World leaders are gathering at the United Nations headquarters in New York this week "in an era of deep uncertainty," says U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. This is Guterres' final General Assembly high-level week, as his term ends at the end of the year.
He'll give opening remarks to start the event Tuesday morning, followed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — as Brazil speaks first by tradition — and then President Trump. The packed schedule of other leaders and top officials runs through Sept. 28. Guterres told reporters last week that he will use his meetings with world leaders to push for de-escalation in the Middle East and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb waterway.
He's also pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine, well into the fifth year of Russia's full-scale invasion. U.N. watchers, however, are not expecting major breakthroughs on these topics. Here's what we will be watching.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to address the world body on Wednesday, a day after President Trump's speech — and nearly seven months after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February. State Department says the Iranian delegation will be smaller than last year. The U.S. did not give everyone visas.
Iranian officials will have strict limits on where they can go and what they can buy, enforced by diplomatic security agents. It is not clear if any will meet with Trump administration officials. The U.N. secretary-general has been trying to negotiate an opening of the Strait of Hormuz for fertilizer, though those efforts have not gained traction.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on the speakers list for Wednesday, too, and his European allies are trying to rally support as the country heads into another winter of war. Russia uses its veto power on the U.N. Security Council to block any meaningful role for the U.N.
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