidents and many others just wanted to ignore it. They were unwilling to do anything about it, but they knew the problem.”
Trump then rattled off the results of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. campaign that dismantled Iran’s military machine.
“As a result of Operation Epic Fury, all 159 ships of their navy are now lying at the bottom of the sea,” Trump said. “Likewise, their air force is gone, their radar is gone, their anti-aircraft equipment is gone, their missile and drone manufacturing capacity is almost gone.”
The only thing Iran hasn’t lost? A devastating 300% inflation rate.
Despite the hostilities, Trump said he expects Iran could ultimately agree to a deal after the November midterm elections. He believes the regime is waiting to see election results — even though he’s not on the ballot.
“I am not running,” Trump said. “The Republican Party is running, and I’ll be helping them. But I am not running.”
“I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran,” he continued. “It doesn’t even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump also turned his attention to Latin American drug cartels, comparing them to ISIS and arguing the U.S. should take the same approach.
“The cartels are the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said. “Like ISIS, they should be exiled or detained as enemy combatants without the possibility of release, which is what we’re doing.”
Trump has designated multiple cartel organizations as foreign groups and expanded the military’s role in targeting drug-trafficking networks across the Western Hemisphere.
When Trump criticized Cuba’s communist government, the Cuban delegation walked out of the room.
The Cuban delegation walks out during Trump’s UNGA speech. pic.twitter.com/wZgsJq6VO6
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) September 22, 2026
Trump then slammed the International Criminal Court, calling it an “anti-American tribunal” with no jurisdiction over American service members.
“They’re an evil group of people,” Trump added, before calling on ICC member nations to “officially resign from this rogue institution immediately.”
Trump also ripped the United Nations Human Rights Council for focusing on U.S. policies regarding minors instead of the persecution of Christians worldwide.
“The craven hypocrites of Human Rights Council have little to say about the persecution of Christians,” Trump said. “Christians are being persecuted all over the world. It’s not even believable.”
President Trump says Christians are being persecuted around the world: pic.twitter.com/mVnd7KK8Z4
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) September 22, 2026
Trump is set to meet with several world leaders on the sidelines of the gathering, including British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Rodríguez’s meeting with Trump will be the first since the U.S. captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
