"I have a 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?" Trump pondered aloud. "Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?"

Most of the Iranian delegation left the General Assembly Hall before Trump began to speak.

Members of his administration and Iranian officials later met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly — the first known meeting between the two sides in months.

U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for more than three hours, Trump told reporters. He described the encounter as a "very good meeting."

Iranian state television reported that Araghchi accepted the U.S. invitation for a meeting to convey "Iran’s firm positions" regarding its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said in an interview with USA TODAY before Trump’s speech that their mission in Iran is not over yet.

"The international community must keep leverage on Iran in order to achieve the goals, which are making sure that they don’t have nuclear power, they don’t have the ballistic missile capabilities they had before the war started, and that they don’t spend billions on the proxies that destabilize the region," he said.

The war in Iran, which has lasted for nearly seven months, is deeply unpopular among the American public and has contributed to skyrocketing energy prices in the United States and Europe. The national average price of a gallon of diesel is more than $6.50, according to the AAA Motor Club.

Trump's second term: President Trump's 'excursion' in Iran has lasted 6 months. What went wrong?

Trump said during a meeting with Ukraine’s president at the United Nations that he supports a moratorium on diesel exports.

"We’re examining whether it’s feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Zelenskyy asks Trump for help ending war before winter

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Trump during the meeting for help ending the war before winter as Kyiv braces for its worst stretch yet.

Russia is expected to step up attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, causing blackouts and heating outages across the country, as residents face freezing temperatures. Ukraine is also running low on the air-defense systems it needs to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles.

Trump praised Zelenskyy during their meeting, calling him a capable leader. Earlier, he predicted the war in Ukraine would end "more quickly than people understand."

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to stop the fighting in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. But the war has continued to drag on.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in an interview with USA TODAY on Sept. 21 that Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no indication that he is interested in a ceasefire, arguing that the White House’s peace negotiations are allowing Putin to stall for time.

"Ukraine needs rapidly anti-ballistic capabilities," Tsahkna said. "So if the United States has these capabilities, this is something that Ukraine desperately needs to protect and survive the winter."

War in Ukraine: Putin is using Trump to stall for time in Ukraine, Estonia foreign minister says

U.S. stockpiles of certain critical munitions such as Patriot air-defense systems are dangerously low as a result of the war in Iran. The shortages will have a direct impact on Ukraine's ability to defend itself.

Trump said he would talk with Zelenskyy about a licensing agreement that would allow Ukraine to produce air-defense systems on its own.

He denied in his morning address that the United States was facing any shortage, saying in his general assembly speech, "The cowards and traitors would love to say the United States is low on munitions, but that's not true."

"We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using, and we're building them at levels that we have never done before," he added. "Top of the line stuff."

Trump backs down on Greenland — for now

An agreement with Denmark and Greenland on the eve of the United Nations that allows Trump to claim victory in the Arctic without taking over the autonomous territory may have contributed to Trump's more gentile approach to America’s allies during his visit to New York.

The security agreement gives the United States permanent access to bases and airspace and bars non-NATO nations such as Russia and China from sending troops to the island.

"We're going to have a tremendous relationship, a secure relationship. And we look forward to it," Trump said during a signing ceremony. "This was long in the making."

He dodged questions after the event with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen about why he was happy, considering that the deal does not give the United States control over the Danish territory.

Earlier in the year, Trump threatened to take the island by force, unsettling NATO allies.

Denmark is a founding member of the military alliance, like the United States. It has had an agreement with America since 1951 that allows the ally to establish defense areas on Greenland in coordination with NATO.

The new agreement states the United States will be allowed to modernize and expand Pituffik Space Base, its sole remaining base on the island, and establish additional defense areas in Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, in southern Greenland.

European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas told USA TODAY before the signing that while she had not seen the deal, "any agreement that increases the security in the Arctic is welcome."

Trump on Cuba: 'It's an absolutely failed state'

With his desire to conquer Greenland satiated, Trump looked on Sept. 22 to two territories closer to home: Venezuela and Cuba.

"It was a war, but it's perhaps the biggest deal ever made," Trump said of the U.S. invasion of Venezuela, and the subsequent seizure and sale of its oil. "To the victor belong the spoils."

Trump is expected to meet with Delcy Rodriguez, the U.S.-backed interim leader of Venezuela, before he departs New York. The closed-door, pull-aside will be their first face-to-face encounter.

Since the military operation, the Trump administration has implemented a "maximum pressure" campaign against nearby Cuba aimed at further straining the communist nation’s economy.

US-Cuba relations: Behind Trump's playbook to push Cuba toward slow-motion collapse

Washington has cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, furthering the island’s energy crisis and contributing to frequent blackouts.

"It's an absolutely failed state," Trump said of Cuba in his speech. "And it will fall."

The Cuban delegation at the United Nations protested Trump's remarks by walking out of the General Assembly Hall.

Speaking about Cuba later during a meeting with Latin American leaders, Trump said the country was "not looking so good" and joked about airdropping Secretary of State Marco Rubio into Cuba. Rubio’s parents were born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States before the revolution.

Trump said at the Shield of America’s event that there has been a "big shift to the right" in countries in the Western Hemisphere since he returned to office and offered to help them bring down drug syndicates.

"You let us know, and we take them out. Or you take them out yourself. I like that a little better," Trump said, to laughter. "But if you can’t, we’ll do it for you."