Nearly seven months into the war with Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday while addressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly that he was weighing a “big decision”: whether to reach an agreement with Tehran or send it to “hell.”
An agreement could allow Iranians to rebuild their country, Trump said, but he further warned that the alternative would be the destruction of the Islamic Republic.
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said from the podium. “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, 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?”
His remarks at the U.N. underscored the continued pressure Washington has placed on Iran while leaving open the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the 207-day conflict, perhaps after the U.S. midterm elections in November, Trump said.
“I think we’ll make a deal right after the election,” he said, “because it makes no sense for them not to.” The Iranians were waiting to see how the Republican Party would perform at the polls, he said.
Washington and Tehran have both signaled that diplomatic efforts are not yet exhausted, with U.S. officials indicating a willingness to engage while a senior Iranian official said his delegation in New York had the authority to revive negotiations.
Tehran had previously ruled out a direct meeting with U.S. officials in New York. An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman told Agence France-Presse that the United States had attempted to contact the Guard but was rebuffed. The United States designates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization.
Even so, on Tuesday, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping within seven days if the United States lifted the blockade of Iranian ports.
The General Assembly is one of the first opportunities in months for officials from both sides to be in the same place and face-to-face.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was prepared to talk with Iranian officials while in New York, although he said no meetings were scheduled. He repeated that the administration’s rationale for the war was to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the Risk Assistance Network + Exchange (RANE), said Trump’s remarks threatened the possibility of a major escalation, while at the same time suggesting the president was reluctant to do so.
Trump wants to preserve his military options in case any provocations require a response, Bohl told MBN.
Tom Warrick, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Trump’s remarks were aimed at pressuring Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement to end its nuclear program and lift restrictions on shipping.
Nonetheless, Gregory Gause, a nonresident senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said he did not foresee any diplomatic breakthrough during the U.N. meetings or before the midterm elections.
The Iranians believe Trump is weak ahead of the elections, Gause told MBN, with the possibility of growing weaker yet. If Democrats win the midterms, he said, the Iranians believe Trump will be forced to offer them a better agreement.
Trump still believes economic pressure can push Iran to make concessions, Gause said. He predicted that negotiations could resume after the midterm elections, with the two sides eventually agreeing to a framework that resembles the original memorandum of understanding.
The diplomatic maneuvering comes even as the United States continues to tighten economic pressure on Tehran.
On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Iranian airlines would cease operating within two days under the weight of U.S. sanctions.
Earlier this month, Washington imposed sanctions on Iranian airlines previously untouched by such measures, and targeted entities it said were supporting Iran’s aviation sector.
RANE’s Bohl said the United States could continue its campaign of economic attrition by pressuring Iranian oil exports, while its Arab allies in the Gulf limit the effects of energy supply disruptions. The increased pressure would lead to more concessions from Tehran, Bohl said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday, after Trump leaves New York.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
