ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump said Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly that he is facing a choice between making a deal with Iran following upcoming midterm elections or “annihilating” the Islamic Republic, calling it Washington’s “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?” Trump asked rhetorically during a lengthy speech at the international forum in New York.

“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Trump continued, adding that "I have a big decision to make.”

The remarks come as only Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were granted visa approval and attended the General Assembly's high-level week in the US for the first time following the February war between Iran, the US, and Israel.

"I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to," Trump added, noting that Iran is waiting “to see how I do in the midterm election.”

The upcoming vote, set for November 3, poses the first major electoral test for Trump's Republican Party in his second administration, coming as fatigue with the conflict and the downstream economic effects of a war with no end in sight influence voters.

“What they don't realize is that I'm not running. I did that already, and won in a landslide," the president continued, having previously said in early September that the war "is going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer."

Since the conflict started in late February, the warring parties have paused hostilities and held talks that have led to no agreement several times, repeatedly circling back to trading salvoes and mulling the possibility of a deal.

The Iranian president is expected to address the General Assembly on Wednesday morning, with top diplomat Araghchi on Tuesday saying that Iran will seek to present its positions on the world stage and raise awareness of the civilian losses incurred by US bombardment, including the Minab school strike in February that killed at least 175 people, most of them children.

On Sunday, Trump told Fox News that he would “probably” be open to meeting with Pezeshkian in New York, adding that he is in a “deciding mode” and "very big things" are expected to happen in the near future regarding the war.

Both sides have shown conflicting positions, with Washington claiming Tehran wants to reach a deal and the latter rejecting talks until its conditions are met.

During his speech, Trump further called on all nations to join the US in "enforcing the complete economic isolation of Iran" until they cease attacks on commercial shipping, curtail their nuclear ambitions, and stop supporting "terror," claiming that Iran is currently facing an economic crisis as a result of US sanctions and that inflation has topped 300 percent.

In late August, Washington announced ‘Operation Economic Outcast,’ a large-scale sanctions package on Iran that seeks to clamp down on third parties that directly and indirectly support the Iranian regime by facilitating its oil exports and shadow economy.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that all Iranian airlines will be “shut down around the world” from Wednesday, with several Iranian airlines having suspended flights to regional countries that have acceded to the US measures.