Addressing world leaders gathered in Manhattan for the United Nations General Assembly, President Donald Trump delivered a fiery speech accusing them of leaving the United States to fight its war against Iran alone.
Speaking from the iconic UN lectern, the 80-year-old president portrayed his foreign policy as a force reshaping the world in America’s favor. He argued that US actions stretching from Iran to Venezuela had strengthened global security.
“While others have talked, I have acted. While others have spoken of peace, I have made it. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them. While others have talked of courage, America has shown it. While others have promised strength, I have used it to make America the most powerful country in the world.”
Addressing the assembled leaders directly, Trump accused governments around the world of standing by as global crises worsened. He focused particular criticism on what he described as international inaction over Iran.
Trump accused Iran’s “fanatical” regime of killing more than 72,000 of its own citizens this year, including, he alleged, 10,000 people recently slain while protesting.
“For 51 years, the fanatical Iranian regime has ruled by bloodshed and mass murder, spreading death and carnage and chaos across the entire Middle East and beyond. They were the bully of the Middle East, but they are the bully no more.”
A central aim of the address appeared to be rallying international support for Trump’s campaign against Iran, a conflict that remains unpopular both at home and abroad.
Among those in attendance were several key US allies, including French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the latest target of Trump’s trade tensions.
President Donald Trump presented his war against Iran as a necessary effort to protect global security during his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday morning
He rebuked other countries for leaving the United States to fight alongside Israel in the war against Iran without their support
First Lady Melania Trump attended the speech with her husband and has several events scheduled this week focused on her education policy agenda
Trump also hinted at the next phase of the conflict, saying he faced a “big decision” over whether to allow Iran to rebuild or “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into Hell.”
He urged the United Nations to take a united stance against Iran, claiming that global oil prices would fall sharply if countries acted together.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell to $98 a barrel on Tuesday, down significantly from $109 one week earlier.
Meanwhile, diesel prices in the United States reached record highs, while regular gasoline was selling for $4.48 a gallon.
As part of his plan to bring down energy costs, Trump said he wanted to increase the flow of Venezuelan and US oil onto international markets.
“When we have the United States and Venezuela together, we have more than 60 percent of the oil in the world,” Trump said.
“To the victor goes the spoils,” the president added, referring to America’s expanded influence over Venezuela’s energy sector after his operation to remove former dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Turning to the Western Hemisphere, Trump again predicted that Cuba, which he called a “failed state,” would soon collapse and that its people would gain freedom from the country’s long-standing dictatorship.
Trump said he faced a “big decision” over whether to let Iran rebuild or “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into Hell”
At this insult, the Cuban representatives got up and left the room.
Closer to home, the Republican lauded his government’s efforts to take on Mexican and international drug cartels that have expanded rapidly in recent decades.
‘The cartels are the ISIS of the Western hemisphere, not good people.’
He also casted doubt on the US relationship with Mexico over the violent drug rings that are notorious for shepherding drugs across the border.
‘Unfortunately, it’s unacceptable for the United States to share a 2,000-mile border with a territory controlled by enemy cartels. So Mexico must reclaim control of its soil from the enemies of humanity.’
The president also touched on the recent 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, adding that solving the Israel-Gaza conflict was a shining moment for the US and the UN.
Weeks after the UN General Assembly meeting last year, ‘We ended the war in Gaza, saving untold thousands of lives.’
‘Together, we will build a future for a people that is brighter, more hopeful, and more magnificent than ever before,’ the president concluded.
