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President Trump used his U.N. General Assembly address to threaten Iran's 'annihilation' if it refuses a deal, drawing comparisons to past threats experts call potential war crimes, while hinting a diplomatic resolution could come after November's midterm elections.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Trump** told the U.N. General Assembly that Iran faces a choice between a deal that 'lets them rebuild' or 'annihilation,' asking whether to 'drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations.'

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Experts** have argued Trump's past threats against Iran could constitute war crimes, and the article notes that delivering such warnings from the U.N. stage adds a new dimension to the White House's hostility toward U.N. human rights work.

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Trump Threatens Iran 'Annihilation' at U.N. Assembly — SkimNews

By Foreign Policy · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-22

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Trump told the U.N. General Assembly that Iran faces a choice between a deal that 'lets them rebuild' or 'annihilation,' asking whether to 'drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations.'
Experts have argued Trump's past threats against Iran could constitute war crimes, and the article notes that delivering such warnings from the U.N. stage adds a new dimension to the White House's hostility toward U.N. human rights work.
Trump attacked the International Criminal Court as 'an evil group of people' and called on all ICC member countries to immediately resign from what he called an 'anti-American,' 'out-of-control' 'rogue institution.'
The White House last Thursday rejected a U.N. fact-finding mission that found 'reasonable grounds to believe' the U.S. military committed war crimes in February strikes on an Iranian school and sports facility.
Trump also called the U.N. Human Rights Council 'craven hypocrites' for its alleged silence on the persecution of Christians, continuing his pattern of attacking U.N. justice-seeking bodies.
Trump's 2025 UNGA address was notably more conciliatory than his 2024 speech — he praised U.S.-led reforms that cut the U.N.'s operating budget and eliminated thousands of jobs, and called fellow attendees 'great leaders' instead of warning their countries were 'going to hell.'
Trump framed the Iran push as tied to a global energy crisis, claiming resolving the conflict would send oil prices 'plummeting down,' as global diesel costs hit record highs Monday following Bab el-Mandeb shipping disruptions; he hinted a deal could come after the November U.S. midterms, saying the U.S. would get it done 'one way or the other.'

Why it matters: Trump delivered his 'annihilate' threat at the U.N. podium just days after the White House rejected a U.N. finding that February U.S. strikes on an Iranian school and sports facility amounted to war crimes, signaling escalating disregard for international legal oversight even as Trump separately claims a diplomatic deal is possible after November's midterms.