As Iran war grinds on, Trump to face skeptical world leaders at UN - Reuters

As Iran war grinds on, Trump to face skeptical world leaders at UN | Reuters

Skip to main content

Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more aboutRefinitiv

* World
Browse World

+ Africa
+ Americas
+ Asia Pacific
+ China
+ Europe
+ India
+ Iran War
+ Israel and Hamas at War
+ Japan
+ Middle East
+ Reuters/Ipsos Polls
+ Ukraine and Russia at War
+ United Kingdom
+ United States
+ U.S. Midterm Elections
+ Reuters NEXT
* Business
Browse Business

+ Aerospace & Defense
+ Autos & Transportation
+ Davos
+ Energy
+ Environment
+ Finance
+ Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals
+ Media & Telecom
+ Retail & Consumer
+ Future of Health
+ Future of Money
+ Take Five
+ World at Work
* Markets
Browse Markets

+ On the Money
+ Asian Markets
+ Carbon Markets
+ Commodities
+ Currencies
+ Deals
+ Emerging Markets
+ ETFs
+ European Markets
+ Funds
+ Econ World
+ Global Market Data
+ Rates & Bonds
+ Stocks
+ U.S. Markets
+ Wealth
* Sustainability
Browse Sustainability

+ Boards, Policy & Regulation
+ Climate & Energy
+ Land Use & Biodiversity
+ Society & Equity
+ Sustainable Finance & Reporting
+ The Switch
+ Reuters Impact
+ COP31
* Legal
Browse Legal

+ Government
+ Legal Industry
+ Litigation
+ Transactional
+ US Supreme Court
* Commentary
Browse Commentary

+ Breakingviews
+ ROI: Reuters Open Interest
* Technology
Browse Technology

+ Artificial Intelligence
+ Cybersecurity
+ Space
+ Disrupted
* Investigations
* Sports
+ World Cup
+ Athletics
+ Baseball
+ Basketball
+ Cricket
+ Cycling
+ Formula 1
+ Golf
+ NFL
+ NHL
+ Soccer
+ Tennis
Science
Lifestyle

+ Culture Current
City Memo
Graphics

+ Chart of the Week
Pictures
Wider Image
Podcasts

+ Reuters World News
+ Reuters Morning Bid
+ Reuters Econ World
+ On Assignment
+ Viewsroom
+ The Big View
Live
Fact Check
Video
Media Center

+ Announcements
+ Awards
+ Inside the Newsroom
+ People News
Sponsored Content

+ Reuters Plus
+ Press Releases

My NewsSign InSubscribe

As Iran war grinds on, Trump to face skeptical world leaders at UN

By

Matt Spetalnick

September 18, 2026

1:03 AM EDT

Updated 31 mins ago

*
*
*

*
*
*
*
*

!People drive past a billboard about the Strait of Hormuz, on a building in Tehran

People drive past a billboard about the Strait of Hormuz, on a building in Tehran, Iran, September 16, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Purchase LicensingRights , opens new tab

* Summary

* World leaders increasingly rattled by seventh month of Iran war
* Advance by Houthis deepens Trump’s problems, gives Tehran new leverage
* Trump goal of halting Iran’s nuclear program remains unmet
* Trump refusal to act against Houthis erodes confidence in US

WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - When President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations a year ago, he touted the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites just months earlier as "totally obliterating everything" and said he had brought peace between Israel and Iran.

Returning to the ​world body on Tuesday, Trump will face a deeply skeptical audience increasingly rattled by six months of war between US forces and an emboldened Iran, growing regional instability and a nuclear threat ‌that has not disappeared despite his claims.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

Though battered militarily and economically, Tehran has remained defiant, obstructing oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and in recent days gaining new leverage as its Houthi allies in Yemen tighten their grip on a Red Sea chokepoint, further spiking global energy prices.

The lightning advance by the Houthi militants has put Trump in an ever-tighter bind over the unpopular conflict, dealt a blow to US ally Saudi Arabia and exposed the limits of Washington’s ability to protect its regional partners.

Most European and Asian allies have spurned Trump's demands for ​assistance in a conflict he launched without consulting them and which has had damaging fallout for their economies.

And with US gasoline prices high and his approval ratings low, Trump could pay a price in November’s midterm elections ​when his Republican Party’s control of Congress is at risk.

“We are seeing what happens when a president launches a war of choice without anticipating the unintended consequences,” said Aaron ⁠David Miller, a former adviser on Middle East policy to Republican and Democratic administrations.

In Trump’s speech to the annual gathering of heads of state and government in New York, he is likely again to frame as a victory a ​military campaign he promised would be over in weeks.

The conflict has instead hardened into an uneasy stalemate that has failed to achieve Trump’s shifting goals while depleting the Pentagon's missile stockpiles.

Trump’s problems have only deepened since Houthi fighters overcame Saudi-backed Yemeni government ​forces, sweeping down the Red Sea coast and seizing islands at the mouth of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping corridor that allows Iran to further threaten global oil supplies.

In response to Reuters' questions, a senior Trump administration official said the US is focused on security interests such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea "while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges."

DOUBTS ABOUT NUCLEAR CLAIMS

Iran took up only a small portion of Trump’s speech at last year's UN General Assembly.

He recounted how, ​three months before, he had sent B-2 bombers to drop 30,000-pound bombs that “demolished” Tehran’s uranium enrichment capacity. However, experts determined the strikes had only seriously set back the program.

“No other country on Earth could have done what we did,” ​Trump said.

The US president – who campaigned on a vow to avoid foreign military entanglements - also presented himself as a peacemaker, repeating claims to have ended conflicts around the world, including a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in 2025, and again insisted he should ‌receive the Nobel ⁠Peace Prize.

Events since then stand in contrast to his remarks.

Trump joined Israel in striking Iran on February 28, citing what he said was an imminent nuclear threat to the US. Experts have disputed his claim that Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has always denied seeking.

But Trump underestimated Iran’s resilience, analysts say. Despite airstrikes that killed many of Iran’s top leaders, it has hit back at Gulf neighbors and the US bases they host.

At the same time, Iran has retained a stockpile of near-weapons-grade highly enriched uranium believed buried by the US strikes in June 2025.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump alone had “possessed the courage” to confront Iran over its nuclear program, that he had achieved all ​his objectives and Iran's economy was being crippled by stepped-up ​sanctions and a US maritime blockade.

Trump, meanwhile, has rebuffed Saudi ⁠pleas for direct military intervention against the Houthis, who agreed to a ceasefire with the US last year.

This has dented confidence about US security guarantees among Gulf states, whose doubts had already been fed by Trump’s decision to go to war over their objections, analysts say. He plans to meet Gulf leaders on the UN sidelines next week, Axios reported.

TRUMP'S ​DILEMMA

The dilemma for Trump is that while the US can ill afford to have the Houthis close a second major shipping corridor, he is reluctant to undertake a ​dangerous new mission for a US ⁠military stretched by the fighting against Ira