President Donald Trump is heading toward a potentially explosive confrontation with world leaders as the “reckless” Iran war intensifies, just days before his sixth speech to the United Nations General Assembly next week, according to insiders.
During last year’s address, Trump questioned the very purpose of the United Nations. “It has such tremendous, tremendous potential,” he said. “But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.”
People familiar with the president’s plans expect that same combative tone when he returns to the UN podium.
One diplomat, who spoke anonymously, said Trump is expected to revisit his longstanding complaints about the organization while mounting a forceful defense of his foreign-policy record.
“I was told he is planning to say something to the effect of: Look, I don’t think anyone is pulling their weight yet at the UN. The war is over if people [Iran] listen to me,” the diplomat said. “Trump’s speech, the [bilateral meetings]… boring. The real news is made during his sideline chats that we won’t get to see.”
Brett Bruen, a former US diplomat who served as Director of Global Engagement at the Obama White House, said Trump should not expect a particularly friendly reception.
“Pretty much every president, prime minister and prince in the world is pissed at Trump for starting a reckless war with Iran,” Bruen told the Daily Mail. “While continuing to bluster and blabber about winning, it’s now a pathetic portrayal of how he squandered America’s uniquely powerful position on the planet.”
The Daily Mail contacted the White House for comment.
The annual meeting of world leaders is already taking shape as a tense and deeply adversarial summit, with trade disputes, mounting disagreements with European allies and the ongoing conflict with Iran expected to dominate the agenda—even as Trump insists the war is nearing an end.
President Donald Trump is facing a potentially explosive encounter with world leaders as the “reckless” Iran war escalates ahead of his sixth address to the United Nations General Assembly next week, insiders say
First Lady Melania Trump listens as President Trump speaks during last year’s General Debate at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly
The annual summit is expected to be tense and highly confrontational, shaped by trade disputes, strained ties with European allies and an active Iran war that Trump says is coming to an end
The gathering will also feature a combustible lineup of figures and long-running grievances: Iranian delegates facing travel restrictions arriving in the US under threats of “annihilation,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urgently seeking a meeting, excluded Palestinian envoys criticizing the summit from afar and Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez reportedly waiting for a possible secret sideline conversation.
Trump has made little effort to conceal his frustration with the UN’s multilateral approach, previously dismissing its debates as “empty words” and calling UN climate experts “stupid people.”
At last year’s gathering, he delivered a fierce criticism of the international community’s handling of migration.
“Your countries are going to hell,” Trump told the assembled leaders.
However, diplomats who spoke with the Daily Mail said the most consequential discussions are likely to happen behind closed doors, where the seven-month-old US conflict with Iran is expected to overshadow nearly every other issue.
Despite continued military clashes in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil shipments, the State Department confirmed Thursday that it would issue restricted visas to an Iranian delegation attending the summit.
The decision comes as Trump says Tehran is interested in negotiations while also openly weighing whether to intensify the conflict.
“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” Trump told Axios this week.
Any interaction with the Iranian team will certainly be under the microscope next week.
Last year, Trump delivered a brutal tongue–lashing directly to gathered dignitaries over migration
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The United Nations headquarters in New York. The closed–door sessions are where several diplomats the Daily Mail spoke with say the week’s most critical business will occur, heavily overshadowed by the seven–month–old US conflict with Iran
This year, there will be an explosive cast of characters and deep–seated grudges: travel–restricted Iranian delegates landing on US soil under threat of ‘annihilation,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu frantically angling for a sit–down and barred Palestinian envoys slamming doors from afar
During UNGA, Trump is also slated to meet with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait to outline strategies and plans after the war.
Trump’s very first meeting with the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will also take place. Slotted for Tuesday afternoon, their sit–down falls right between Trump’s morning address to the UN General Assembly and Andy Burnham’s 15–minute speech later that day.
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mark Wallace told the Daily Mail that UNGA will be an opportunity for a strong but thoughtful reminder of the ‘human suffering and loss by a September 10 mindset’ as the conflict in the Middle East takes center stage.
‘Refusing to face the challenges and threats of our time… allied leaders and peoples seem to have readopted a pre 9/11 mindset of sticking one’s head in the sand. That is a failure of leadership and dangerous in a world with grave contemporary threats,’ Wallace explained.
Wallace emphasized that the summit’s core focus should rest on Western resolve.
‘Will they step up or will the anti–Trump sentiment overwhelm the importance of dealing with serious threats,’ he remarked.
Wallace also noted that the veto on monitoring Iran by Russia and China puts another of the ‘countless nails in the coffin’ of the relevance of the UN Security Council.
Still, defenders of the institution are pushing back against the rhetoric.
During UNGA, Trump is also slated to meet with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait to outline strategies and plans after the war
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz listen as Trump speaks during the 80th session of UNGA at the United Nations headquarters last year
Trump meets with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. His term is up this December, and the race to replace him has already begun
In her final address as outgoing General Assembly president, former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock highlighted the vital relief UN peacekeepers, UNICEF and aid agencies provide daily to millions.
‘To those out there who argue that the UN is irrelevant or failing,’ Baerbock advised, ‘I would simply say: consider, for just one minute, the alternative, a world without the United Nations.’
Baerbock suggested hostility might ultimately produce the opposite of its intended effect.
‘The power games of our times and the direct attacks on this dear institution have in many ways brought the vast majority of this General Assembly closer together,’ she said.
Bruen says the ‘second world order’ of the United Nations will be on full display next week, as republicans remain on edge ahead of the upcoming Midterm elections.
‘The post–American era will be on full display as leaders gather at the United Nations. Trump will try to put a positive spin on the mounting costs and his cratering political capital at home and abroad.’
Two White House sources tell the Daily Mail that Trump is preparing for UNGA over the weekend at Camp David with his national security team.