Diplomats and heads of state start filling the General Assembly Hall this Tuesday morning for a session that lands in the middle of three live crises at once: Gaza, Ukraine, and a grinding war between Iran and its adversaries that shows no sign of a clean ending. This year's Middle East speaking slots carry unusual weight as a result — Iran's president is set to speak while his country is still trading fire with Washington, and Israeli and Palestinian leaders are booked for the very same day.
A region still at war walks into the room
The US and Israel opened hostilities against Iran in late February, and a Congressional Research Service brief from earlier this month describes the fighting as having settled into something between all-out hostilities and diplomacy, with an April ceasefire and a June memorandum that both later collapsed. That backdrop makes President Pezeshkian's trip to New York unusual in itself: a sitting head of state addressing the world body while actively at war with a fellow member. Gulf capitals — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain — are all sending senior delegations, with maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz and the broader Yemen file expected to shape side conversations all week.
Brazil opens, as it has since 1955
Brazil has opened the debate every year since 1955, when it volunteered because no other delegation would go first; the US, as host nation, traditionally follows. This year that means President Lula, then President Trump, both Tuesday morning. Several Middle Eastern leaders are slotted close behind on opening day: Jordan's King Abdullah II, Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is making his 16th appearance before the Assembly and is expected to press the case on Gaza and Palestinian statehood.
When each Middle Eastern leader speaks
The schedule below reflects the UN Secretariat's own provisional running order, cross-checked against current reporting where wire coverage exists. Outside of the headline names — Iran, Israel, Palestine, Türkiye, Jordan and Qatar — independent news confirmation was thin, so treat the remaining dates as provisional and subject to last-minute swaps, which happen constantly during high-level week.
Tuesday, September 22
- Jordan — King Abdullah II, morning session
- Türkiye — President Erdoğan, morning session
- Qatar — Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, morning session
- Egypt — President el-Sisi, morning session (provisional)
- Syria — President al-Sharaa, afternoon session (provisional)
Wednesday, September 23
- Iran — President Pezeshkian, morning session
Thursday, September 24
- Yemen — Presidential Leadership Council Chairman al-Alimi, morning session (provisional)
- Palestine — President Abbas, pre-recorded video, morning session
- Israel — PM Netanyahu, afternoon session
- Kuwait — Crown Prince Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, afternoon session (provisional)
Friday, September 25
- Iraq — PM Ali al-Zaidi, morning session (provisional)
- Lebanon — PM Salam, morning session (provisional)
Saturday, September 26
- United Arab Emirates — Deputy PM Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, morning session (provisional)
- Saudi Arabia — FM Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, afternoon session (provisional)
Monday, September 28
- Oman — FM Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, morning session (provisional)
- Bahrain — FM Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, morning session (provisional)
Thursday's collision: Netanyahu and Abbas, hours apart
For the second consecutive year, Washington has denied Mahmoud Abbas a visa. Rather than let that end the matter, the General Assembly voted to criticize the denial and clear Abbas to deliver a pre-recorded statement instead, expected Thursday morning. Netanyahu — currently in the middle of an election campaign back home — follows later that same day, with Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon saying he will "proudly address the General Assembly" despite planned protests outside the building.
How to watch
Every session streams free on UN Web TV, with a searchable, on-demand archive at the official general debate site. The UN Journal posts the confirmed, same-day running order each morning, which is the most reliable way to track last-minute changes to any of the dates above.
