Closing summary
Donald Trump has called on nations to unite to isolate Tehran and bring down global energy prices, as he gave a bellicose defence of his administration’s foreign policy and decision to strike Iran. “I call on all nations to help to enforce the complete economic isolation of Iran,” the US president said in a speech to the UN general assembly on Tuesday. “If we stand united, we will soon see a world free of the last 51-year menace of Iranian terror … and oil prices will come plummeting down even lower than they were at the start of the conflict.” It comes as numerous US allies have complained about soaring energy prices and growing international instability during his US administration.
During the speech, Trump repeated a threat to “annihilate” Iran, which he has made dozens of times since the US and Israel launched joint strikes in February. “I have a big decision to make: will a deal be made with Iran that let them rebuild and create a far greater country than ever was before,” he said. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill or destroy people and continents?” Trump denied that he was under political pressure to end the war and said the upcoming US midterm elections would have absolutely no influence on his decision-making around the conflict. He also denied that the US was running short of critical munitions (“we have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using”).
Trump also expressed support for a diesel ban amid price soars due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. When asked about the issue at a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said: “I’ve called for that too. I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel. That could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline.”
Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah II told the assembly that global political inaction on Israel is a wilful “choice”, and the result is a “state without restraint”. He said that preventing the creation of a Palestinian state has become firm Israeli policy, and that Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank is “a war crime”.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, which he said has become “the most inhuman and shameful concentration camp of our time”. He called on member nations to exert “greater pressure on Israel” to end its war and expressed his hope for a future Palestinian state.
Away from the UN general assembly, Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said that Tehran would “undoubtedly intensify” its response if the US launched new attacks on the Islamic republic. “If they act recklessly and history repeats itself, our resistance will undoubtedly intensify, bolstered by the experience we have gained. This time, we will not merely retaliate; we will adopt an offensive posture, and America will come to regret its actions, suffering greater humiliation than ever before,” said Mohebi in an interview with AFP.
Mohebi said that the United States had tried to establish contact with the Guards, but they had rebuffed the effort. “The Americans have tried to contact us but we refuse any such contact. Our dealings with the enemy – as long as they remain hostile – are conducted solely through arms,” said Mohebi, adding that diplomacy was handled by Iran’s foreign ministry.
Russian president Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman today, Reuters reported. They discussed the security situation in the Gulf and the need to keep vital waterways open, according to the Kremlin.
Gaza’s health ministry said in its latest update that at least 1,399 people have been killed by Israeli attacks since a supposed ‘ceasefire’ was signed between Israel and Hamas last October. Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to implement a broader plan by the US to end the war on Gaza, which includes the Israeli withdrawal from the strip and the disarmament of Hamas. Israel says Hamas has been violating the deal.
The UK agreed to provide defensive air support to Saudi Arabia to help counter Houthi fighters and restore stability in the Middle East while driving down the cost of living at home, Andy Burnham has said, ahead of his first meeting with Donald Trump. The prime minister said he had agreed to a request for air-to-air refuelling of Saudi jets to defend energy infrastructure against the Iran-backed rebels and help keep oil flowing from the Gulf to ease global economic turmoil.
The renewed US-Iran efforts to resolve the dispute about control of the strait of Hormuz comes amid reports of Saudi Arabia attacking areas under Houthi control in Yemen. Among the latest reports is of an attack by Saudi Arabia on a prison in northwestern Yemen that killed nine detainees, according to a Houthi official, who spoke to the Saba news agency, which is affiliated with the Iran-backed militia.
According to a report in the New York Times, Donald Trump has wavered for weeks over whether to act on appeals from Saudi Arabia for military help in fighting the Houthis. On Wednesday, the president had reportedly met with advisers and said he did not favour strikes.
Iran’s national airline said it had not received any ban on serving neighbouring countries, a day before US sanctions are due to be tightened against the Iranian aviation sector. “Iran Air has not received any notification or official instruction from the civil aviation authorities of Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, or Iraq regarding a halt or suspension of the airline’s flights to Istanbul, Baku and Najaf,” the company said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.
Trump has expressed support for a diesel ban amid price soars due to the conflict in the Middle East.
