New York becomes the political center of the world this week. Presidents, prime ministers, and other high-ranking officials will gather within the framework of the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. The main theme of the session has been defined as “Rebuilding trust, driving transformation: a UN that delivers for all.” The general debates of the General Assembly will begin on September 22.
Modern.az reports that this year, US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will also be in the spotlight of the New York meetings. The US administration has allowed the Iranian delegation, including Pezeshkian, to attend the UN General Assembly.
The greatest interest is focused on whether the two leaders will meet. Trump stated yesterday that he is open to meeting Pezeshkian within the framework of the UN General Assembly. At the same time, serious tensions continue in relations between the US and Iran, and significant differences of opinion remain between the positions of the parties. If such a meeting takes place, it will be a remarkable event not only in terms of discussing the current crisis but also in terms of the history of US-Iran relations.
This is because there has been no face-to-face meeting between US and Iranian presidents since the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution. In 2013, a phone call between US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was the first direct contact between the presidents of the two countries since 1979. However, the leaders did not meet face-to-face even then. In this regard, if a Trump-Pezeshkian meeting takes place, it could go down in history as the first face-to-face meeting between US and Iranian presidents in the post-1979 period.
It should be noted that one of the main features of the UN General Assembly is that all 193 member states of the organization are represented here, and each country has one vote. Unlike the Security Council, the General Assembly does not have the veto power of the five permanent members. Therefore, the session is considered one of the main international platforms where the positions of the world's countries are directly voiced.
The 81st session is chaired by Khalilur Rahman from Bangladesh. The main theme of the session is the restoration of trust and the management of global transformation. This year's high-level week is being held against the backdrop of discussions on conflicts in the Middle East, international security, Ukraine, Gaza, climate change, artificial intelligence, and the future of the UN.
