Trump to put Iran nuclear threat at center of upcoming UN General Assembly speech
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said President Donald Trump plans to use his upcoming U.N. General Assembly address to make the case that Iran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Trump said he expects Operation Epic Fury to “end soon” and when it does, “gas prices are going to drop.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Sept. 16, 2026. (Ding Haitao/Xinhua via Getty Images)
China is urging the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations as Iranian officials and media increasingly look to Beijing as a potential diplomatic bridge between Tehran and Washington, according to Iran International.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during talks in Beijing on Wednesday that China was prepared to play a "constructive role" in resolving international disputes.
Wang also called on Washington and Tehran to rebuild their negotiating mechanism and hold substantive consultations on unresolved issues.
Araghchi said after the meeting that decisions made in consultation with China would "decide future strategic balance in the region, with immeasurable knock-on effects."
The discussions come ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington next week. China has not publicly offered to mediate directly between the U.S. and Iran, according to Iran International.
Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that it struck infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group after two of its soldiers were injured in southern Lebanon.
“The strike was conducted in response to a Hezbollah explosive device in the Security Zone, that lightly injured 2 IDF soldiers that were in an IDF engineering vehicle,” it said.
“Among the targets struck were observation posts and infrastructure from which Hezbollah terrorists operated to advance and execute attacks against IDF soldiers,” Israel’s military added.
Iran has killed a man who was convicted of sharing missile site intelligence to Israel during last year’s “12-day war,” a report said.
Hossein Pedaran was hanged after Iran’s Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on charges of espionage and intelligence cooperation, Reuters reported Saturday, citing Iran’s Mizan news agency.
Iranian authorities claimed Pedaran gave information over to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, Reuters added.
The Department of War said "Operation Rising Lion — also known as the Iran-Israel war — was an armed conflict between those two countries in which Israel launched a number of surprise attacks on key Iranian facilities, both nuclear and military.”
Numerous merchant ships belonging to Iran and other countries remain at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Sept. 10, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar told his Iranian counterpart Saturday that “dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable means to ensure peace and stability in the region.”
Pakistan has acted as a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran during Operation Epic Fury.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Dar and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during a phone call Saturday, “agreed to maintain close cooperation and to meet in New York on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly.”
Dar also “stressed the importance of uninterrupted energy supplies and the safe and expeditious passage of ships, particularly given their implications for developing countries and global supply chains.”
Smoke rises from the fuel storage depot at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (Reuters)
The U.N. Security Council said recent military escalation, attacks and threats from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen “risk further expanding the conflict, threatening maritime security and international trade.”
In a statement, the council's 15 members called for “practical cooperation” to prevent the Houthis from acquiring arms, military training, financing and other military-related assistance needed to carry out their attacks, which have targeted Saudi Arabia and territory in Yemen along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The message came as Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” and issued a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom, including in its capital, late Friday and early Saturday, according to The Associated Press.
No casualties were reported after the alerts were lifted. However, Reuters released an image showing smoke from the fuel storage depot at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Saudi authorities didn't say what prompted the alerts or the cause of the audible explosions, but they previously reported intercepting incoming Houthi missiles and drones.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter during an event about healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, on Friday Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
President Donald Trump plans to use his upcoming U.N. General Assembly address to make the case that Iran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said Friday.
The president will also discuss the administration's efforts in Gaza, including its 20-point peace plan, Waltz told reporters.
Trump's U.N. visit will include a meeting with leaders from six Gulf Arab countries as Washington weighs its next steps in the war with Iran.
Waltz said Trump is also scheduled to hold meetings with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
The president is set to address the General Assembly next week as world leaders gather in New York.
Live Coverage begins here