Key takeaways from day one of the UN General Assembly

World leaders descended on New York this week for the annual United Nations General Assembly, where the agenda spans the U.S.-Iran war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the risks posed by artificial intelligence.

Nearly 130 heads of state and government started taking the podium on Tuesday, including U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani are also attending.

Motorcades, road closures and security details for visiting leaders have choked midtown Manhattan. Inside UN headquarters, delegates face a week of back-to-back speeches and sideline meetings.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will skip the assembly but head to Washington for a high-level summit with Trump on Wednesday. Leaders from India and Russia are also staying away.

Trump on Tuesday told world leaders at the assembly that he faces a “big decision”: make a deal with Iran or “annihilate” the Islamic Republic. He later told reporters that U.S. officials held a “very good” three-hour meeting with Iranian envoys on the sidelines, reviving fragile hopes for a diplomatic off-ramp to the seven-month war.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung set out a three-part plan for “peaceful coexistence” with North Korea. It calls on Pyongyang to “first halt the advancement” of its nuclear program before reducing it.

Brazil’s Lula spoke first, as his country traditionally does. “Brazilian democracy belongs to Brazilians,” Lula said. “Brazil is nobody’s backyard.” He said the UN “is failing in one of its highest missions: to save humanity from the scourge of war.”