Trump and Iran Exchange Threats as Leaders Converge for Key U.N. Gathering. Can the Meeting Cool Rising Tensions?

Law enforcement secures an entrance to the United Nations during the start of the General Assembly in New York City on September 21, 2026. —Spencer Platt—Getty Images Delegations from the U.S. and Iran are traveling to New York for the world’s largest diplomatic gathering this week in what experts say could be a key moment for determining the direction of the Iran war nearly seven months in.

Tensions between the warring countries are mounting ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with Iranian leaders and President Donald Trump exchanging a fresh round of threats.

Trump on Sunday weighed whether he should “blow the entire nation up” in an interview with Fox News , warning that Iran “better behave” and saying that “very big things” would happen in the war, without offering more detail.

According to the outlet, Trump described his options as “wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically, or making a deal.” A spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Mohebbi, responded with a warning that if the U.S. were to launch fresh attacks against Iran, Tehran would use “new weapons and capabilities,” according to Iran's Fars news agency.

“If a new aggression takes place, we will definitely change the weapons and geography of the war,” Mohebbi said.

The threats come after active hostilities in the conflict resumed in the last month when the U.S. and Iran traded fresh strikes amid tensions over the Strait of Hormuz , a key waterway in the global oil market.

Meaningful negotiations between the two countries have meanwhile been stalled for weeks following the breakdown of a memorandum of understanding leaders signed in June.

And Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have further shaken the Gulf region by launching attacks against Saudi Arabia and capturing Perim Island , a strategic foothold in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait , another vital maritime trade route in the region.

Read More: What Is the Status of the U.S.-Iran Peace Talks? Here's What Both Sides Are Saying Experts tell TIME that the U.N.

General Assembly gathering, where delegations from Iran, the U.S., and key Gulf states will be in attendance, could offer a critical chance to deescalate the situation and attempt to revive peace efforts—although making progress in negotiations could be an uphill battle.

“This week in New York, there is an opportunity, especially for the mediating countries, to try to prevent tensions from once again spiraling, and potentially this time spiraling out of control,” says Ali Vaez, the deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group.

“It's the last best opportunity to try to prevent an escalation either in October or in November.” What to expect at this week’s U.N.