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A combative US President Donald Trump delivered an extraordinary attack on the UN and its members during his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday.
He told other countries they would be "going to hell" unless they changed their immigration and energy policies.
In a nearly hour-long speech that at times sounded more like a domestic political rally, Mr Trump repeated his "America First" talking points, lambasted China and called for Hamas to release all the hostages it is holding in Gaza. He said countries' recognition of the state of Palestine amounted to a prize for the militant group for attacking Israel in 2023.
“This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including October 7, even while they refuse to release the hostages or accept a ceasefire,” he said of the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.
Mr Trump also chastised Iran for rebuffing his "very generous offer" of co-operation in return for a suspension of its nuclear programme and said Tehran had paid the price for its intransigence.
"The regime's answer was to continue the threats to their neighbours and US interests throughout the region and some great countries that are right nearby today," he said.
"Many of Iran's former military commanders - I can say almost all of them - are no longer with us. They're dead," he added, referring to Israeli and US military strikes.
He claimed US strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in June had been an unmitigated success, with B2 bombers "totally obliterating" Iran’s key nuclear sites.
"No other country on Earth could have done what we did,” he said.
He also said his administration will lead an international effort to enforce the Biological Weapons Convention, pledging to pioneer an AI-driven verification system in co-ordination with world leaders.
On Nato and the war in Ukraine, Mr Trump said the US had previously become a "laughing stock" that was being taken for a ride by other nations not living up to their spending commitments. He said that situation had been reversed, with virtually every Nato member now upping their spending.
He also called on European countries to stop buying Russian gas, as this funds President Vladimir Putin's war effort. "Think of it, they're funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one?" he said.
Mr Trump used his speech to draw attention to seven conflicts he says he has resolved since starting his second term in January, and noted he had done so without any help from the UN.
He wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize in December and has frequently touted his peacemaking successes, though some of the parties involved have played down his efforts.
India, for example, has denied Mr Trump helped to mediate a ceasefire with Pakistan in April after clashes in Kashmir. He also said he had fixed a "war" between Egypt and Ethiopia - the two countries have a dispute over Nile water but are not in open conflict.
He also has been unable to broker peace in Gaza or Ukraine, a conflict he once claimed he could resolve within 24 hours of taking office.
Mr Trump used his address to launch a sustained attack on countries with open-border policies, warning they were “going to hell”.
“When your prisons are filled with so-called asylum seekers who repaid kindness, and that's what they did. They repaid kindness with crime. It's time to end the failed experiment of open borders. You have to end it now,” he said.
"See, I can tell you I'm really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell."
Mr Trump claimed immigrants want to establish Sharia in London and said the UN was "funding an assault on western countries and their borders".
He spent considerable time attacking nations for pursuing green energy policies, called climate change "the greatest con job" and said fossil fuels and nuclear power were the best solution to meet the world's energy demands.
"All of these [climate] predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people,” he said.
The last time Mr Trump addressed the UN General Assembly, he did so by video message, as much of the world was in lockdown during the Covid pandemic. He then attacked Beijing for unleashing the "China virus" and demanded it be held accountable.
Much has changed since Mr Trump's 2020 address, during which he also lamented the international community's "failed solutions" and heralded the signing of the Abraham Accords a week earlier.
He was ultimately voted out of office, refused to concede defeat and spent the next four years under criminal investigation. He then pulled off a stunning comeback as Joe Biden floundered on the world stage, amid the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks.
Mr Trump's return to UNGA comes as the UN faces sprawling challenges, including budget shortfalls from unpaid member fees, as well as attacks from his administration against various agencies, including UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee assistance organisation.
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Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara lands in New York for the UN General Assembly – the first Syrian president to attend since 1967, a gap of 58 years. Sana -
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in the secretariat building at the UN headquarters. AP -
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his wife Kim Hea Kyung at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, before heading to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. EPA -
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey arrives. AP -
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, speaks during a TV interview at the UN headquarters. EPA -
Police block a street near the UN headquarters. AP -
Police patrol outside the UN headquarters, before the UN General Assembly, in New York. AFP -
US Secret Service personnel outside the UN headquarters. AFP -
Police patrol outside the UN headquarters. AFP -
Police block a street near the UN headquarters. AP
He launched a fierce attack against the UN on Tuesday, saying it "wasn't there for us".
"I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help," he said.
Mr Trump's arrival at the UN was somewhat hampered by an apparently broken escalator that stopped working as he mounted it. A UN spokesman later said one of Mr Trump's entourage could have triggered a safety function by walking backwards, causing the escalator to stop.
The US President complained about the incident as well as an apparently faulty teleprompter during his speech, implying it was indicative of the wider decay of the world body.
But in a meeting with Secretary General Antonio Guterres later on, Mr Trump said he fully supported the UN.
“Our country is behind the United Nations 100 per cent,” Mr Trump told Mr Guterres. “I may disagree with it sometimes but I am so behind it because the potential for peace at this institution is great.”
In February, Mr Trump signed an executive order directing the US to stop funding several UN agencies, including the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. The Trump administration has also slashed foreign assistance, disbanded USAID and attacked UN experts and international lawyers for their work investigating Israeli human rights abuse in Gaza.
After his address, Mr Trump was set to meet representatives from several Middle East countries on the sidelines of UNGA to discuss the Gaza war.
He will hold a multilateral meeting with the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan.
On Thursday, Mr Trump will host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a bilateral meeting.
Mr Erdogan was speaking directly after Mr Trump on Tuesday. Other speakers in the session included King Abdullah of Jordan and Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar.
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Likened to diplomatic 'speed dating', UN General Assembly gives the world's top diplomats a chance to meet in person. The assembly has played host to a number of famous moments over the years. AP -
Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi famously addressed the UNGA for more than 90 minutes in 2009. Photo: UN -
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said in 2006 that he could smell sulphur in the UN chamber after George W Bush spoke, likening the US leader to the 'Devil'. Photo: UN -
Mr Bush at UNGA in 2005. Photo: UN -
The UN Headquarters in New York. Residents of the Big Apple brace themselves for two weeks of traffic chaos as UNGA takes place. EPA -
South Korean ambassador to the UN Cho Hyun speaking in the chamber. Reuters -
Cuban leader Fidel Castro addressing the General Assembly. Photo: UN -
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. Photo: UN -
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, addresses UNGA. Photo: UN
