Precious Nwonu, Enugu
Iranian delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly during President Donald Trump’s address on Tuesday after the US leader warned that he could “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if Tehran failed to reach an agreement with Washington.
Trump made the remarks during a wide-ranging speech at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he defended the US military campaign against Iran and maintained that Washington would not allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.
About 10 minutes into Trump’s speech, most members of the Iranian delegation left the General Assembly chamber as the US President turned his attention to the conflict with Iran. One lower-level Iranian diplomat reportedly remained in the hall for the rest of the address.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in New York for the UN gathering but were not present in the chamber during Trump’s speech.
Trump told world leaders that he faced a choice between reaching an agreement that would allow Iran to rebuild or destroying the Islamic Republic.
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said, before outlining the two options he claimed were available to his administration.
He said he believed an agreement could eventually be reached with Tehran, suggesting that negotiations could resume after the US midterm elections.
Trump also urged countries to increase economic pressure on Iran and linked the conflict to the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy route.
The US President portrayed his military campaign as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and argued that American military action had changed the balance of power in the Middle East.
Hours after his address, however, Trump told reporters that US and Iranian officials had held a meeting in New York that lasted about three hours. He described the talks as positive but did not disclose detailed information about the discussions.
The reported meeting came despite the sharply confrontational tone of Trump’s remarks at the UN and represented the first confirmed direct contact between US and Iranian officials in months, according to reports.
Trump also turned his attention to Cuba during the speech, describing its communist government as a failing state and predicting that it would eventually fall.
“It’s an absolutely failed state — it’s failing like never before, and it will fall,” he said.
Members of the Cuban delegation subsequently left the General Assembly chamber.
Trump’s comments on Iran and Cuba contrasted with calls from other world leaders for greater emphasis on diplomacy and international cooperation.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who addressed the assembly before Trump, said military force could not provide lasting solutions to the conflicts confronting the international community.
“We all know there will be no winners on the battlefield. Diplomacy is the only option,” Lula said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also urged member states to strengthen international cooperation, warning that military power alone could not guarantee peace.
Trump devoted much of his approximately 40-minute address to defending his administration’s foreign policy, including its handling of conflicts involving Iran, Gaza, Ukraine and Venezuela.
He also claimed that the United States had played a central role in efforts to end the conflict in Gaza, while negotiations over the next phase of the war continued.
The Gaza conflict featured prominently in other speeches at the assembly. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply criticised Israel’s conduct in Gaza, while Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, described the situation in the Palestinian territory as “a genocide in every sense of the word.”
Israeli delegates left the General Assembly chamber during Erdogan’s speech.
Trump’s appearance at the UN came as the conflict with Iran continued to raise concerns over regional security, global energy supplies and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US President also announced a new security arrangement involving the United States, Denmark and Greenland, under which Washington is expected to expand its military presence on the island while Greenland remains under Danish sovereignty.
The agreement followed Trump’s repeated expressions of interest in acquiring Greenland and his administration’s push for greater US strategic presence in the Arctic.
The 81st UN General Assembly is bringing together leaders and representatives from member states to discuss conflicts, international security, economic issues, development and other global challenges.
