U.N. Live Updates: Trump Says He Faces Choice to Make a Deal or ‘Annihilate’ Iran

President Trump delivered the remark before a gathering where world leaders typically present themselves as champions of global harmony. Earlier, António Guterres, the U.N. secretary general, called on leaders to end conflicts.

By Farnaz FassihiZolan Kanno-Youngs and David E. Sanger

Reporting from New York

Here’s the latest

President Trump told the United Nations General Assembly in New York that he had a decision to make on Iran: to strike a deal with Tehran or “annihilate the Islamic republic.” His threat, amid a defense of the war he launched alongside Israel in February, came as allies have begun to openly question whether the United States remains a credible partner.

Mr. Trump, the second world leader to speak at the gathering, also celebrated his military operation in Venezuela this year, when the United States expanded access and control over that country’s vast oil reserves. But saved his strongest words for Iran, declaring that its reign as the “the bully of the Middle East” even has he raised the prospect of driving that nation “into hell with no chance of survival.”

“I have a big decision to make,” he said. “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?”

Mr. Trump’s remarks echoed a social media post earlier this year in which he raised the prospect of wiping out Iranian civilization, an action legal experts said would be a war crime. But it was startling to hear such threats delivered from the United Nations General Assembly podium, where world leaders typically champion peace and global harmony.

Mr. Trump alternately trumpeted his own power and lashed out at nations and institutions he held up as objects of scorn, including Cuba and the International Criminal Court. He also reiterated his labeling of climate change as a “hoax” and said the United States would reject “any attempt to construct a globalist scheme” intended to control artificial intelligence — a technology whose rapid growth has alarmed even some of its major developers.

Mr. Trump also claimed credit for ending the war in Gaza, even as humanitarian conditions there remain dire and a plan to disarm Hamas and withdraw Israeli troops has been stalled for months. Two Middle East leaders who spoke later in the morning focused on the fighting there: King Abdullah of Jordan portrayed Gaza and the West Bank as two fronts of a single Israeli strategy “to make a viable Palestinian state impossible” and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned Israel as having “a genocidal mind-set.” As he spoke, Israel’s delegates left the assembly hall.

António Guterres, delivering his final address to the assembled world leaders as U.N. secretary general, opened the gathering by warning that “the fault lines in our world are widening.” He reminded world leaders that they must step up and collaborate to confront the many challenges the world is facing, even as the U.N. faces questions of relevance.

The multiday General Assembly sessions will examine a wide variety of topics, including climate change, threats posed by A.I., the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and a possible two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians.

Here’s what else to expect:

• Notable speeches: Also among the most closely watched speakers on Tuesday, the first of three days of speeches by world leaders, was Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar.  President Emmanuel Macron of France was set to speak later Tuesday, as was Prime Minister Andy Burnham of Britain. Wednesday’s speakers are scheduled to include President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran.

• Trump meetings: The president’s schedule on Tuesday included meetings with leaders including Mr. Zelensky, Mr. Burnham and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan. Mr. Trump also signed a security agreement on Greenland’s future and was set to attend a session with Persian Gulf leaders.

• Ukraine: European foreign ministers will also meet to discuss the war and food security ahead of Mr. Zelensky’s speech on Wednesday.

• Middle East: France, Britain and Canada will host a meeting on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians, a smaller, more low-key follow-up on last year’s spotlight conference on the issue.

• U.N. leadership search: The global body is searching for its next leader, who will take the helm in January after Mr. Guterres steps down in December. Seven candidates are vying for the role, but no clear front-runner has emerged, diplomats said.

• Absent leaders: A notable number of world leaders will not attend the General Assembly. One is Xi Jinping, China’s leader, who is scheduled to travel to Washington to see Mr. Trump on Thursday, and their meeting is expected to overshadow the speeches at the Assembly. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, will also not attend.