Cuba’s delegation walks out during Trump’s UN address
The war in Iran was one of several topics Trump addressed at the 81st session of the U.N. General Debate, held annually at U.N. headquarters in New York City. He framed the choice publicly as a binary: a deal to end the conflict or large-scale escalation.
“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 … or do I annihilate the Islamic republic, and do it quickly?”
The president defended the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began Feb. 28. “While others have talked, I have acted,” he said. He also called Iran “the No. 1 sponsor of terror.”
Since the start of the war, the United States and Iran have been involved in negotiations to end the conflict, including re-opening the Strait of Hormuz to traffic and addressing Iran’s development of nuclear weapons.
It is not the first time Trump has openly discussed the possibility of an attack on Iran so large that critics have suggested it would constitute a war crime. In April, he threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
Later Tuesday, during a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Trump said he believed he could reach an agreement with Iran, The New York Times reported.
Trump also said during his speech that Iran was waiting to see how his Republican Party fares in November’s midterm elections before agreeing to a deal.
Trump also took aim at Cuba, calling the island nation “an absolutely failed state” and saying the government “will fall.” The four members of Cuba’s delegation stood up and left the assembly during his remarks.
He also called the International Criminal Court a “rogue institution.”
He also boasted that “to the victor belong the spoils” in reference to the operation in Venezuela in which the U.S. government captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.