Thursday morning news: September 24, 2026

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Iranian president at UN plays victim card » One day after President Trump addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly, Iran’s president did the same.

Masoud Pezeshkian Wednesday played the victim card in a rare wartime speech.

He held up a photo of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in American and Israeli strikes in February.

PEZESHKIAN: Those who are terrorists and train and protect terrorists describe us as such. We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists.

The U.S., Canada, Australia, and the European Union have designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as either a terrorist entity or a state sponsor of terror.

Pezeshkian also struck a defiant tone:

PEZESHKIAN: We will never bow our head or bend at the knee. We are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force.

That came after Trump on Tuesday said he has a big decision to make , strike a deal with Iranian leaders, or —his words— annihilate Iran. Though, he said he believes there will be a deal.

Iran says it will let ships through the Strait of Hormuz again if Washington lifts its naval blockade of Iran's ports, releases frozen Iranian money, and ends the war on all fronts. U.S. officials haven’t verified that those were Tehran’s terms, but confirmed that they talked with Iran this week.

They note that Iran already broke an agreement it signed back in June.

Rubio on Iran / now officially NSA » Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio said if Iran thinks US midterm elections give them leverage, they’re wrong.

RUBIO:  When it comes to the imposition of both sanctions and the use of military force, the president has extraordinary powers. Every president does. He's the commander-in-chief, both constitutional and, and otherwise, to be able to carry out those functions.

President Trump believes Tehran has been hoping that political pressure ahead of the midterms will lead him to offer more favorable terms. He says that won’t happen.

Secretary of State Rubio spoke from UN headquarters, one day after the White House made it official that Rubio is now Trump’s national security adviser, and no longer just his acting advisor.

That makes Rubio only the second person in history to hold both of those posts at the same time, joining only Henry Kissinger.

Zelesnkyy » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also addressed the General Assembly yesterday. He called on world leaders to turn up the pressure on Russia economically.

ZELENSKYY:  When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. That is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor and why we are burning Russia's revenues ourselves

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, spoke to the UN Security Council.

LAVROV: [Speaking Russian]

He said the Kremlin is ready to negotiate toward a lasting peace, but it won’t pause the war in the meantime because, he said, that would give Kyiv more time to rearm.

Also Wednesday, 50 countries and the EU issued a joint statement supporting Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, meanwhile, says he's given up trying to figure out what's going on in Vladimir Putin's head. But there's one thing he does know:

RUTTE: We have to make sure that we are prepared, we are strong and he knows it. And if he does anything silly, he knows our reaction will be tough. We will never be aggressive, but if necessary, we will defend ourselves and every inch of our territory. He knows it.

Moscow continues to carry out near daily strikes throughout Ukraine.

Xi arrival » Meantime, at Joint Base Andrews near Washington:

SOUND: [Xi Jinping welcome band]

Chinese leader Xi Jinping emerged in the doorway of his jet to a ceremonial welcome.

SOUND: [Gunfire]

He descended down a flight of stairs, where President Trump was there to greet him on the tarmac with a handshake.

Both leaders then made a slow walk down a red carpet, pausing for a ceremonial Air Force flyover:

SOUND: [Flyover]

Before they both departed separately for the White House.

The two leaders will meet today on a range of issues, including trade, AI, and the war with Iran. Tonight, the Chinese leader will be the guest of honor at a state dinner, with some of America’s biggest tech leaders also on the guest list.

Hurricane Polo » The powerful Hurricane Polo is churning off Mexico’s Pacific coast, threatening deadly flooding and mudslides today. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Polo's winds peaked Tuesday at 180 miles an hour. It has weakened since then, but it’s still a monster.

The good news is that it’s not expected to come ashore, but it remains a serious threat. Forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center say Polo's outer bands could soak the state of Guerrero, including Acapulco. They expect four to six inches of rain there through today, up to eight in spots. Forecasters say the danger is worst where the ground is steep.

Mexico's navy closed the ports at Acapulco and Zihuatanejo, in Guerrero. And the state has opened dozens of shelters.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I'm Kent Covington.

Coming up, a Senate committee hears testimony about the risks male athletes still pose for women’s sports. Plus, the lead singer of Skillet on Christian rock.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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