DOMINANT ANGLE
Ottawa is separating the threat made against Iran from the diplomatic maneuver that followed, and is primarily focused on the fact that its own Prime Minister was defending multilateralism from the same podium that Trump is trying to undermine.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Trump said he believes an agreement with Iran will come "just after the election" in the November mid-term, after mentioning the option of "wiping out the Islamic Republic"
- 02
According to the National Post, "all members of the Iranian delegation except one" left the room during the speech; Trump then revealed a three-hour meeting between Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Iranian Minister Abbas Araghchi
- 03
Prime Minister Mark Carney was attending the opening of the General Assembly and has been advocating for a multilateralism based on shared interests for a year; Trump called the idea of a associate member status for Canada in the EU "hostile"
ANALYSIS
Ottawa, September 23, 2026. Before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Donald Trump warned that he would have to "decide" between an agreement allowing Iran "to rebuild into a much greater country", or "annihilate the Islamic Republic" and "send them to hell with no chance of survival". He said he believed an agreement would come "just after the election" in the November mid-term, repeating his promise that Iran "will never have a nuclear weapon" and evoking a reality that "too many people have chosen to ignore". The National Post notes that during this passage, "all members of the Iranian delegation except one" left the room. Minutes later, Trump revealed that American and Iranian representatives had met for three hours in New York — Iranian Minister Abbas Araghchi facing presidential emissary Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner —, describing the exchange as a "very good, very productive" meeting, with another one "planned very soon".
Canadian coverage highlights another thread: on the same day, at the same podium, Prime Minister Mark Carney attended the opening of a General Assembly that Trump has been trying to weaken for months — by withholding funding, withdrawing from the WHO and UNESCO. For a year, according to Global News, Carney has been traveling the world to defend a multilateralism based on "shared interests, and sometimes shared values, rather than shared institutions", seeking a bridge between the European Union and the CPTPP bloc in the face of economic coercion from Washington and Beijing. After Ursula von der Leyen mentioned a "associate member" status for Canada, Trump deemed the prospect "hostile".
The CBC also notes that the speech devoted a significant portion to the Western Hemisphere: claiming Venezuelan oil as war spoils, strikes against traffickers in the Caribbean, and a warning against any adverse power gaining a foothold "anywhere in the Western Hemisphere" — a revived Monroe Doctrine, which the channel reports was welcomed by the Kremlin. The war with Iran began on February 28 with Israeli-American strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was replaced by his son Mojtaba.
SOURCES (5)
- Globe and MailMEDIUM
- National PostMEDIUM
- Toronto SunMEDIUM
- Global NewsMEDIUM
