Category: News

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New York late Tuesday night for the U.N. General Assembly, CBS News reported

Pezeshkian said just before leaving for the U.S. that he would “firmly defend” its positions in the war and use the opportunity to “convey Iran’s plight.”

Iranian state media reported he will address the world body on Wednesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier held mediated talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in New York. 

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for countries to recommit to international laws and the UN system over a resurgent “law of the jungle,” France 24 reported.

Macron, giving his last speech at the General Debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, also railed against the humanitarian situation in Gaza while calling for a moratorium on strikes against civilian and energy targets in the Ukraine-Russia war.

“The question put to us, in very simple terms, is whether we want to live in this state of nature, with a kind of return to the law of the jungle, or in a civilized international society,” he said.

“My message is to stand firm. Do not yield to the situation which is developing … The rhetoric of defeat that is giving way to abuse of power by empires, threatening the sovereignty of some nations,” Macron said.

The French president, who has been a long-standing supporter of Ukraine and raised the country’s case in a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday, called for Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a moratorium on striking civilian and energy targets. 

“We’ve seen the destruction of civilian infrastructure, human rights violations. It’s a new era of barbaric acts,” he said.

“We must protect the civilian population, and this is why we’d like to express our support for a double moratorium, a moratorium on strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure,” he added. He also called for a moratorium of attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea, a crucial sea route for both countries’ grain exports.

Macron at one point hammered the rostrum as he spoke about the humanitarian crisis in the devastated Gaza Strip.

“What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza? Some claim that peace has been achieved, but this has not opened up humanitarian deliveries. It is a spectacle that shames us all,” he said.

In a stark contrast to Trump’s rejection of global AI regulation in his own address hours before, the French president called for countries to work together on building an open-source frontier artificial intelligence model independent of the “great powers” – China and the United States.

“I don’t want anyone to become the vassal of one of the great powers. Rather, we must come together to build an open-source frontier model, a cutting-edge model,” he said.

“We should not depend on somebody else.”

US President Donald Trump used his UN General Assembly speech to make the case for his war on Iran, arguing he has prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warning that he could “annihilate the Islamic Republic” if no deal is reached to end ‌the conflict, Reuters reports.

While predicting his administration would strike a peace deal with Iran following the November 3 US midterm elections, Trump called on other nations to join America in isolating Iran economically to force it to the negotiating table.

“I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump said. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”

He later told reporters at the United Nations that US officials had held a “very good” three-hour meeting with the Iranian delegation on Tuesday. He subsequently appeared to clarify that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had met with mediators rather than Iranian officials directly.

“Steve and Jared had a very productive meeting today with mediators of Iran, merely mediators,” he told reporters at the start of a meeting with Gulf leaders ⁠at the UN. “Let’s see what happens with that.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended an official diplomatic reception in New York hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in honor of participating heads of state and government, the Prime Minister’s Office reported.

The gathering took place at Lotte New York Palace on Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the implementation of the TRIPP project will fully unlock regional connectivity and open a new era for Armenia and its economy.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City, held within the framework of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, the PM answered questions from moderator Douglas Smith, the Global Head of Public Affairs and Managing Director for the Middle East at the Nuclear Company, concerning the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the opportunities emerging as a result.

Pashinyan said that work is currently focused on implementing the TRIPP project, according to a press release issued by his office. 

“It will open a new era for our country and economy,” the Prime Minister said, adding that this will also bring the Armenian Government’s Crossroads of Peace project to life.

The Prime Minister then spoke about cooperation between Armenia and the United States in the field of IT, particularly AI.

Pashinyan emphasized that, as a result of the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States on August 8 last year, three artificial intelligence centers have been established in Armenia within one year, two of which are large-scale investment projects.

The Prime Minister also addressed developments in the information technology sector, adding that it is developing successfully in the country and is considered an important part of the economy. Pashinyan expressed confidence that with the establishment of peace, Armenia’s investment attractiveness will steadily increase.

