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.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has told Al Jazeera that Iran no longer trusts negotiations with the United States after previous rounds of talks were followed by attacks and sanctions, as Tehran awaits a response to its latest proposal to end the war.
asserted
Tehran → tell → war
“We have no trust in the American side and do not know on what basis an understanding can be reached with it,” Pezeshkian told the Qatar-based broadcaster in an interview aired on Saturday.
asserted
Pezeshkian → have → Saturday
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Iran says it awaits US response on seven-day roadmap to end war
- list 2 of 3Iran pitches US a seven-day end to the war at UNGA
- list 3 of 3US official claims Trump holds all the cards in Iran talks
Pezeshkian and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited the US this week for the United Nations gathering of world leaders and proposed a deal that would end fighting in the US-Israel war on Iran and unblock the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.
uncertain
that → say → days
Araghchi told reporters on Friday that initial steps would take four to five days, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on the sixth day and “on day seven, the talks with the US will be started for the final deal on mutually agreed subjects,” referring to Iran’s nuclear programme.
asserted
talks → tell → programme
Under the plan, Washington would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, release an estimated $12bn in frozen Iranian assets and observe a ceasefire covering the region, including Lebanon and Yemen.
asserted
Washington → lift → Lebanon
In return, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed before the war, and which has become Tehran’s main point of leverage.
asserted
which → reopen → leverage
Pezeshkian told Al Jazeera that mediators Qatar and Pakistan are conveying Iran’s messages to Washington.
asserted
Qatar → tell → Washington
He said the negotiations are based on the previous memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached by the two sides in June, and the US must clarify its position on that agreement, which lapsed last month.
asserted
which → say → agreement
The war began in late February, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
asserted
that → begin → Khamenei
Blocking Hormuz ‘a natural response’
asserted
Blocking → block → Hormuz
Pezeshkian also denied that Iran was responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, saying the US “closed the routes before us”.
asserted
US → deny → us
He described the closure as “a natural response when routes are cut off to Iran”.
asserted
routes → describe → Iran
He said the crisis could be resolved through negotiations rather than force, and that the waterway would reopen to commercial shipping if talks ended the war.
uncertain
talks → say → war
Pezeshkian called the US the aggressor in the conflict, saying Iran “has not attacked any country in 200 years”.
asserted
Iran → call → years
He said the US and Israel had dragged regional countries into the war in the belief that the Iranian system “would collapse within days”.
asserted
system → say → days
“We withstood the American and Israeli attacks, and we will continue to stand firm,” he said, adding that neither the killing of an Iranian commander nor economic pressure had caused Iranians to retreat.
asserted
Iranians → withstand → commander
He said Israel and the US had attacked Iran from the airspace of Islamic countries, and that Iran targets bases used by US forces in the region because operations against it are launched from them.
asserted
operations → say → them
Tehran seeks nothing outside international law, he said, and responds only when others violate the rules.
asserted
others → seek → rules
Pezeshkian also linked the imposition of sanctions on Iran to the tactics used by Israel in its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.
asserted
Pezeshkian → link → Gaza
“Those who deny Iranians medicine and raw materials are the same people who cut off food and water from Gaza,” he said, adding that anyone who believed Iranians could be targeted through sanctions had “miscalculated”.
uncertain
Iranians → deny → sanctions
‘We don’t need a regional policeman’
Pezeshkian also said regional security could be achieved through cooperation among the region’s own countries.
uncertain
security → need → countries
“We do not need a regional policeman,” he said.
asserted
he → need → policeman
He accused the US and Israel of seeking to pit Islamic countries against one another to control the region’s resources.
asserted
He → accuse → resources
He also said Saudi Arabia is capable of playing a role in uniting the Islamic world.
asserted
Arabia → say → world
Regarding Yemen, where fighting has escalated between the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces, he said the actions of the Houthis were not connected to Iran, and that Tehran stands in solidarity with “everyone subjected to injustice”.
asserted
Tehran → regard → injustice
He urged the Houthis and Saudi Arabia to resolve their differences through dialogue, saying “a brother should not fight his brother,” and offered Iran’s help in ending the dispute.
asserted
brother → urge → dispute
“We will not be warmongers,” he said.
asserted
he → say → ?
‘Unity and cohesion’
On domestic politics, Pezeshkian accused Iran’s “enemies” of trying to stir disagreements among Iranian officials, insisting the country is witnessing “unprecedented unity and cohesion”.
asserted
country → accuse → unity
He said he had met twice with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since the war began, including one meeting that lasted seven hours and covered pivotal issues.
asserted
that → say → issues
He pledged to overcome what he called “accumulated imbalances in Iran’s internal conditions”.
asserted
he → pledge → conditions
The US and Israel want to stop Iran from becoming self-reliant, he said, “but we will invest in our people”.
asserted
we → want → people
The Aporia
