United States President Donald Trump told world leaders gathered at the UN on Tuesday that during a seven-month period he had ended "seven unendable" wars, but said the global body had offered little help.
"What is the purpose of the United Nations?" he asked, adding "all they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It's empty words and empty words don't solve war."
He noted that some had suggested he be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, adding that "the real prize will be to save millions of lives."
On Iran, which he described as "the world's number one sponsor of terror," Mr. Trump said its enrichment capabilities had been "completely demolished" and his administration had brokered an end to a 12-day war.
'Strict tariffs' warning to Russia
Turning to Ukraine, the US President said he had thought it would be "the easiest" conflict to resolve because of his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, he said, the war had dragged on for three years, "killing five to seven thousand young people a week."
Mr. Trump also accused North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries of hypocrisy for buying oil and gas from Moscow "when they are fighting Russia."
His proposed solution is punitive tariffs: "If Russia does not end the war, the United States will impose very strict tariffs which would end the war very quickly, but the Europeans have to adopt them as well."
On Gaza, he urged immediate action to release all hostages and warned that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian State would amount to "a reward to Hamas for its horrible atrocities."
"But instead of giving in to Hamas as ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message - release the hostages now," he declared.
The US President also criticized the UN over the refurbishment of its New York headquarters which began in 2008, saying he had offered to rebuild it for $500 million, but the organization had chosen a different contractor, spending "between two and four billion dollars and did not even get the marble floors I promised them."
On migration, he said that in 2024 the UN spent "$372 million in cash to support 624,000 migrants to journey into the United States to infiltrate our southern border."
He added: "The UN is supposed to stop invasion, not promote them."
Mr. Trump also attacked climate policies and renewable energy, stating "windmills are pathetic," and calling carbon footprint "a hoax."
He argued: "If you don't get away from the green energy scam your country is going to fail," that "energy and open immigration is destroying Europe," and that "China now produces more CO2 than all the other developed nations in the world."
