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.
Iran’s president said Wednesday that his people have been “victims of terrorism” by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech at the U.N. General Assembly a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.
uncertain
deal → say → war
The defiant speech by President Masoud Pezeshkian marked a striking instance of a foreign leader addressing the world body while their country is at war with the host nation.
asserted
country → mark → nation
While defending his country, Pezeshkian held up large photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the more than 150 Iranian schoolchildren killed on the first days of the war.
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Pezeshkian → defend → war
“We have only defended ourselves.
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We → defend → ourselves
We are not terrorists,” Pezeshkian said at the General Assembly.
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Pezeshkian → say → Assembly
“Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country.
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people → impose → country
And we defended ourselves with utmost strength.
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we → defend → strength
America and Israel attacked us.”
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America → attack → us
He added of the United States: “Yes they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.”
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we → add → knee
Toward the end of his speech, Pezeshkian called out Trump by name.
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Pezeshkian → call → name
“It must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” he said.
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he → understand → force
Shortly after, both U.S. and Israeli officials blasted the speech, saying that it was hypocritical for the Islamic Republic to present itself as the victims of the world.
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Republic → blast → world
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters: “I don’t know what standing Iran has to lecture anyone on human rights or the international system when they habitually violate it.”
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they → tell → it
Arriving in New York under heavy security and scrutiny, Pezeshkian — who, within Iran’s political landscape, is considered a moderate politician — addressed world leaders a day after Trump used the same stage to mull whether to massively escalate a war that has already spiraled out of control.
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that → arrive → control
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said in his wide-ranging address Tuesday.
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Trump → have → address
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world.
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it → make → East
Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
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Hours after those stunning threats, Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met for about three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering.
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envoys → annihilate → gathering
But he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange.
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discussions → offer → exchange
“It was a very good meeting,” Trump said.
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Trump → say → ?
The president later added that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something.”
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it → add → ?
Also on Tuesday, Rubio said Trump is open to meeting with Pezeshkian while he’s in New York.
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he → say → York
But Tehran downplayed Tuesday’s unscheduled exchange, which were the first indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials since a June ceasefire unraveled.
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ceasefire → downplay → officials
Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, maintained the country’s negotiating position in talks with U.S. officials, demanding that Washington end its blockade of Iranian ports and release frozen Iranian assets,
Baghaei said the talks — conducted indirectly through Qatari mediators — were “not anything new.”
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talks → maintain → mediators
Rubio echoed that sentiment Wednesday, saying that “it was a continuation of conversations that have occurred in the past.”
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that → echo → past
“If there’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and messages, we will.
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we → ’ → ideas
And that’s what largely yesterday was — it was positive in that regard,” he said.
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he → ’ → regard
“But ultimately, I don’t want to mischaracterize this as a major breakthrough.”
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I → want → breakthrough
Pezeshkian’s address elaborated on where Tehran stands as more than a year of start-stop negotiations between the two longtime adversaries have failed to produce a sustainable solution.
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year → elaborate → solution
His speech came as intermittent attacks continued in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, where commercial shipping remained below prewar levels.
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shipping → come → levels
His address last year came months after the 12-day Israel-Iran war that saw the assassination of many of the Islamic Republic’s highest military and political leaders and once again broke down weeks of negotiations with the United States.
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that → come → States
“Ladies and gentlemen, you all bore witness that this past June, my country was subjected to a savage aggression and flagrant contravention of the most elementary principles of international law,” Pezeshkian said at the time.
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Pezeshkian → bear → time
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