In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump once again threatened to “annihilate” Iran, escalating rhetoric that critics say amounts to a genocidal threat against a UN member state. Speaking nearly seven months into the war he launched against the Islamic Republic, Trump framed the choice as either a deal that would allow Iran to rebuild or his decision to “drive them into hell.”
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
He added, “Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations? But 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 realize is that I’m not running. I did that already and won in a landslide.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened to destroy Iran—a nation of over 90 million people—since his first term. But his latest remarks, delivered from the UN podium, drew particular outrage for their brazenness on the world stage.
Global backlash
“It’s one thing to make genocidal threats against a nation on social media. It’s another thing to do it from the podium of the UN,” said Maryam Jamshidi, an associate professor at University of Colorado Law School, on X. “That’s what Donald Trump just did. He used his speech at the UN to threaten Iran with annihilation.”
Jamshidi urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres and member states to condemn Trump’s threat. Independent journalist Taylor Noakes noted that “what’s particularly sad about this (aside from the fact he’ll likely never be prosecuted for war crimes) is how so many leaders of other liberal democracies have stood by and done nothing while the Americans make a mockery of the UN as an instrument for global order.”
The Democratic veterans group VoteVets accused Trump of “casually contemplating war crimes in front of the entire UN [General] Assembly,” calling his threat “deranged and dangerous.” Journalist Mehdi Hasan said, “For shame. The president of the United States goes to the United Nations and threatens genocide against a UN member state in front of the world. This is where we’re at.”
Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), called Trump’s comments “dangerously unhinged.” “Such rhetoric is not merely reckless, it is a criminal threat of genocide against an entire nation,” he added. “US lawmakers and US partners around the world should condemn Trump’s remarks and take all due steps to bring an end to the war on Iran.”
Craig Mokhiber, a former senior UN official who resigned in protest over the world body’s failure to stop Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, said Trump’s “maniacal rant” should awaken world leaders that “their attempts at appeasement of Trump and the tyrannical axis that he leads can only result in further aggression, economic terrorism, murder, and genocide.” He called for global unity to defend peace, human rights, and the rule of law.
Beyond Iran: Unfounded claims and illegal strikes
Trump’s speech was laced with demonstrably false or unfounded statements, including an accusation that the Iranian government killed 72,000 people this year, that his invasion of Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro left the US with “more than 60% of the oil in the world,” that his administration “ended the war in Gaza,” and that he settled eight wars.
He also boasted that the US “has carried out dozens of strikes on cartel drug boats, destroying 97% of the drugs coming into the ocean and sea.” Citing data from US Southern Command and Trump administration officials, The New York Times reports that at least 234 people have been killed in a minimum of 70 strikes on boats allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The administration has provided no solid evidence to support its trafficking allegations.
Regional leaders and relatives of victims contend that at least some of those killed were fishers with no narcotrafficking ties. Legal experts assert that the attacks violate international law regardless of whether the targeted vessels were engaged in drug trafficking.
The threats against Iran come as the war there has become a strategic dead end with no exit in sight, drawing comparisons to past US misadventures in the region. Trump’s broader foreign policy, including his stance on Ukraine, has handed initiative to adversaries, while his climate denial has ceded ground to China in the green economy. As the UN General Assembly continues, many Asian and Indo-Pacific leaders are watching closely, aware that Trump’s unilateralism and disregard for international norms have profound implications for regional stability.