When asked about the issue at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said: “I’ve called for that too. I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel. That could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that Washington was examining “whether it’s feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.”
Here’s my colleague Andrew Roth’s report on Donald Trump calling on nations to unite to isolate Tehran and bring down global energy prices, as he gave a bellicose defence of his administration’s foreign policy and decision to strike Iran in his UN speech earlier.
World inaction on Israel is a 'choice' and its actions in West Bank are a 'war crime', says Jordan's King Abdullah
Addressing the assembly earlier, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said the occupation of Palestinian territories is one of the world’s longest-running occupations, and it raises a basic question: “What exactly is [international] law worth, and how can we enforce it if we won’t even call out its violations?”
“For decades, I stood before this assembly and warned of the dangers of leaving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict unresolved,” he said, in comments quoted by Al Jazeera. “But the international community chose to manage the conflict, not confront it.”
“Every new Israeli violation was treated as temporary,” he said, “until temporary became permanent, and permanent became policy.”
He said that preventing the creation of a Palestinian state has become firm Israeli policy.
Squeezing Palestinians into a third of Gaza can no longer “be dismissed as temporary military measures or a consequence of war”, he said.
He said that was been unfolding in the occupied West Bank is not a series of isolated acts but rather “elements of a single policy to compel an entire population to leave their land. And there is a name for that: forced displacement. And that is a war crime.”
The world must abandon any illusion that Gaza and the West Bank are separate stories, he said. “They are not. They are two fronts of the same Israeli strategy. In both, Palestinians are being killed.”
King Abdullah went on to say that global political inaction on Israel is a wilful “choice”, and the result is a “state without restraint”.
It is a “dangerous illusion” that the Arab world never sought peace, he added.
Gaza is 'world's largest graveyard for children,' says Erdoğan, as he calls on UN countries to exert 'greater pressure' on Israel
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the United Nations had become unable to fulfil its duty of preserving peace and called for reform of the security council.
Addressing the UN general assembly, Erdoğan condemned the situation in Gaza, saying “nobody with a conscience can close their eyes” to what was happening there.
“As a father and as a grandfather who cherishes his children and grandchildren”, he expressed his sadness over the ongoing suffering of Gaza’s children and for the people still searching for their loved ones in the rubble.
Gaza, he said, has become “the most inhuman and shameful concentration camp of our time”.
Erdoğan said he was saddened by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’ absence from the gathering (after the United States denied entry visas to Palestinian officials ahead of the annual gathering for the second year in a row).
He called on member nations to exert “greater pressure on Israel” to end its war.
Any attempt to “strangle the state of Palestine will fail”, Erdoğan said, as he expressed hope that “an independent Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders with the territorial integrity and with East Jerusalem as its capital” will soon be established.
The Israeli delegation walked out during Erdoğan’s speech.
The day so far
Donald Trump said he believes the US will “make a deal” with Iran as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. In his speech, Trump said: “I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election because it doesn’t make sense for them not to. They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don’t realise is that I’m not running. I did that already and won in a landslide.”
Trump issued a threat to “annihilate” Iran and “drive them into Hell” if the regime didn’t capitulate and make a deal.” “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump said, describing the choice he said was before him. “Or do I annihalate the Islamic Republic?”
Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said that Tehran would “undoubtedly intensify” its response if the United States launched new attacks on the Islamic republic. “If they act recklessly and history repeats itself, our resistance will undoubtedly intensify, bolstered by the experience we have gained. This time, we will not merely retaliate; we will adopt an offensive posture, and America will come to regret its actions, suffering greater humiliation than ever before,” said Mohebi in an interview with AFP.
Mohebi said that the United States had tried to establish contact with the Guards, but they had rebuffed the effort. “The Americans have tried to contact us but we refuse any such contact. Our dealings with the enemy – as long as they remain hostile – are conducted solely through arms,” said Mohebi, adding that diplomacy was handled by Iran’s foreign ministry.
Russian president Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman today, Reuters reported. They discussed the security situation in the Gulf and the need to keep vital waterways open, according to the Kremlin.
