The United States expelled two remaining members of Iran's UN General Assembly delegation from New York on Friday night and Saturday morning after they stayed past a State Department order to leave, while President Donald Trump said Saturday he will soon decide how to resolve the nearly seven-month US-Iran war — "either the easy way or the hard way."
What happened with the Iranian diplomats?
The two delegation members were sent home after the State Department found them still in New York days after the UN General Assembly ended, according to reporting by the Washington Examiner, which first carried the Saturday development alongside the original Axios reporting. "Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio means business," a US official told the Examiner. "Two more members of the Iranian delegation were still in NY long after the United Nations General Assembly had passed. They have now been kicked out of the U.S."
The expulsions followed Rubio's Monday order for the entire Iranian delegation — including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — to leave the country immediately after talks stalled, per Axios. The Iranian delegation pushed back on social media, saying it had left New York on Monday evening "in accordance with the schedule that had also been communicated to the U.S. Department of State in advance on September 17," and calling the State Department's claims "baseless and worthless news." The identities of the two expelled delegates were not disclosed.
What did Trump and Hegseth say on Saturday?
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump said a decision on Iran is coming. "We have a decision that I'll make about Iran. Iran's been decimated. So the only question is, it'll either be the easy way or the hard way. We'll have it the easy way or the hard way," he said, per ANI. He did not give a timeline or details of next steps.
Earlier, speaking in Texas, Trump predicted the war would end "very quickly" and that oil prices would "drop like a rock" once it does. He described Iran as heavily degraded economically and militarily — claims presented here as the president's own characterization. "It'll either just say, look, they have 301 per cent inflation. They have no money; they have no currency. Their military has been defeated, their navy is gone, their air force is gone, everything's gone," he added. No independent assessment of those claims was available.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, speaking at the US Air Force Academy, said Washington controls the Strait of Hormuz and described the US blockade as "ironclad." "They also know that we control the Strait of Hormuz, that our blockade is ironclad and that oil is flowing through ultimately," Hegseth said in a transcript excerpt. "More economic pressure only ensures that Iran really has — the only choice they have is to come to the table and actually talk about their nuclear program, which the President is demanding."
Why does this matter?
The expulsions, the "easy way or hard way" warning, and the blockade rhetoric form a tightening pattern: diplomatic pressure (the UNGA delegation removals), economic pressure (Hegseth said the Treasury is applying "economic fury"), and military leverage (the Hormuz blockade) — all aimed at forcing Tehran back to nuclear negotiations, which stalled last weekend. The Examiner also noted Trump has reiterated his willingness to escalate military tensions with Iran even if disrupted Hormuz shipping affects oil prices ahead of November's midterm elections.
Iran has given no public response to Saturday's expulsions or Trump's remarks.
What is the market picture?
Oil markets spent Saturday weighing the same squeeze. Brent crude held around $102.25 a barrel and WTI traded near $91.11, down about 1.9%, as traders balanced reports of G7 emergency-supply releases against the risk that a breakdown in US-Iran talks disrupts Gulf shipping. Trump's own prediction — that oil prices will "drop like a rock" once the war ends — shows how directly the White House is linking the conflict to energy markets. No outlet reported a direct causal link between Saturday's diplomatic expulsions and specific price moves.
