The U.N.
Pezeshkian told the U.N. Iran will not be bullied.
A day after Trump said he would annihilate Iran without a deal, the Iranian president claimed a right to peaceful nuclear work. Witkoff and Kushner had already sat down with Araghchi.
The Rocket News · Foreign Desk · New YorkSeptember 24, 2026 · 4 min read

NEW YORK — President Masoud Pezeshkian told the General Assembly on Wednesday that Iran must be powerful enough that its future cannot be threatened. The Washington Post reported the line. A day earlier, President Trump had told the same hall he would annihilate Iran if its leaders do not make a deal. Pezeshkian said Iran would not seek a nuclear weapon, and that it has a right to peaceful nuclear technologies.
The diplomacy is already in the building. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the United Nations on Tuesday, Just Security’s Thursday briefing noted, citing the Post. What either side put on the table has not been published.
Iran must be powerful so as to avoid being threatened.
The World desk files the speech. The overnight dead in Ukraine are on the war page. The lawn in Washington, where Xi is the guest, is the cover.
Wire and further reading: nytimes.com
Filed under World
Keep reading

Iran
Iran's negotiators spent a third day in Doha.
Reuters, Sunday: a third day of talks with Qatar, aimed at ending the war. The two-day plan to reopen Hormuz is not a deal. The photograph is Tehran on Oct. 26, not Doha.

Diplomacy
The G20 skipped the photograph with Lavrov.
Reuters: foreign ministers in Atlanta dropped the group picture Friday after Europeans objected to standing with the Russian minister. The photograph is the head table. Lavrov is not in it.

Diplomacy
Witkoff shook Putin's hand, and Hubbard is free.
At Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, the ninth meeting, Putin said the American held since 2022 was at the airport to fly home with the envoy. No peace deal was announced.
