UNGA: Iran walks out after Trump’s ‘annihilation’ threat

Iran’s mid-level officials and delegation walked out of the United Nations General Assembly after United States President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to “annihilate” Iran if Tehran fails to reach a deal with Washington, while declaring at the United Nations General Assembly that Cuba’s communist government was failing and “will fall”.

Trump made the remarks in a combative address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he defended the United States’ failing months-long military campaign against Iran and warned that he could escalate the conflict rather than accept a settlement that allows Tehran to recover.

“I have a big decision to make,” Trump told world leaders gathered at the UN headquarters.

“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? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”

Trump nevertheless said he believed a deal with Iran would eventually be reached, but tied his expectation to the US midterm elections.

“I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election,” he said.

Trump also sought to distance himself from the electoral consequences of the November midterms, saying he was not personally on the ballot.

“I’m not running. I did that already and won in a landslide. The Republican Party is running, and I’ll be helping them, but I am not running,” he said.

The Iranian delegation walked out of the General Assembly Hall as Trump addressed the conflict, with most of the delegation leaving about 10 minutes into his speech.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in New York for the UN gathering but were not in the hall during Trump’s address.

Trump devoted much of his roughly 40-minute address to defending his administration’s foreign policy and military actions, portraying the campaign against Iran as necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and claiming that American military power had altered the balance of power in the region.

He also turned his attention to Cuba, saying his administration was seeking “a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba”.

“It’s an absolutely failed state — it’s failing like never before, and it will fall,” Trump said.

The Cuban delegation subsequently walked out of the General Assembly Hall.

Reuters reported that Trump said the Cuban government was under the greatest pressure it had ever faced and that his administration expected its political system to fall.

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Trump’s remarks contrasted sharply with the emphasis on diplomacy from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who addressed the assembly shortly before him.

Lula said the wars and escalating tensions confronting the international community could not be resolved through military force alone.

“We all know there will be no winners on the battlefield,” Lula said in Portuguese. “Diplomacy is the only option.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also urged world leaders to strengthen international cooperation rather than retreat into confrontation.

“Military power alone cannot secure peace,” Guterres said in his opening address to the gathering.

Trump’s address ranged beyond Iran and Cuba to other foreign-policy disputes, including Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine and the International Criminal Court.

He claimed credit for ending the war in Gaza and presented the United States as a central force in resolving international conflicts, even as negotiations over the next phase of the Gaza conflict remained unresolved.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his own address, sharply criticised Israel, describing it as having a “genocidal mind-set.”

Israeli delegates subsequently left the General Assembly Hall as Erdogan spoke.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also addressed the Gaza conflict, describing the situation there as “a genocide in every sense of the word.”

Trump’s UN appearance came against the backdrop of the continuing war with Iran and heightened international concern over the economic consequences of the conflict, including disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and elevated energy prices.

Immediately after his address, Trump signed an agreement with Denmark concerning increased US military presence in Greenland, while maintaining Danish control of the territory.

Trump said the agreement would give the United States “permanent control over security and all other needs on that territory”.

“We will have the complete ability to do what is necessary to defend the American continent and also Europe and other places,” he said.

The US President has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, but when asked whether the agreement meant Washington had abandoned that objective, he did not rule it out.

The UN General Assembly, the organisation’s main deliberative and representative body, brings together leaders and delegations from its member states each year to address international conflicts, development, security and other global issues.