WASHINGTON / NEW YORK — President Donald Trump told Axios he faces a “big decision” on whether to “annihilate” the Iranian regime or hold back, as he prepares a Tuesday meeting with Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss Iran’s endgame and a postwar strategy, according to reporting carried by Israel National News, CNBC, and Reuters.

“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” Trump told Axios, as quoted by Israel National News on Sept. 17, 2026. He said he wants to hear directly from regional partners first: “I want to find out where they are and how they are doing. We have been very protective of them.”

The Tuesday session is expected to include leaders or foreign ministers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman — with the guest list possibly widening to other Arab and Muslim leaders, Axios reporting summarized by CNBC and Reuters. Discussion is framed around U.S. proposals for a postwar strategy; Axios said a day-after plan is not expected to be finalized until after the November midterms.

Trump declined to say whether his Iran decision would come before or after those midterms. Separately, he told reporters he hoped the war was “toward the end,” that Tehran wants a deal, and that he has heard from Iran “directly,” without elaborating — comments Reuters and CNBC attributed to Wednesday remarks in North Carolina.

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have ordered U.S. forces in the Middle East maintained at current levels through year-end to stay ready for a possible return to full-scale combat, U.S. officials told Axios via secondary accounts. Trump also told Axios he was satisfied with the naval blockade of Iranian ports: “Not one ship has gone to Iran since we started. They tried, and we blew them up.”

The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, is in its seventh month. Oil prices and Gulf energy infrastructure remain under strain as fighting has expanded into Yemen and Red Sea approaches. One U.S. official, quoted in the Axios-sourced accounts, put the strategic bind bluntly: “At some point you have to decide what is the end game.” Whether that endgame is renewed massive strikes, a negotiated off-ramp, or prolonged blockade pressure is the decision Trump is advertising — and concentrating — in his own hands ahead of the Midtown diplomacy week.

Sources