Trump Threatens to Decimate Iran, Signals Possible Deal After Nov. 3 Midterms; Oil Falls 1%

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly that he could "decimate Iran" if no end-of-war agreement is reached, while predicting a peace deal may come after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. He urged allies to economically isolate Tehran and said U.S. officials held roughly three hours of "very productive" talks with Iranian intermediaries — not officials directly. Brent crude fell 1.09% to $99.25 a barrel and WTI dropped 1.24% to $94.59, a fifth straight losing session, after reports Iran proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz within seven days of a U.S. blockade being lifted. In his 37-minute address, Trump defended U.S. strikes on Iran as preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and cited a U.S. raid on Venezuela that detained its leader as proof Washington will not tolerate threats in the Western Hemisphere. He criticized Mexico as a "center of cartel violence" and called Cuba a "total failed state." Less than a week before the speech, a U.N. fact-finding mission said there were reasonable grounds to believe two U.S. airstrikes on Iran may constitute war crimes, including one that hit an elementary school in Minab.