Key controversies from Trump’s UN speech

US President Donald Trump spoke on a range of issues at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

His roughly 35–37-minute speech covered several international conflicts, the global economy, migration, artificial intelligence, and US foreign policy.

He applauded some of the US’s questionable policies and actions, including the war in Iran and the crippling sanctions on Cuba.

He also criticised the UN and some international organisations for allegedly pursuing anti-US interests.

Some of his statements were controversial and drew public attention.

Iran war

One of Mr Trump’s concerning statements as he addressed world leaders from 154 countries was the threat to “annihilate” Iran and “drive them into hell” if the Iranian government did not capitulate and make a deal.

It is the latest of a series of threats by the US President that often suggest the destruction of the entire state, since the war which he had falsely predicted would last only a few weeks began. However, in this case, he made the statement at the United Nations, a body whose charter is founded on preserving international peace and security.

His statement also signals further attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. PREMIUM TIMES reports that a UN mission recently found that the US committed war crimes in Iran. Mr Trump’s statement explicitly extends beyond Iran’s military leadership or nuclear facilities, which Mr Trump previously claimed were his sole targets in the state.

Iran has described the threats as a sign of “strategic desperation.”

Criticism of UN

Mr Trump’s attacks also focused on the UN and its organisation. He criticised the UN, an organisation built on multilateralism, for becoming too bureaucratic and influenced by “globalist bureaucrats.”

“The United Nations has great, great potential. I’ve said that for many years. But it must stop imposing the far-left agenda ​of globalist bureaucrats who nobody ever elected,” he said.

He also praised UN ​budget cuts and staff reduction under his administration. Mr Trump said the US helped cut the UN budget by 15 per cent in 2026. This move, under the UN80 reform initiative, led to the elimination of more than 4,000 positions.

It also came amid serious financial pressure partly caused by funding cuts and delayed payments from the US under Mr Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign policy.

The president also criticised the UN Human Rights Council and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

He accused the organisation of focusing too much on the US and of promoting “mass migration and actively destroying the greatest cultures.”

Artificial Intelligence

A significant portion of his speech also focused on artificial intelligence (AI), which Mr Trump argued should instead be called “superintelligence.”

“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake,” he claimed. “It is not fake. It’s actually amazing.”

The US president said technological leadership would be central to economic and geopolitical competition in the years ahead.

Criticism of ICC

At the assembly, Mr Trump called the International Criminal Court a rogue institution and its members an “evil group of people.”

He asked all ICC members to resign.

Mr Trump has been vocal about his disdain for the court. His opposition to the organisation is due to the arrest warrant issued for his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.

Last year, the US asked the ICC to amend its founding document, the Rome Statute, to stop it from investigating the Israeli leader and his top officials.

The country threatened to sanction the court if it fails to meet its demands. The US is not a party to the Rome Statute.

The US has imposed several sanctions on the ICC and its officials since 2025. It has also recently announced plans to impose further sanctions on the court

US Foreign policy

The US leader also framed his approach to foreign policy over his first two years back in office as deploying American power to solve “decades of intractable challenges.”

He bragged about solving issues previous US leaders failed to address

“I do not believe in letting problems fester. They only become harder to solve. So while others have talked, I have acted,” he claimed.

“While others have promised strength, I have used it to make America the most powerful country in the world.”

War in Gaza

He also listed his perceived achievements since assuming office in January 2025. One of the gains he identified in his speech is ending the war in Gaza. This is false as Israel still attacks Gaza at will, killing many residents.

Mr Trump said his administration ended the war through a ceasefire initiated in October 2025 and the US-brokered peace plan.

He praised his administration for securing the ceasefire-hostage release deal and establishing the Board of Peace, which is supposed to oversee the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

“We ended the war in Gaza. We are saving untold thousands of lives. We also brought home all remaining hostages — both living and dead, every single one of them,” he said.

But PREMIUM TIMES reports that this cease-fire has been violated several times since it took effect.

The Gaza Ministry of Health estimated that at least 1,402 Palestinians have been killed and 4,881 others injured in Gaza since Mr Trump’s ceasefire due to continuous Israeli attacks.

Mr Trump also boasted that he ended eight wars within his first year in office. This includes the Gaza war.

Other countries whose disputes Mr Trump claims to have settled include: Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

His claim has been found to be false.

Cuba

Mr Trump also talked about Cuba in his speech. The country has been under US sanctions for over 60 years. Washington has openly stated its goal is to change Cuba’s government.

The Trump administration intensified the pressure this year through an oil blockade that threw the country into darkness and worsened its economic crisis.

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At the gathering, Mr Trump called Cuba a failed state.

He said, “My administration is also seeking a fundamental ⁠change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is ​under great pressure the biggest pressure they’ve ever been under. It’s an absolutely ​failed state; it’s failing like never before, and it will fall.

“Communism will never be coming to America, but freedom ​will be coming to Cuba.”

Venezuela, and the Western Hemisphere

On the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro in January, Mr Trump said, “To the victor belong the spoils.”

He defended US action in the country as proof that his administration would not allow any external influence to gain a foothold in the Americas.

Mr Trump argued that the US was now working with Venezuelan leaders toward what he called “a much better future for the Venezuelan people.”

He went on to announce a major oil agreement between the two countries, while noting that Washington and Caracas now control 60 per cent of the world’s oil.