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September 18 - September 24
This week at the United Nations General Assembly, the United States made clear that we will lead with peace through strength, champion economic vitality, and defend the sovereignty of nations.
Here’s what happened at State this past week. ⤵️
- President Trump addressed the UN General Assembly.
- The leaders of 15 Western Hemisphere countries met to defend their sovereignty.
- Secretary Rubio covered a wide range of issues in press appearances, advocating for the UN to return to its core mandate, celebrating the unprecedented agreement with Greenland and Denmark, and addressing the situations in Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela.
 President Trump delivers remarks to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 22 at U.N. Headquarters in New York City. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
On September 22, President Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York, declaring that “American strength and resolve is back.”
The President emphasized the Administration’s decisive actions to protect American sovereignty, secure the Western Hemisphere, and counter global security threats.
“Given only a short time to make this world better, safer, and more prosperous for our children, for the people on Earth, we have to take advantage of it,” said President Trump.
“We are reasserting American power, including American military power where necessary, in our region and around the world to create a safer future for all of us.”
 Secretary Rubio meets with Shield of the Americas heads of state and foreign ministers in New York City, September 22. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)
During the UN High-Level Week, Secretary Rubio met with heads of state and foreign ministers participating in the Shield of the Americas coalition. Senior officials from the 14 other Western Hemisphere countries agreed to work together to combat narco-terrorist organizations through asset freezes, visa restrictions, and enhanced law enforcement coordination.
The participating nations issued a Joint Statement on Defending Hemispheric Sovereignty. In it, they reaffirmed their shared commitment to protecting democratic governance and economic security across three core pillars: economic cooperation, security coordination, and multilateral alignment.
“This is our hemisphere — and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened,” Secretary Rubio emphasized. As part of their first joint action, coalition members declared their intention to collectively target 24 groups designated under regional security frameworks.
 Secretary Rubio meets with the press at the UN General Assembly in New York City, September 23. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)
In a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with the international press during the United Nations High-Level Week, Secretary Rubio addressed many of the priorities of the Trump Administration:
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Iran: Secretary Rubio emphasized the primary requirement for the U.S. in any dealing or negotiation with Iran: “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “Everything emanates from that.”
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The Strait of Hormuz: The United States military is actively defending and keeping open the Strait of Hormuz, the Secretary said. “Meanwhile, the only blockade in the Hormuz Straits is the one we’ve imposed on Iran because they keep firing on ships and they continue to do so as early as this morning.”
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Cuba: Secretary Rubio noted that Cuba has a golden opportunity to place itself on an irreversible path towards a better future, and the United States is prepared to be helpful in that regard if they’re open to it. “The reality of their situation is things are not going to get better in Cuba without them making very substantial changes.”
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The International System: The Secretary said the international system is “failing because it has grown beyond its mandate … and it’s unable to solve virtually any major conflict in the world.”
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Super Intelligence: “Like every technological advance in human history, it’s impossible to stop it...The question is, how can we put guardrails and frameworks around it so that we can get the benefits of AI while mitigating the risks?”
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Venezuela: “We want to do two things at the same time. We want to help them rebuild their economy,” said Secretary Rubio, “and second is build back all the things necessary in order to truly have free and fair elections.”
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