What to know about the 2026 UN General Assembly

World leaders are descending on New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, with wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, climate change, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence expected to dominate the annual diplomatic gathering.The 81st session of the General Assembly opened earlier this month, but its centerpiece, the high-level general debate, begins Tuesday and runs through Monday, Sept. 28. Nearly 130 heads of state and government are expected to participate. Who will be there? President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Tuesday, after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The United States traditionally speaks near the beginning of the debate. French President Emmanuel Macron is also among Tuesday’s prominent speakers.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are scheduled to speak on Wednesday, putting two leaders at the center of major conflicts on the U.N stage on the same day.The Trump administration approved visas for Pezeshkian and other members of Iran’s delegation despite the U.S.-Iran war. However, the administration denied entry visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other officials, who will attend the event virtually.Other notable participants include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al Zaidi are also expected in New York during the gathering.OIL AND GAS SHIPMENTS THROUGH STRAIT OF HORMUZ HIT SIX-MONTH HIGH: CENTCOMSome of the world’s most prominent leaders will be absent. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are not expected to attend. Xi will be in Washington, D.C., later in the week for a state visit with Trump.What will they discuss? Ongoing wars are expected to take center stage, including the war in Iran and the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan. The gathering comes as the international body faces deep divisions among its members over how to respond to several of those conflicts.Artificial intelligence and climate change will also receive dedicated attention.In the weeks leading up to the high-level meeting, technology leaders have warned about the dangers of AI, and several reports have revealed some AI systems going rogue. The alarm bells have been deemed a “hoax” by Trump, but the U.N. added discussion on the technology to the schedule for Wednesday as the issue becomes more demanding.The U.N. is holding a high-level climate event on Wednesday focused on climate action and the transition to cleaner energy, followed by a meeting on Thursday addressing threats posed by rising sea levels. Pandemic preparedness and nuclear weapons are also on the agenda.Conversations on the sidelines The speeches inside the General Assembly hall are only part of the week’s activity, with leaders using the gathering to hold a flurry of bilateral and multilateral meetings elsewhere in New York.Trump is expected to have one of the busiest schedules during his visit. He is set to meet with Zelensky, Burnham, Takaichi, and al Zaidi, among others. Trump is also expected to host his first in-person meeting with Venezuela’s Rodriguez and participate in a gathering with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to Reuters.Outside of the global meeting, Trump has a meeting scheduled with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani Monday.The U.N. General Assembly has lost some of its prominence as the primary avenue for global diplomacy, particularly as many world leaders now choose to visit Trump directly at the White House. However, these side conversations remain an important way for leaders to communicate.TRUMP SAYS HE WILL FORM AI FORCE TO BE LED BY ‘CZAR’The Trump-Zelensky meeting comes as the Ukrainian leader seeks to maintain international military and political support for Kyiv amid intensified Russian attacks and continuing U.S.-led efforts to negotiate an end to the war.Iran is likely to loom over discussions. Trump’s meeting with Gulf leaders is expected to focus heavily on the conflict and its effects on regional security and global shipping. No official meetings between Trump and Iranian leaders have been announced, but the president said he is open to meeting Pezeshkian, Fox News reported.