Trump to address U.N. amid Iran war and diplomacy

President Donald Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, opening a high-profile week of diplomacy as the Iran war nears its eighth month and world leaders watch for signals on U.S. policy from Gaza to Greenland.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told reporters Trump will use the speech to highlight peace deals he has worked on, U.S. actions in the Western Hemisphere and progress on his 20-point peace plan in Gaza. Waltz said the president also will discuss the “importance of ensuring that Iran never has a nuclear weapon.”

“The president will highlight how he has, and his administration, have confronted complex problems head-on around the world,” Waltz said, according to NPR.

Trump’s address comes after a difficult stretch at home, NPR reported, citing legal and political setbacks, approval below 40% and concerns about the economic fallout from the Iran war. NPR also reported that Trump is facing blowback after banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House; the news organizations have sued to regain access.

The speech is expected to cast Trump as a peacemaker while defending his Iran policy. Senior U.S. officials told NBC News that Iran will be a key topic at the assembly this year. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the U.N. on Wednesday, and Trump told Fox News he would “probably” be open to meeting with him, though no specifics were announced.

Trump is also expected to hold a series of sideline meetings. They include talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has said the meeting “could change a lot” and that there “is diplomatic momentum” in a push for an energy truce with the Kremlin. Last week, Trump signed into law a Russian sanctions bill championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Trump is expected to meet Gulf Cooperation Council leaders, including representatives from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He is also expected to meet Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, in what NBC News reported would be her first meeting with Trump since the U.S. captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who is in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial. NPR reported that Trump is also expected to meet British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Another expected focus is Greenland. Trump recently announced that the U.S. would take over military operations and have “permanent control over security” there, in a deal expected to be signed Tuesday with leaders of Greenland and Denmark to try to end a tense standoff over the strategic Arctic territory.

The U.N. gathering follows a report last week by the U.N. Human Rights Council that found “reasonable grounds to believe” the U.S. committed war crimes during “indiscriminate attacks” against an Iranian school and a residential area in February.

Trump has repeatedly used the General Assembly to draw attention. NPR noted that in 2017 he threatened to totally destroy North Korea, and the next year some leaders laughed when he said his administration had accomplished more than any other in American history. Last year, he criticized the U.N. and told leaders, “your countries are going to hell,” asking, “What is the purpose of the United Nations?”

NPR reported that artificial intelligence is also on the agenda after a U.N. panel called for stronger safeguards on AI agents. Leaders are expected to seek agreement on guardrails for the technology, though Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the New York gathering and is instead scheduled to travel to Washington for a state dinner with Trump.