Politics
UN General Assembly opens in New York as Iran and Ukraine wars dominate agenda
September 22, 2026 at 02:34 PM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 3 hours
World leaders convened in New York for the 81st UN General Assembly, with wars in Iran and Ukraine and AI risks dominating the agenda.
- The 81st UN General Assembly high-level meeting opened in New York on Tuesday under the theme "Restoring trust, managing transformation."
- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is due to deliver the first head-of-state speech, followed by Trump, Erdogan, and Qatar's emir.
- Guterres, attending his final assembly before his term ends this year, told the Associated Press that leaders meet in a deeply uncertain era and institutions must change.
- Former US ambassador Robert Wood said the UN stands at a critical juncture and the situation "was bad" last year and has not improved much this year.