US President Donald Trump returned to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, defending his decision to start a war with Iran. He claimed that he has shown fortitude while other leaders have equivocated. Trump said he has a big decision to make on how to proceed with the conflict, suggesting that he could either make a deal with Iran or annihilate the Islamic Republic.
Trump celebrated the US military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power and a new agreement to expand the US military presence in Greenland. He also pushed back against calls for greater regulation of the artificial intelligence industry. The address came at a tumultuous moment for the world and for Trump's presidency.
The president accused Iran of stalling to make a deal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the midterm elections in the US. He insisted that the tactic would have no effect on how he approached the conflict. Most of Iran's delegation walked out of the chamber as Trump railed against the Islamic Republic.
After his speech, Trump gathered with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen to sign a new security agreement. The deal includes the development of a larger US military presence in Greenland, with Trump saying that the US would immediately begin building two major military bases.
Trump also held talks with new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He is scheduled to meet with leaders and senior officials from Gulf Co-operation Council nations to discuss the war in Iran and growing concerns about recent Iran-backed rebel attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The visit to the UN comes as Trump's foreign policy approach, particularly his decision to start a war with Iran, has become a drag on his fellow Republicans' hopes of retaining control of both chambers of Congress during the coming midterm elections. Trump made the case that the world is better off for his leadership, saying that he has no interest in letting dangers grow for another day.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that Trump was open to meeting with Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, while he is in New York for the General Assembly. The war has grown more complicated, with strikes by the US and Israel killing much of Iran's top leadership and destroying its air force and navy, while a US blockade of Iranian oil has left Tehran in economic shambles.
Key points
- Trump said he has a big decision to make on how to proceed with the conflict in Iran.
- The US will immediately begin building two major military bases in Greenland as part of a new security agreement.
- Trump accused Iran of stalling to make a deal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the midterm elections in the US.
