Deal Or Destruction? Trump Delivers Stark Iran Warning At UN, Calls Iran ‘Bully of Middle-East’

New York: At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), US President Donald Trump presented Iran with an apocalyptic binary. During his address, Trump said that he was weighing two different paths, whether to pursue a diplomatic agreement with Tehran or to dramatically escalate pressure, warning that the alternative could be to force the country into “hell”.

Sharpening the threat to Iran in his own words, Trump asked, "Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?.... 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?"

Even while issuing the warning, Trump insisted that negotiations remained within reach with Iran, expressed hopes that the peace deal would be reached once the US midterm elections are over. He reiterated his view that an agreement was possible before the United States midterm elections in November, a contest in which his Republican Party faces the prospect of losing control of Congress, partly because of high fuel prices triggered by the war.

Donald Trump predicted, "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. I did that already, and won in a landslide."

Iran’s Isolation Call, Greenland Push And The 37% Headwind

Trump went further at the General Assembly and called on other nations to join Washington in imposing complete economic isolation on Iran. He stressed that pressure should be maintained until Tehran halts attacks on commercial vessels, drops the nuclear ambitions and ceases support for terrorism. He called Iran's "terror regime" as acting out of "weakness and desperation".

Alongside the Iran remarks, Trump also addressed the state of American munitions stockpiles, floated plans to establish a large military presence on Greenland, and maintained that he is someone who has made peace.

Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that he was open to meeting Iranian officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, though no such meeting had been set up. The President himself has also said that he remains open to discussions with Tehran.

Possible Trump-Pezeshkian Meeting

The diplomatic opening has gained fresh relevance after Iran put forward a proposal to reopen the strategic waterway. Earlier in the day, Tehran offered to restore passage through the Strait of Hormuz within 7 days given that Washington takes initial steps to ease the military pressure, a senior Iranian government official informed Kyodo News on Tuesday. The proposal, conveyed to Washington through mediators, was accompanied by a call for fresh negotiations to secure a permanent end to hostilities between the two countries.

On Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian departed for New York to attend the 81st UN General Assembly and is due to address the session on Wednesday. He will be the highest-ranking Iranian official to set foot on American soil since the Middle East war began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. However, Trump is expected to have already left New York on Wednesday to return to Washington to host Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a high-stakes summit this week.

Despite the scheduling clash, a direct encounter remains possible as ahead of the UNGA, a Fox News journalist claimed that he had asked Trump whether he would be willing to meet Pezeshkian at the Assembly, to which Trump was quoted as replying, "He said he would probably be open to it." Trump has separately indicated that he is open to meeting Pezeshkian during the high-level week.

Hormuz Remains Central

Now, the Assembly offers a platform to defend Tehran its case as before flying out, Pezeshkian said, "We emerged with our heads held high, and this is a source of dignity and pride for all of us. Therefore, we will firmly defend our positions in international forums…..We will make the best possible use of this opportunity to convey Iran's plight to the international community. We will firmly tell our adversaries that, despite all the unfairness and injustices, the Iranian people have stood their ground."

At the centre of the standoff is Hormuz, the key pressure point, with the corridor carrying about one-fifth of the world's hydrocarbons before the war. Traffic has since been severely disrupted, with Iran firing on commercial ships and demanding approval for transit, while the United States maintains a counter-blockade of Iranian ports and steps up economic pressure.

Tehran asserted that it seeks an end to war and aggression against Iran and its allies and wants the blockade on the Iranian ports lifted, among other demands. Now, whether Iran's 7-day reopening offer and a possible Trump-Pezeshkian meeting can create a political channel out of a conflict that has choked one of the world's most vital energy routes remains the central question, even as reports suggest Trump's approval has slipped to 37% as inflation and the Iran conflict weigh on the midterm outlook.