UNGA 2026 highlights: Trump seeks Iran's ‘economic isolation’, calls for Ukraine peace

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US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham set aside differences over the Middle East during their first meeting Tuesday, with Trump praising Burnham as "a natural business person."

President Donald Trump said US and Iranian officials met Tuesday, shortly after he warned in his address to the UN General Assembly that he could “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal is not reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war. Trump told reporters about the meeting but provided few details about the talks.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in New York to attend and speak at the UN General Assembly, according to Al Jazeera.

US President Donald Trump said in his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly that the United States would use its "unmatched military might" against threats in the Western Hemisphere, while comparing drug cartels to international terrorist groups.

Trump warned that Washington would not allow foreign powers or criminal networks to establish a foothold near US territory.

"The United States will no longer permit threats to America to gain a foothold anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. And if necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interests of the United States," Trump affirmed.

He added, "Upon taking office, I designated the drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and unleashed the US Armed Forces to eliminate them. The cartels are the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere — NOT good people. They are enemies at war with civilization, using murder, rape, torture, and extortion as instruments of terror. Like ISIS, they should be killed, exiled, or detained as enemy combatants without the possibility of release."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Washington and Kyiv wanted the war with Russia to end "before winter" after holding a "positive" meeting with US counterpart Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly.

"I had a positive and productive meeting with President Donald J. Trump at UNGA. Both the US and Ukraine want to see this senseless Russian war ended before winter," Zelensky said on social media, adding that the pair discussed "potential de-escalatory steps that can open up the way to diplomacy."

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, after meeting Trump, that they discussed the POTUS's comments on the Falkland Islands.

The islands in the South Atlantic Ocean are controlled by the UK, a claim Argentina dispute. They become contentious again after Trump seemingly echoed Argentina President Javier Milei's claim for Argentina to govern the land.

Burnham said he made the position of the UK with respect to the Falkland Islands clear to Trump and that the UK would defend any threats that could destabilize its control over the islands.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed continued support for Lebanon even as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission withdraws from the country at the end of this year. Sanchez, who also spoke with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on the sidelines of the UNGC, said he would work with European allies to strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas met with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and discussed the Strait of Hormuz deadlock, Kallas wrote on X. “There were no tolls or fees for passage before the war, and there should be none after the war,” he wrote. “Navigation must be free and unimpeded, both in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.”

France President Emmanuel Macron delivered a fiery speech in which he slammed the inaction in the Gaza strip conflict. He went down hard on claims that "peace has been achieved” in Gaza.

“What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza?” Macron said, describing it as "shameful."

“Shame on all of us,” he added. “What we need is respect for the legitimate right of the Palestinians.”

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of the UNGA meeting on Tuesday evening. After the meeting, Trump told reporters that the two leaders are working on a solution to end the war in Ukraine, without going into the details of it. The 79-year-old, notably, added that Russia's Vladimir Putin is also willing to meet on that agenda.

UNGA 2026 LIVE: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday urged world leaders to take stronger action in response to intensifying global conflicts, while also warning that countries shouldn't interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.

The mixed messages came as Lula spoke to the United Nations General Assembly, just before U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the group. Lula criticized external interference in Brazil’s internal affairs, only weeks ahead of his country's elections.

“Brazilian democracy belongs to Brazilians. Brazil will continue to be a sovereign country,” Lula said. “Nobody will turn us away from this path.”

Lula railed against what he called weakness in the U.N.'s actions on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and called for reform of the U.N. Security Council, saying that in 2025 alone the world “will see the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II” with “trillions of dollars financing a new arms race.”

via AP

UNGA 2026 LIVE: The world must immediately start the reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

"We must begin the reconstruction of Gaza immediately," he told the United Nations General Assembly, urging world leaders to "exert greater pressure on Israel".

UNGA 2026 LIVE: President Donald Trump returned to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday at a tumultuous moment for the world — and for his presidency — and made the case that he's shown fortitude while other leaders have equivocated.

The president started his address ticking off progress — including adding private sector jobs, stemming illegal migration and curbing crime before turning to a fulsome defense of his decision to start a war with Iran.

“The terrorist regime is behaving badly, not because they are strong and confident, but because they are weak and desperate," Trump said. "If we stand united, we will soon see a world free of the last 51 year menace of Iranian terror.”

Trump also accused Iran of stalling to make a deal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the midterm elections in the United States. He insisted the tactic would have no effect on how he approaches the conflict.

“I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran," Trump said. "It doesn’t even enter my mind.”

Most of Iran's delegation walked out of the chamber as Trump railed against the Islamic Republic.

via AP

UNGA 2026 LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a security deal on Greenland with the leaders of Denmark and the territory, in a ceremony taking place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"It's going to be a long-term, fantastic relationship," Trump said at the event in New York.

via AFP

UNGA 2026 LIVE: Trump said Iran is waiting to see how he does in the midterm election. The war between US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other began in February this year.

“But 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? But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election, because it doesn't make sense for them not to,” he said.

“They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don't realize is that I'm not running...I gave absolutely no credence and will not give 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," he added.

UNGA 2026 LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he is deciding between making a deal with Iran or "annihilating" the Islamic Republic, suggesting that the US will make a deal right after the November midterm elections. He also hinted that a Russia-Ukraine peace deal will also happen "quickly." Read full report

UNGA 2026 LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his claim that he stopped India and Pakistan from going into a full-fledged war in May 2025. Trump made the remarks at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“The Prime Minister of Pakistan, a terrific man, said that Donald Trump was responsible for saving 30 million lives, and probably many more than that,” Trump said at UNGA.

UNGA 2026 LIVE: Trump says deciding between deal or driving Iran 'into hell'

UNGA 2026 LIVE: Trump called for the global isolation of Iran till they stop attacks on commercial shipping in Hormuz

UNGA 2026 LIVE: President Trump says that a deal with Iran likely after midterm elections

UNGA 2026 LIVE: UNGA 2026 LIVE: Iran is no bully no more, will never allow Iran to have nuclear weapon, says Trump

UNGA 2026 LIVE: Trump says 1.5mn Americans lifted out of poverty last year.

UNGA 2026 LIVE: Trump begins speech