In his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, President Trump threatened Iran with “annihilation” and “hell,” but said he believes there would be a deal after the midterm elections, and said later in the day that his envoys held talks with Iranian officials.
Trump told the General Assembly that he has a “big decision to make” regarding Iran, repeating a talking point he’s used in recent media interviews.
“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?” the president said.
“But 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. We won in a giant landslide, and I’ll be here for two and a half years. The Republican Party is running, and I’ll be helping them. But I am not running. I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran,” he added.
Speaking with reporters after his address, Trump said that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had held talks with Iranian officials on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
“Steve and Jared had a very productive meeting today with mediators of Iran,” Trump said, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid. “I think there’s a lot of momentum for them to make a deal. That’s what we are hearing from everybody.”
Iranian officials have maintained that Tehran won’t back down on its core demands for a deal, which include an end to the US blockade, sanctions relief, the release of its frozen funds, and an end to Israel’s war and occupation in south Lebanon.
