Donald Trump used his address to the United Nations General Assembly to sharply criticize world leaders for what he described as their failure to confront Iran, insisting that he alone had shown the resolve to challenge the Islamist regime.
The president warned that the United States could launch additional strikes against Iran that would “drive them to hell,” while portraying America as the dominant military power. He also pointed to his claimed overthrow of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and the seizure of the country’s oil as evidence of that strength.
“To the victor go the spoils,” Trump told the audience in New York on Tuesday.
Cuba’s delegation left the chamber after Trump warned that the country’s “failed state” could be next. “Communism will never come to America, but freedom will come to Cuba,” he said.
“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,” the president declared.
Trump accused Iran’s “fanatical” leadership of killing more than 72,000 of its own citizens this year, including, he alleged, 10,000 people recently slain during protests.
“For 51 years, the fanatical Iranian regime has ruled through bloodshed and mass murder, spreading death, carnage and chaos across the Middle East and beyond. They were the bully of the Middle East, but they are the bully no more,” he said.
Among those in the audience were several of Washington’s closest allies, including French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whom Trump has recently targeted in a trade dispute.
President Donald Trump presented his campaign against Iran as a necessary effort to protect the wider world during his Tuesday morning address to the UN General Assembly.
He rebuked other countries for leaving the United States to fight alongside Israel against Iran on its own.
First Lady Melania Trump attended the speech with her husband and has several events scheduled this week tied to her education policy agenda.
Trump spoke as US diesel prices reached a new record of $6.52 per gallon. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, briefly slipped below $100 a barrel before moving back above the closely watched level.
He also offered a glimpse of the choices ahead, saying he faced a “big decision” over whether to allow Iran to rebuild or “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into Hell.”
Trump urged the United Nations to take a united stand against Tehran, promising that international oil prices would plunge if member states supported him.
Whether other governments will join that effort remains uncertain, particularly as many leaders attending the session have publicly opposed the war.
As part of his strategy to bring down energy costs, Trump outlined plans to increase the flow of Venezuelan and US oil onto world markets.
CONTINUE READING: Retired Firefighter Sleeping on Ex-Wife’s Floor Loses Inheritance Battle
“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 go the spoils,” he added, describing America’s increased influence over Venezuela’s energy sector after his claimed operation to remove former leader Nicolas Maduro.
Trump then turned to the Western Hemisphere, repeating his warning that Cuba’s “failed state” would soon collapse and that its people would finally experience freedom after decades of dictatorship.
Trump said he faced a “big decision” over whether to let Iran recover 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 cast 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.
Later in the day, the president is expected to meet with a slate of world leaders, including Burnham, Zelensky, interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez and Gulf nation leaders.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also hinted that Trump may meet with some Iranian officials while at the UN ‘because he believes that engaging with people is important if you’re going to solve problems.’
There has been no announcement that a meeting has been scheduled between Trump and the Iranians, but reports indicate that mediators are working to get both sides to sit down.