“This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING! Axios' story, like most others, is a HOAX, used only for purposes of satisfying their Trump Derangement Syndrome. They should withdraw this fake story, IMMEDIATELY! [Trump, responding to an Axios report that he had offered Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds in exchange for nuclear concessions.]
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At the U.N., Trump Asks Whether to Make a Deal With Iran "or Do I Annihilate the Islamic Republic and Do It Quickly" and Says Tehran Is "Waiting to See How I Do in the Midterm" — Hours Later Witkoff and Kushner Sit Down With Iran's Foreign Minister for Three Hours, and Tim Kaine Asks "Who Talks Like That?"
September 23, 2026
President Trump used his September 22, 2026 address to the 81st U.N. General Assembly to defend the nearly seven-month war with Iran and to frame its end as a choice he alone would make: a deal that would let Iran "rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before," or to "annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly" and "drive them into hell with no chance of survival." He accused Tehran of stalling on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz until after the November midterms, predicted an agreement "right after the election," and insisted the election "doesn't even enter my mind." The same speech called Cuba a failed state, announced that U.S. documents would refer to AI as "superintelligence," and vowed to "encourage it, not rein it in." Within hours, Trump told reporters that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had held "a very good meeting" lasting about three hours with an Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the General Assembly, with another meeting expected soon. Witkoff called the mediated talks "promising" and "constructive." Iranian state media said Tehran used the meeting to lay out its conditions for reopening the strait: lifting the U.S. naval blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets and ending the war on all "resistance fronts." Democrats had earlier called for Trump's removal after his April threat that "a whole civilization will die tonight." Sen. Tim Kaine, lead sponsor of the Senate's Iran war powers resolutions, answered the U.N. speech by asking "who talks like that?" The speech came as a CNN/SSRS poll found 71% of voters disapproving of Trump's handling of foreign affairs.
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14 Statements
“Iran made an offer recently to the president. It was not a serious offer. … We need to continue doing what we're doing. The sanctions, the blockade.
“We should accept a deal to end the war, not specifically this deal. … Give the Iranians an ironclad commitment that we will not have regime-change war.
“The president's threat to annihilate Iran is nonsensical. You know, he's been trying that for six months now. … The Iranians have for six months sustained the very worst that we and the Israelis can throw at them. … Look, the Iranians now, in some sense, control what happens on Election Day. … If the Iranian regime wants to make sure that Mike Lawler loses in New York-17, or that Ashley Hinson is not a senator in the Midwest, they will call their friends the Houthis and say, fire five missiles at five ships … oil goes up to $120 a barrel. Diesel, already at record highs, goes to $8 a gallon. … So do you think they're giving up that position before the election? Of course they're not.
“[Waltz, on Iran's seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump rejected:] It was a pretty cynical attempt to put something on the table that they knew was unacceptable. … They were asking for everything up front, with a promise that they would then talk.
“[Trump, boarding Marine One, on Iran's seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz:] I rejected their deal. They want to make a deal where they open the strait immediately because they're losing so badly. … What they wanted is to immediately open the Hormuz Strait. You know why? Because they're dying. … They outsmarted themselves. They said, 'Let's close it and cause a problem for the world.' … [W]e put up the greatest blockade ever in military history.
“The Iranians are under this illusion that Democrats are going to win in November, and the president will no longer be able to do things against them. … Iran can never have a nuclear weapon: Everything emanates from that.
“I don't want to mischaracterize this as a major breakthrough. … But at the same time, I think it was significant that at least there was a conversation. … I think the Iranians misread our system. I think the Iranians are under this illusion that Democrats are going to win in November and the President will no longer be able to do things against them. I just don't think they understand our system very well.
“[Trump, telling reporters at the U.N. that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had met with an Iranian delegation for about three hours after his speech, called it] a very good meeting. … [He said another meeting was scheduled] in the very near future.
“Today, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, we engaged in lengthy talks with the Iranian delegation through the mediators. [Witkoff described the discussions as promising and constructive.]
“I have a big decision to make. 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? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations? … They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. … I gave absolutely no credence, and will not give credence, to the election when it comes to Iran. … I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to.
“I think what you'll find from the first term, this president and now is that he's willing to talk and meet with anybody. … The central issue here is Iran is run by lunatic clerics, by lunatic clerics that have a radical view of their religion. … [Iran] sponsors terrorist groups. … They help Hezbollah in Lebanon. They're behind the Houthis in Yemen … and they want a nuclear weapon.
“When he's standing before the U.N. today and saying that, you know, his decision is whether to annihilate Iran — who talks like that? … We have spent 250 years as a nation, not perfect, trying to be a strong and reliable neighbor. He's trying to turn us into a global bully.
“No, Mr. President. We should not 'annihilate' the people of Iran. That is a war crime. That is barbarism. … Trump's war in Iran is illegal and unconstitutional. Congress must end it NOW.