Trump Heads to UNGA as Iran War and Oil Jitters Converge — SkimNews
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- Trump addresses the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, returning as the US wages a war with Iran nearing its seventh month — a conflict he launched after ordering June 2025 strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
- US and Israeli strikes have killed much of Iran's top leadership and destroyed its air force and navy, while a US oil blockade has crippled Tehran's economy, though Brent crude still hovers near $100/barrel versus roughly $70 before the war.
- Saudi Arabia shuttered a key pipeline earlier this month after Iran-backed militants in Iraq attacked it, and Houthi territorial grabs near the Bab al-Mandab Strait have made Red Sea oil shipping treacherous.
- Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said mediators are working to bridge a "deep deficit of trust" between the US and Iran, insisting "this will end at the negotiating table" whether in months or longer.
- Trump will sign a Greenland framework deal with Danish and Greenlandic leaders on the sidelines, expanding the US military footprint while leaving Greenland formally under Danish sovereignty.
- Trump holds his first face-to-face meeting with British PM Andy Burnham and Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi, and a sit-down with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez — the first contact since the US captured Nicolás Maduro in January.
- Trump vented fresh frustration with the Russia-Ukraine war on Monday, posting that "Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry" and demanding the conflict end, while Moscow insists Western energy sanctions be lifted before agreeing to an energy truce.
Why it matters: With Brent crude stuck near $100 and oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz still below pre-war levels despite US Navy escorts, the Iran war's economic drag is now front and center at the UN. Trump's speech becomes a platform to either build a diplomatic off-ramp with Iran or defend a conflict that administration officials acknowledge is hurting Republicans ahead of midterm elections.
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