Gaza’s health ministry said in its latest update that at least 1,399 people have been killed by Israeli attacks since a supposed ‘ceasefire’ was signed between Israel and Hamas last October. Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to implement a broader plan by the US to end the war on Gaza, which includes the Israeli withdrawal from the strip and the disarmament of Hamas. Israel says Hamas has been violating the deal.
The UK has agreed to provide defensive air support to Saudi Arabia to help counter Houthi fighters and restore stability in the Middle East while driving down the cost of living at home, Andy Burnham has said, ahead of his first meeting with Donald Trump. The prime minister said he had agreed to a request for air-to-air refuelling of Saudi jets to defend energy infrastructure against the Iran-backed rebels and help keep oil flowing from the Gulf to ease global economic turmoil.
The renewed US-Iran efforts to resolve the dispute about control of the strait of Hormuz comes amid reports of Saudi Arabia attacking areas under Houthi control in Yemen. Among the latest reports is of an attack by Saudi Arabia on a prison in northwestern Yemen that killed nine detainees, according to a Houthi official, who spoke to the Saba news agency, which is affiliated with the Iran-backed militia.
According to a report in the New York Times, the US president, Donald Trump, has wavered for weeks over whether to act on appeals from Saudi Arabia for military help in fighting the Houthis. On Wednesday, the president had reportedly met with advisers and said he did not favour strikes.
Iran’s national airline said it had not received any ban on serving neighbouring countries, a day before US sanctions are due to be tightened against the Iranian aviation sector. “Iran Air has not received any notification or official instruction from the civil aviation authorities of Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, or Iraq regarding a halt or suspension of the airline’s flights to Istanbul, Baku and Najaf,” the company said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said that Tehran would “undoubtedly intensify” its response if the United States launched new attacks on the Islamic republic.
“If they act recklessly and history repeats itself, our resistance will undoubtedly intensify, bolstered by the experience we have gained.
This time, we will not merely retaliate; we will adopt an offensive posture, and America will come to regret its actions, suffering greater humiliation than ever before,” said Mohebi in an interview with AFP.
Mohebi said that the United States had tried to establish contact with the Guards, but they had rebuffed the effort.
“The Americans have tried to contact us but we refuse any such contact. Our dealings with the enemy – as long as they remain hostile – are conducted solely through arms,” said Mohebi, adding that diplomacy was handled by Iran’s foreign ministry.
Trump says he thinks US will make deal with Iran after election
Donald Trump said he believes the US will “make a deal” with Iran as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly.
In his speech, Trump said: “I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election because it doesn’t make sense for them not to.
“They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don’t realise is that I’m not running. I did that already and won in a landslide.
“We won in a giant landslide, and I’ll be here for two-and-a-half years. The Republican party is running and I’ll be helping them.”
Trump also claimed that “more oil is flowing than at any point since the start of the war” through the strait of Hormuz as the US navy “has recently escorted more than one billion barrels of oil” out of the waterway that had been choked by Iran after the conflict began.
Trump renews threat to 'annihilate' Iran and 'drive them to hell'
Before his remarks threatening to annihilate Iran, Trump had touted his version of the war: one in which the US had defanged Iran militarily and driven the country to the brink of economic collapse.
He also took a moment to deflect the claim that the war had depleted the US strategic munitions reserves, a subject he took time out of his morning to post about to Truth Social.
After sharing his version of the Iran war, Trump issued a threat to “annihilate” Iran and “drive them into Hell” if the regime didn’t capitulate and make a deal.”
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump said, describing the choice he said was before him. “Or do I annihalate the Islamic Republic?”
Trump labels Iran 'number one sponsor of terror'
Trump said Iran is the world’s “number one sponsor of terror” and referred to the country as “the bully of the Middle East”.
He said:
Donald Trump has taken the stage to address the world leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York, who together comprise the international order he has deeply rattled in his second term in office.
He framed the Iran war he launched earlier this year the same way he has to his domestic audience — as a necessary conflict to addressing a long-ignored threat.
“I do not believe in letting problems fester,” Trump said. “They only become harder to solve. So while others have talked, I have acted while others have spoken of peace, I have made peace. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them. While others have talked of courage, America has shown it.”
You can follow his full speech here:
