NEW YORK — President Donald Trump will take the world stage Tuesday facing a convergence of wars and geopolitical challenges that could define his second-term foreign policy, from the conflict with Iran and Russia’s war in Ukraine to intensifying strategic competition with China.
Trump is set to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as his administration pushes to end some of the world’s most entrenched conflicts while simultaneously confronting adversaries that have deepened their economic and security ties in recent years.
And he’s expected to use the address to argue that this White House has confronted global problems that previous administrations allowed to fester, according to officials previewing the president’s remarks.
Trump will address Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the administration’s Gaza peace plan and developments in the Western Hemisphere, among other issues, the White House said ahead of the speech.
But Iran is also expected to dominate diplomacy on the sidelines of the gathering.
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A senior U.S. official said Iran would be a “key topic of conversation and diplomacy” throughout the week as the administration continues its campaign to economically isolate Tehran. Trump is scheduled to meet with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council following his address Tuesday, with the war and security in the Strait of Hormuz expected to be a prominent topic of those discussions.
Trump is also expected to renew his push to overhaul the United Nations itself, after using the same stage last year to sharply question the institution’s effectiveness.
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“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked during his 2025 address, arguing that the body had played little role in resolving conflicts around the world. He said the U.N. had “tremendous potential,” while suggesting it remains unrealized.
A senior U.S. official said ahead of Tuesday’s speech that the administration has helped cut more than $1 billion from the U.N. budget, while roughly 3,000 headquarters positions are being trimmed and more than a quarter of U.N. peacekeepers are being sent home.
“We call it having the U.N. on a diet, getting it back focused, leaner, and back to basics, focused on peace and security,” the official said, describing the administration’s approach as doing “less things better.”
The push builds on a broader effort by Trump to scale back U.S. involvement in international organizations his administration argues do not serve American interests, while still using the U.N. as a venue for diplomacy.
In his address last year, Trump offered “the hand of American leadership and friendship” to countries willing to work with the United States, even as he sharply criticized the institution’s record.
The General Assembly could also provide an opening for diplomacy with Tehran, whose president and foreign minister are expected to be in New York for the annual gathering.
The president will leave New York Tuesday night and almost immediately turn to another major foreign policy challenge: China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington Wednesday ahead of meetings with Trump at the White House Thursday, putting Trump’s U.N. appearance and the U.S.-China relationship in unusually close succession.
