Trump threatens to 'annihilate' Iran in UN speech, says deal possible after election

President Donald Trump has vowed to “annihilate” Iran and “drive them into hell” in a speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

He said that the Iranian government is “weak and desperate”, adding: “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”

Iran has said it is willing to reopen the beleaguered Strait of Hormuz within seven days, if the US lifts military pressure and the blockade on Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday.

“The US needs to announce that it wants to resolve the issue diplomatically, make that official, and then agree on a timeline for how the process will move forward”, the senior Iranian official said.

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and president Masoud Pezeshkian are in attendance at the meeting in New York. US secretary of state Marco Rubio told NBC News earlier that the president would be “open” to a meeting.

Trump says will make deal with Iran after election

Donald Trump has said that he will make a deal with Iran after the election.

“I believe we’ll make a deal with Iran after the US election,” he said.

He added: “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump insists Iran war was necessary

Donald Trump is reflecting on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and has said that allowing Tehran to be armed with nuclear weapons could have enhanced a threat to the US.

“In America, we just marked the 25th anniversary of the worst terror attack in history, September 11th, which killed 3,000 people a few miles from here,” he said.

“In two weeks, we will mark the third anniversary of the October 7th attack in Israel, where terrorists funded by Iran tortured, mutilated, and killed 1,200 innocent civilians, including dozens of Americans.

“Iran’s Supreme Leader celebrated that massacre and called it a 'service to humanity'. The same regime slaughtered over 72,000 of its own citizens this year.

“Just imagine if such a vile regime were ever empowered to carry out large-scale terror attacks from behind a nuclear shield. This was the reality we had to confront—a reality that far too many preferred to ignore.”

Iran was 'bully of the Middle East' before war

Donald Trump is saying that Iran was the “bully of the Middle East” and says that Tehran refused nuclear deal before the war started.

In pictures: Trump arrives at UN General Assembly

President Donald Trump is about to address the 81st meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

He is expected to defend the war with Iran and tout peace efforts.

We will bring you the latest as it comes in.

Saudi Arabia restarts East-West oil pipeline, sources say

Saudi Arabia has restarted operations at its East-West Pipeline and could resume exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu later on Tuesday, three sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shut its East-West Pipeline on 13 September, halting crude loadings at Yanbu port.

The resumption of supplies on Tuesday helped to drive selling on global oil markets, traders said as well as the price of Brent crude futures falling by more than $2 a barrel, its lowest since 8 September.

Since disruption to oil flows the kingdom has been using the pipeline to reroute around 4 million barrels per day — around 4 percent of global supply — to Yanbu.

The pipeline was pumping at a low rate after its restart, two of the sources said.

State oil firm Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One of the sources said Aramco was seeking to get the pumping rate back to 4 million bpd, while a security source said full resumption could take weeks.

Beyond the Strait of Hormuz: How Gulf countries are preparing for life without the waterway

Jebel Ali, built in 1977, has made the UAE a hub of finance and trade, but weeks ago it was set alight by a piece of fallen debris from an Iranian missile. Since then, Dubai International Airport, US military bases and other facilities have come under direct attack.

The UAE has been the hardest hit of all the Gulf countries with the FT reporting that almost 3,000 drones and missiles have hit it since US-Israeli attacks began on Iran on 28 February.

How Gulf countries are preparing for life without the Strait of Hormuz

The US and Iran continue tit-for-tat strikes over the vital shipping route while a fifth of the world’s oil supply remains at a standstill. But Gulf countries have been looking towards alternatives for a more independent future, Maira Butt reports

Araghchi says trust in the UN has been lost

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has shared comments ahead of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.

In comments published to his Telegram channel he said that the title of the meeting, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all,” shows that all countries that are members “acknowledge that there is no longer any trust and confidence in this organisation has been lost”.

He said this was “unfortunately due to its ineffectiveness in establishing international peace and security”.

Citing Israel as an example of a country that is able do “whatever it wants”, he said the country had operated without any “serious condemnation”.

“Therefore, it is natural that no trust remains in an organization that is influenced by these countries, so the discussion of restoring trust is an important discussion and provides an opportunity to talk to the world about how trust in the UN has been lost and how it can be restored,” he said.

Rubio says Trump is 'open' to meeting Pezeshkian at UN General Assembly

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said that President Donald Trump is “open” to meeting Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian at the UN General Assembly this week.

“Trump is open to meeting with anybody at the UN. We are open to a meeting with Pezeshkian,” he told NBC News on Tuesday.

“I don’t think anything is scheduled at this point, but we’re certainly open to something like that.”