Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said ending the Iran regime’s ability to sponsor terror around the world and its quest to obtain nuclear weapons was “a reality we had to confront” upon entering his second term in office.
Trump opened his speech discussing his domestic accomplishments, highlighted by adding one million new jobs, reducing violent crime levels, and beautifying Washington, DC, the nation’s capital.
He said he inherited a dark age from the previous administration and since entered a “golden age” of a newly energized and powerful United States.
Pivoting to Iran, Trump said he “acted with decisiveness and speed to reshape the world stage and solve problems that have plagued us for far too long. I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester; they only become harder to solve. So while others have talked, I have acted. While others have spoken of peace, I have made peace. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them.”
Continuing, Trump said America has shown courage while others have only talked about it, and worked with many of the nations represented at the U.N. to solve challenges and settle years of unfinished business.
Calling Iran’s regime a danger that gathered strength, he called out the number one sponsor of terror and said their fanatical regime rules by bloodshed and mass murder and spreads death, carnage, and chaos across the Middle East and beyond. “They are the bully no more,” said Trump.
He traced the current conflict back to when he entered the political arena, saying he held an unwavering belief and would never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Trump campaigned in 2016 on ending the Obama-led Iran deal that gave the regime billions of dollars.
Trump said that after entering office in January 2025, he offered Iran full economic cooperation in exchange for permanently ending their nuclear weapons program and support for terror organizations. He said the regime refused, and that it was a big mistake for them do so.
In 2025’s Operation Midnight Hammer, Trump said he “obliterated” their nuclear program beneath mountains of rubble and urged them at that point to make a deal, which the regime again refused. He said they continued to build missile drone stockpiles that threatened the security of American servicemembers and other countries in the region, noting some of their missiles were capable of reaching Europe, something Trump said he hopes the Europeans realize.
“Iran’s goal was to complete their mad dash to a nuclear bomb from behind this conventional ballistic missile shield,” Trump stated. “If they had succeeded, that wicked regime would have been free to spread terror and death forever, knowing that any attempt to stop them would face an arsenal of nuclear annihilation.”
Trump noted that the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attack that killed nearly 3,000 Americans was just 11 days ago and a few miles from the U.N., and that in just two weeks would be the third anniversary of the terror attack that killed 1,200 Israeli civilians, the worst attack in that country’s history.
The October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas terrorists against Israel was funded by Iran’s regime and killed 46 Americans and took a dozen more hostage. Trump noted that October 7 terrorists tortured and mutilated children and babies, something Iran’s Supreme Leader celebrated and called “a service to humanity.”
Trump added that Iran’s regime has slaughtered tens of thousands of its own citizens this year for protesting and asked those in the chamber to imagine a regime allowed to carry out large-scale terror attacks behind a nuclear shield.
“This was the reality we had to confront,” Trump said, adding it was something too many preferred to ignore, including past presidents and other leaders. “They were unwilling to do anything about it but they knew the problem. After giving Iran every chance for a deal, I took action to ensure that neither the United States or any nation would have to face such a nightmare.”
This was the basis for Operation Epic Fury, Trump said. The president rattled off the statistics of the operations, saying their entire Naval fleet was at the bottom of the sea, their air force was gone, and their anti-aircraft missiles were gone. Trump added the only thing that isn’t gone is inflation, which has reached over 300 percent.
Trump continued, saying that after agreeing to a ceasefire the regime once again launched brazen acts of terror against ships. He thanked the U.N. Security Council for passing resolutions condemning the attacks against commercial shipping.
He said maintaining pressure against the regime is essential and that the United States Navy has escorted more than one billion barrels of oil out of the Strait of Hormuz.
In concluding his Iran comments Trump said he had a big decision: making a deal letting them rebuild or annihilating the Islamic republic and never giving them a chance to kill and destroy again. “Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness?”
The president said he believes he can make a deal following the November midterm election. He said the regime didn’t realize he was not running.
“I’ll be here for 2 and a half years… I give no credence to the election when it comes to Iran. It doesn’t even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” to a round of applause interrupting the speech and ending his comments on the Iran conflict.