Story summary
US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where Xi pressed Trump to adopt Beijing's stance against Taiwan independence, which Taiwan rejected outright. Meanwhile, Taiwan is crucial for global tech and economy due to its leading semiconductor production; TSMC alone produces the majority of advanced chips that power smartphones, AI systems, and more. As Stanford Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann noted, economic disruption from a conflict over Taiwan would be severe.
In unrelated developments, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with US media at the UN General Assembly, where he denied Iran's nuclear ambitions while offering to dilute its enriched uranium and allow inspections under international law. He also blamed Washington for ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates that Iran has over 440 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60%, raising concerns despite Pezeshkian's denials.
Taiwan's representative, Ambassador Alexander Yui, clarified during an interview on CBS’s "Face the Nation" that while Taiwan was discussed between Trump and Xi, it wasn't a major focus. He emphasized there has been no change in US policy towards Taiwan amid recent tensions with China.
Written for “Taiwan Iran Us Relations Midterms” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 386 other(s) covering the same event.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared his country would not be cowed into surrender in a defiant address to the United Nations that came a day after US President Donald Trump used the same stage to renew his threat to “annihilate” Iran.
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Trump → declare → Iran
Pezeshkian’s speech marked the first time in the UN’s 81-year history that a foreign leader at war with the US addressed the body at its New York headquarters.
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leader → mark → headquarters
The Iranian president held up pictures of the assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei and children killed by missiles in the war that began nearly seven months ago.
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that → hold → war
“I come from an Iran where, in truth, they bombed a school,” he said.
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he → come → school
“You see these children?
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You → see → children
These children perished under bombs, with weapons used by the United States and Israel.
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children → perish → States
The US has never publicly acknowledged that it was responsible for the missile strike on an Iranian girls’ school on the first day of the war, killing about 120 children and dozens more adults.
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it → acknowledge → children
That is despite multiple reports from US news outlets about the findings of internal investigations which confirmed US responsibility.
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which → confirm → responsibility
Pezeshkian claimed Iran was ready to resume talks and find a diplomatic solution to the war – an outcome that has eluded negotiators so far, despite a short-lived memorandum of understanding signed with the US in June.
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that → claim → June
But his speech projected resistance to any notion that Iran could be bombed into subjugation, as Trump had countenanced from the podium 24 hours earlier.
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Trump → project → podium
“They have learned that Iran cannot be made to surrender,” Pezeshkian said.
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Pezeshkian → learn → ?
“He [Trump] must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying.
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resistance → know → sanctions
We will never bow our head or bend at the knee.”
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We → bow → knee
A lone American delegate walked out of the UN General Assembly shortly after Pezeshkian’s speech began.
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speech → walk → Assembly
An Iranian delegation including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were authorised by the US to attend, although some members of the proposed delegation were refused visas.
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members → include → visas
Pezeshkian also argued Iran must be allowed to develop a civilian nuclear program, insisting – as Tehran always has – that the Islamic Republic does not wish to develop nuclear weapons.
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Republic → argue → weapons
However, Iran has a long history of building secret nuclear sites and uranium enrichment facilities, and barring weapons inspectors.
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Iran → have → inspectors
Pezeshkian said it was Israel that should face scrutiny, not Iran.
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that → say → scrutiny
“Israel targets any neighbourhood in any city in any province – commits assassinations like a true terrorist,” he said.
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he → target → terrorist
“They are committing genocide by using the so-called technologies they have at their disposal – then they label others as terrorists.
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they → commit → terrorists
Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions.
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Iran → kill → sanctions
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to land in New York on Thursday (US time) to address the UN, before immediately flying home.
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Netanyahu → land → UN
New York mayor Zohran Mamdani has dropped his threat to arrest the Israeli leader based on an outstanding International Criminal Court warrant, saying the city did not have the jurisdiction.
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city → drop → jurisdiction
On the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial shipping passage between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, Pezeshkian told the UN that Iran would continue to lay a claim over the waterway.
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Iran → tell → waterway
“We cannot let some have free access and gain their interest from a waterway while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggression upon us,” he said.
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he → let → us
“They close access for us to our own waterway … we will not succumb to that.”
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we → close → that
While threatening annihilation of Iran – which he has done before – Trump also predicted there would be a deal after the US midterm elections, arguing the Iranians were dragging it out to inflict political pain upon him via higher oil and petrol prices.
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Iranians → threaten → prices
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have recently targeted Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure and the Strait of Bab al-Mandab, another crucial oil shipping route between Yemen and Africa.
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rebels → back → Yemen
This has contributed to the latest spike in oil prices, just as the Russia-Ukraine war is causing the price of diesel to rise.
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price → contribute → diesel
But Trump has continued to project that he is in no rush to solve the issue.
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he → continue → issue
Helima Croft, managing director and global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said on Wednesday (US time) there was an “urgency deficit” in the Trump administration because prices were not yet that high.
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prices → say → administration
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was trading just above $US100 ($142) a barrel on Wednesday.
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crude → trade → Wednesday
“Prices are not $US150,” Croft told an event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace “If you can keep West Texas International prices below $US100 or below $90, you may think time is on your side, that you can let the blockade do its work.
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blockade → tell → work
Essentially, let Iran have to deal with a lack of essential goods, soaring inflation, the rial crashing.
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rial → let → goods
“I think that’s a theory that many in the administration are now operating under - that they have time on their side.”
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they → think → side
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world.
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what → get → world
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