Trump threatens to annihilate Iran as diplomats push for deal at UN

United States (US) President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that he could annihilate Iran if there is no deal to end the war, but also suggested an agreement ​could come soon amid a diplomatic push at the United Nations (UN).

“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said in a speech at the UN General Assembly in ‌New York.

“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, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” In a statement on Tuesday, Iran’s Armed Forces dismissed Trump’s comments at the UN as “propaganda”, saying their response is “full readiness to inflict more severe, crushing, and unpredictable blows on the aggressors.” However away from the fiery ​rhetoric, discussions continued to try to end the nearly seven-month conflict that began with joint US-Israeli strikes and has since killed thousands, driven up oil prices and drawn in neighboring ​countries.

US envoy Steve Witkoff in a post on X said that the United States and Iran engaged in lengthy talks on Tuesday on the sidelines of ⁠the UN General Assembly through mediators “who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day”.

The mediators will continue their work, Witkoff added, saying that he hoped Tuesday’s discussions would “prove constructive and promising.” Trump also met the ​leaders of Middle Eastern countries who are keen to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war, but are wary of giving ​their longstanding rival Iran too much power.

Many also host huge US military bases that have come under repeated Iranian attack throughout the war.

“We think that the situation with Iran could end right after the (November 3) midterm elections, maybe before.

I don’t know.

You never know,” Trump said as he met the leaders.

The diplomatic maneuvering comes as Trump faces pressure on multiple fronts, rising energy costs at home, a widening regional conflict abroad, and the midterms six weeks away that ​could reshape his political standing.

Whether talks produce a deal or the war escalates further carries consequences for global oil markets, Gulf security and millions of Iranians.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi met with Prime ​Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani of Qatar, which has spent months trying to de-escalate the conflict, the Qatari state news agency reported.

A senior Iranian official said Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days if ‌the US ⁠eased military pressure and lifted its blockade on Iranian ports.