UNITED NATIONS — President Trump called on United Nations members to support the US war effort against Iran Tuesday as he floated a dramatic military escalation that would “drive them into hell.”
Trump received applause from most of the foreign dignitaries on hand while vowing to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon, saying he was “settling years of unfinished business” — with the Iran delegation storming out of the hall.
Cuban officials also walked out later in the speech as Trump predicted the Communist government “will fall” and accused Havana of supporting socialist politicians in the US.
“I have a big decision to make: 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?” the president said during his 38-minute address.
“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 also warned Iranian officials not to count on the Nov. 3 congressional elections to win them a reprieve.
“I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election because it doesn’t make sense for them not to. They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don’t realize is that I’m not running,” he said.
“The Republican Party is running, and I’ll be helping them. But I am not running,” Trump added, despite encouraging GOP voters to act as if he’s on the ballot.
“I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran. It doesn’t even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he insisted to applause in the chamber.
Trump framed the conflict as unavoidable after he attempted to negotiate a nuclear deal with Tehran.
“We are settling years of unfinished business. And we’re doing it well. 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,” he said.
“After giving Iran every chance for a deal, I took action to ensure that neither the United States nor any nation … would ever have to face such a nightmare.
“Even after we agreed to a ceasefire for nuclear discussions, Iran promptly violated it with brazen acts of terrorism against civilian ships from other countries.”
Trump praised the UN’s Security Council for voting to condemn what he called “Iran’s despicable terrorist attacks on commercial shipping” before chastising domestic critics of the war, including government sources who have claimed the military is running low on munitions.
“The cowards and traitors would love to say the United States is low on munitions, but that’s not true,” he told the assembly. “Massive munition plants will be opening. There are 18 of them being built.”
“I call on all nations to join us in enforcing the complete economic isolation of Iran until they stop their attacks on commercial shipping, relinquish their nuclear ambitions, and cease their support of terror,” Trump implored.
“The terrorist regime is behaving badly, not because they are strong. are strong and confident, but because they are weak and desperate. If we stand united, we will soon see a world free of the last 51-year menace of Iranian terror, and oil prices will come plummeting down.”
Trump also responded to earlier speakers who called for restrictions on artificial intelligence, saying the US “totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now.
“I’m not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the industrial revolution,” the president said. “Many say bigger than the industrial revolution or the internet itself. And we will be very careful.”
Trump promised his Justice Department will “watch it closely,” along with “other law enforcement bodies that will rein things in if we have to do that.”
“But we will only encourage superintelligence. We’re going to encourage it, not rein it in,” he added, after resisting mounting calls for regulation by congressional Democrats.
“Americans have never been a nation that retreats from a frontier or shrinks from a challenge.”
‘There is no global government’
Trump blasted the concept of the UN as a “global government” while attacking various agencies of the New York-based organization.
“Last year, my administration was forced to intervene to stop an obscure UN body, the International Maritime Organization, from secretly establishing a first-ever global carbon tax, [a] very expensive tax, to raise international shipping costs by 10 to 20%, and maybe more than that,” he said.
“There is no global government, and while I’m president, there will be no global taxes.”
“The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the International Criminal Court,” he said in defense of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We will never allow US service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us. What an evil group of people. I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately.”
Trump went on to blast “the craven hypocrites of the Human Rights Council,” whom he said “have little to say about the persecution of Christians — I mean, Christians are being persecuted all over the world. It’s not even believable.”
“It is deeply ironic that the United Nations has an entire institution, the UNESCO group of people and countries devoted to protecting cultural heritage. Yet, with their ceaseless promotion of mass migration, these globalists are actively destroying the greatest cultures and most extraordinary heritage in all of history,” Trump said.
“There is no human right to illegal immigration, but there is a right to remain a sovereign nation.”
Trump additionally used his wide-ranging remarks to tout a new deal giving the US a greater military foothold in Greenland, increased foreign investment in the US, stock market records, and boast about his January raid that toppled Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
First lady Melania Trump was also applauded after her husband shouted out her initiative to ease the transition of foster children into adulthood.
“We have acted with decisiveness and speed to reshape the world stage and solve problems that have plagued us for far too long,” the president declared.
“America is back, and our country is stronger today than ever before. Our economy is the envy of the world. Our military is the most powerful on earth. Our technology. technology is second to none, and we are leading in virtually everything.”
Trump tweaked the assembled media as he arrived — noting that the forum could allow him to circumvent a boycott by the five-network White House TV pool — after he did so Monday afternoon by appearing alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“So it’s an honor to be here. I’m surprised CNN is here covering me. You shouldn’t be here,” Trump joked before ascending an escalator that malfunctioned last year.
The tough-to-enforce TV pool boycott began Monday in response to Trump banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists from White House grounds.
