The opening of the UN General Assembly this week is set against a backdrop of profound global crises: the ongoing Iran war and its ripple effects on world energy markets, urgent concerns about artificial intelligence, erratic immigration flows, and accelerating climate change. But many leaders, while publicly condemning the war's impact, have stopped short of directly criticising President Trump's handling of the conflict, according to a New York Times report.
Trump is unable to end the Iran war, analysts say. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which effectively controls Iran, has no interest in a ceasefire and wants to inflict maximum political punishment on Trump for what it regards as unjustified attacks on its infrastructure and civilians — including a suspected US strike on a school in Minab that killed 120 children. The UN last week determined that attack could amount to a war crime.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to address the UN on the home turf of the country with which Iran remains at war. Meanwhile, the US has blocked Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas from attending the summit for the second consecutive year, even as Washington allows Pezeshkian entry — a move analysts describe as extraordinary.
China, which earlier brokered détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia, is seen as the key potential mediator. So far, Beijing has been reluctant to intervene, but analysts suggest that if the war drags into next year and China's own oil reserves begin to deplete, its self-interest will compel it to pressure Iran. That would be yet another sign of China challenging US supremacy in international affairs.
The Australian Financial Review's Gideon Rachman described Trump and Xi as "two narcissists in a world in chaos," arguing the international community desperately needs far-sighted leadership but is unlikely to get it from either of them.