Nicolai Haugsted
Trump gives Iran two dramatically different options as his November prediction faces backlash.
Donald Trump believes the war with Iran could be approaching a decisive moment.
Exactly when that moment arrives, however, caught almost as much attention as the president’s extraordinary threat of further military escalation.
Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Trump predicted that Washington and Tehran could reach an agreement shortly after the US midterm elections on November 3. His timetable quickly attracted criticism online, including from viewers reacting to Fox News coverage of the speech.
Trump presented the situation as a choice between two dramatically different futures for Iran.
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said.
“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?”
Trump puts November on the calendar
Peace was only one half of Trump’s message.
The alternative he described from the UN podium was considerably darker.
“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 said.
“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”
Trump nevertheless suggested diplomacy remains his expected outcome.
“But I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election because it doesn’t make sense for them not to,” he said.
According to Trump, Iranian leaders are waiting to see how his Republican Party performs in the midterms before committing to an agreement.
Some viewers were not buying it
Reaction to the proposed timeline soon appeared on social media.
Critics questioned why a breakthrough should suddenly become more likely immediately after Americans vote, particularly after previous attempts to negotiate an end to the conflict failed to produce a lasting settlement.
One viewer reacting to the Fox News broadcast mocked Trump’s prediction.
“Right after the election? My man is shameless. Lots of laughs!” the person wrote according to The Irish Star.
Another critic took aim at the broader tone of the president’s remarks.
“Saying this in front of all world leaders and representatives shows nothing left in humanity except dictatorship power and self-interest,” the user wrote.
Those posts represent individual social-media reactions rather than evidence of how Fox News viewers generally responded to the speech.
Trump says the election will not dictate his Iran policy
Trump anticipated questions about the political significance of November during the speech itself.
The president pointed out that his own name will not be on the ballot and insisted that electoral considerations are not determining his approach toward Tehran.
“What they don’t realize is that I’m not running. I did that already and won in a landslide,” Trump said.
“The Republican Party is running and I’ll be helping them, but I am not running.”
Trump then explicitly denied allowing the midterms to influence his decisions on Iran.
“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,” he said.
His insistence creates an obvious tension with the timetable he offered only moments earlier: Trump says November does not influence his decisions, while simultaneously arguing that Tehran itself is waiting for the election results.
Diplomacy has not disappeared while Trump publicly weighs a deal against further military action.
US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner took part in lengthy indirect talks with Iranian officials on Tuesday, according to reports from the UN gathering.