Prime Minister Pashinyan also answered questions about the possibilities of achieving self-sufficiency in the energy sector, the establishment of energy storage facilities, and steps aimed at constructing a new nuclear power plant.

Speaking about relations with the United States and the European Union, Pashinyan said that strategic partnerships have been established with both and emphasized that the Government of Armenia will continue to deepen its balanced and balancing foreign policy. 

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has reiterated that Yerevan is looking forward to the opening of the Armenian-Turkish land border and the establishment of railway connectivity amid efforts to unblock regional routes and infrastructure.

“We are currently focused on implementing the TRIPP project,” he said at a panel discussion at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City, held within the framework of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. “As a result of implementing this project, we will fully open up regional connectivity. Armenia has effectively been blockaded since the early 1990s, and the TRIPP will open a new era for our country and our economy, because first and foremost, we will have railway connectivity with Azerbaijan. We are looking forward to the opening of Armenia’s border with Türkiye and, within that framework, railway connectivity between Armenia and Türkiye as well,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the implementation of the project will change international logistics, as the international community will gain a new route between East and West.

“As a result, which is not directly connected to TRIPP, railway connectivity will also open between the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea,” the Prime Minister said.

Pashinyan recalled that years ago, the Government of Armenia launched the Crossroads of Peace project, which, together with all of the above, is becoming a reality.

Türkiye unilaterally closed its land border with Armenia in 1993. The two countries have intensified normalization efforts in recent years, and Armenia has said it stands ready for Türkiye to open the border at any time. The border checkpoints have been upgraded and are ready to operate.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in his address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York that Yerevan and Ankara had made progress in the process of normalizing bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that peace established with Azerbaijan would make Armenia more attractive for investment.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City, held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Pashinyan highlighted the recently opened data centers in Armenia that use NVIDIA technology.

“As for artificial intelligence, last year, on August 8, we signed a memorandum of understanding with US President Donald Trump on cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and technology. There are already two artificial intelligence factories in Armenia, which is very good news for our country. Technology is a very important part of our annual GDP growth and our economy. With the establishment of peace, the attractiveness of our country for investment will increase. We see it, it is increasing, it is growing,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that negotiations with several countries are continuing over the planned construction of a new nuclear power plant in Armenia to replace the aging Metsamor facility.

“We have a nuclear power plant [Metsamor] that was built during the Soviet era, and the operating life of that nuclear power plant is nearing its end,” Pashinyan said at a panel discussion at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City. “We are currently making a decision on the next nuclear power plant. In this regard, we are negotiating with various partners—the United States, Russia, France, China, and South Korea—and are seeking the best offer to launch the construction of a new nuclear power plant,” Pashinyan said.

Continuing on the topic of the energy sector, the Prime Minister added that with the introduction of new technologies, Armenia has a good opportunity to become energy self-sufficient.

“Since we have considerable solar resources and solar generation capacities that are developing rapidly, the most important issue for us now is to develop storage capacity. We now need large-scale energy storage capacity, and we are working in that direction,” the Prime Minister said.

Armenia has already announced that it is working to extend the operating life of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant until 2036, while steps will be taken to build a new nuclear power plant in the meantime. It has already been decided that the new nuclear power plant will be modular.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that having diversified foreign ties is important for preserving and strengthening Armenia’s independence.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City, where he is attending the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Pashinyan highlighted his administration’s balanced and balancing foreign policy.

“In recent times, we have established a strategic partnership with the United States. We have also established a strategic partnership with the EU. In 2025, the Armenian Parliament adopted a law on launching the process of Armenia’s accession to the EU. But you know, there is a very important nuance, because apart from economic ties, our policy is also to diversify our political ties. Therefore, in recent years, we have established strategic partnerships with the United States, the EU, and China. Having diversified foreign ties is very important for preserving and strengthening independence,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Armenia has adopted a balanced and balancing foreign policy.

“We have been quite successfully implementing this policy to date, and, of course, we will deepen this strategy—to diversify our ties both in terms of the economy and political relations,” he said.