- Trump warns Iran could face total destruction.
- Expects Iran deal after November elections.
- Dismisses warnings about AI-related global dangers.
President Donald Trump has yet again praised the Pakistani leadership, this time at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), saying that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is a “terrific” man.
“Pakistan is a great country. PM Shehbaz Sharif, a terrific man,” he said during his speech at the UNGA on Tuesday, where he spoke on wide-ranging issues — from Iran to artificial intelligence.
Trump said the prime minister called him to thank him for the US role in helping Pakistan with “something that was very important”.
“Pakistan is a great country. PM Shehbaz Sharif, a terrific man, called me to say thank you,” Trump said.
Trump said that the prime minister told him that his intervention helped bring an end to the war between Pakistan and India in May 2025 and saved 30 million lives.
Trump also claimed he had “settled eight wars”.
Iran war
Turning to the Iran war, the US president used the forum to argue that the war with Iran prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warned that he could “annihilate the Islamic Republic” if no deal is reached to end the conflict.
While predicting his administration would strike a peace deal with Iran following the November 3 US mid-term elections, Trump called on other nations to join America in isolating Iran economically to force it to the negotiating table.
“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?” Trump said. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
Trump 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.”
Int’l supervision of artificial intelligence
Trump also rejected calls for international supervision of artificial intelligence, calling them a “globalist scheme” to control the new technology.
He announced that the US government would henceforth use the term “super intelligence” rather than “artificial intelligence” in its communications, hoping that the world would follow suit.
“It sounds much better” and “it’s much more accurate,” he added, musing on whether the rest of the world would adopt the term.
Trump also dismissed warnings from AI safety advocates, comparing them to warnings about climate change, whose human causes are affirmed by the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community.
“Every major new technology brings challenges, and super intelligence is no exception,” he said.
“The very same people who said we’ll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming… are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster.”
Diplomatic whirlwind
Taking aim at US neighbours, Trump labelled Mexico “the epicentre of cartel violence,” urged its government to “reclaim control of its soil,” and said his administration was pursuing “a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba.”
Members of the Cuban delegation walked out of the hall as Trump referenced his pressure campaign against the country.
“It’s an absolutely failed state, it’s failing like never before, and it will fall,” said Trump, adding that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was overseeing negotiations with the US neighbour.
“We will not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep, right at our doorstep.”
Yet Trump’s appearance was less dramatic than in 2025, when he used a combative speech to chastise world leaders, warning that some countries were “going to hell,” and complained about UN facilities after being briefly stranded on a malfunctioning escalator and suffering an initial teleprompter failure.
Criticism of UN
Trump renewed his criticism of the UN, highlighting his efforts to cut its bureaucracy, but offered no fresh attacks or indications that the US would leave any additional UN agencies.
Trump spoke less than a week after a UN fact-finding mission said it had reasonable grounds to believe US forces committed war crimes in two strikes on Iran, including one that hit a primary school in the southern city of Minab.
He renewed his criticism of international bodies that could serve as a check on US power, singling out the International Criminal Court and declaring that US military personnel would not be subject to its authority.
“We will never allow US service members or anyone else to be investigated or given show trials by an anti-American tribunal with no jurisdiction over us,” he said.
