Sept. 22 (UPI) — President Donald Trump told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that he has a decision to make on Iran-make a deal to end the war or “annihilate the Islamic republic.”
The war in Iran was one of several topics Trump addressed at the 81st session of the U.N. General Debate, held annually at U.N. headquarters in New York City. He called Iran “the No. 1 sponsor of terror.”
“While others have talked, I have acted,” he said of the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran beginning Feb. 28.
Since the start of the war, the United States and Iran have been involved in negotiations to end the conflict, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz to traffic and addressing Iran’s development of nuclear weapons.
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said in his speech Tuesday. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before … or do I annihilate the Islamic republic, and do it quickly?”
It’s not the first time Trump has openly discussed the idea of an attack on Iran so large critics suggest it would constitute a war crime. In April, he threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran didn’t re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
Later, during a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Trump said he believed he could reach an agreement with Iran, The New York Times reported.
During his speech, he said Iran was waiting to see how his Republican Party fares in November’s midterm elections before agreeing to a deal.
Trump also took aim at Cuba in his speech, calling the island nation “an absolutely failed state,” saying that the government “will fall.” The four members of Cuba’s delegation stood up and left the assembly during the comments.
He called the International Criminal Court a “rogue institution” and boasted that “to the victor belong the spoils” in regards to the operation in Venezuela in which the U.S. government captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Source: U.S. News
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