UN General Assembly: 81st Session

The story so far

As of September 25, 2026

The 81st United Nations General Assembly has become a stage for the U.S.–Iran war. President Donald Trump told the hall he faces a choice between a deal and the “annihilation” of Iran, prompting Iran’s delegation to walk out. A day later, Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, used his own address to say Iranians were victims of U.S. and Israeli terrorism, held up photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolchildren killed early in the war, vowed Iran would not yield to force, and said talks were possible without threats. The U.S. delegation then left his speech.

Behind the speeches, the two sides reopened contact in New York. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, met U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for about three hours through mediators, the first such dialogue in months after June talks fell apart. Trump called the exchange a good meeting, but there is no leader‑level session on the calendar and none is expected.

What gives these talks shape is a specific trade‑off around the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway for much of the world’s oil that Iran shut after the February strikes. Tehran says it can reopen the strait within seven days if Washington eases military pressure and lifts the blockade on Iranian ports, and it has paired that with demands to release frozen funds and halt attacks on allied groups. In parallel, Emmanuel Macron and Trump agreed to work together to protect energy routes, and oil hovering near $100 a barrel shows why this corridor has become the fulcrum of the diplomacy.

That is where the story stands: harsh public lines to preserve leverage, and a concrete test of de‑escalation that would show up first at sea and in sanctions relief, not in a handshake. The General Assembly is serving as both the theater and the venue, with Pezeshkian receiving U.S. security protection in New York even as both governments trade walkouts and warnings. If there is movement this week, it will be measured by another round of envoy‑level meetings and any steps toward reopening Hormuz.