US President Donald Trump warned he would “annihilate” Iran if Tehran did not reach a peace deal with Washington as US and Iranian officials held mediated talks in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Trump said Tuesday at the UN General Assembly he has a “big decision” to make on whether to pursue a deal with Iran or escalate the conflict.
Trump said, "Will there be a deal with Iran where they can rebuild and have a far greater country than they’ve ever had before? Or do I destroy the Islamic Republic and do it fast?”
Trump said he thought a deal could be reached after the US midterm elections, adding that the United States and Iran would resolve the dispute “one way or the other.”
The remarks came as US and Iranian officials met in New York. Later, Trump said U.S. officials had been in a three-hour meeting with Iranian representatives.
Iranian state media reported that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Iranian officials said the talks were held through intermediaries, and Tehran made demands, including an end to the conflict and what it called US acts of aggression.
Later, Witkoff said that intermediaries shuttled between the two sides to conduct the negotiations. The talks were “constructive and promising,” and the mediators would continue their efforts, he said.
The twin threats and talks highlighted the ambiguity over what Washington may do about Tehran, with the Trump administration continuing to keep both diplomacy and further military action on the table.
A central focus of Trump’s UN speech was Iran. He defended the US decision to use military force against Tehran, saying the campaign was to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The White House also framed the conflict as part of Trump’s larger national security policy.
Trump also rejected the notion of a “global government” and said the United States should retain control of its sovereignty and policy decisions. He called for U.S. leadership on artificial intelligence and condemned international efforts he said could restrict the tech industry.
“The president also spoke about the war between Russia and Ukraine, saying that his administration was working with the leaders of both countries and expressing confidence that a settlement could be reached.
“I think it’s going to happen faster than people think,” Trump said.
But the fighting goes on, with Russian and Ukrainian forces still trading missile and drone strikes. Trump’s diplomatic efforts took the form of a meeting Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the UN.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, the US State Department said. The meeting is expected to center on Washington’s attempts to deal with the war in Ukraine.
So Trump's UN appearance was a mixture of military threats, diplomatic overtures, and foreign policy messaging, with the outcome of US-Iran discussions and the next steps in Russia-Ukraine diplomacy still uncertain.
