Trump says deciding between deal or driving Iran 'into hell'

U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday that he had to choose whether to "annihilate" Iran if it fails to make a deal to end the Middle East war.

"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, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world?" Trump said.

"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?"

But Trump reiterated that he thought an agreement was possible after U.S. midterm elections in November — in which his Republican party faces losing control of Congress at least partly due to high fuel prices caused by the war.

"I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to," Trump said.

"They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don't realize is that I'm not running. I did that already, and won in a landslide."