No breakthrough for US-Iran talks despite flurry of diplomacy at UN General Assembly

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said at the UN on Thursday that Israeli policies no longer just jeopardized a two-state solution but were now threatening the "very life and existence" of his people.

"The danger is no longer limited to undermining the two-state solution and preventing the realization of the Palestinian state. It has now come to threaten the very life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland," Abbas said.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has criticised the US's 'punitive' visa denial in a prerecorded video shown at the UN General Assembly.

The US State Department said last week it was refusing to grant visas to Abbas and other Palestinian officials for the meeting of world leaders.

Wall Street's main stock indexes opened lower on Thursday as simmering Middle East tensions lifted oil prices and Treasury yields, while investors also exercised caution ahead of a keenly watched summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 95.8 points, or 0.19%, at the open to 51415.75. The S&P 500 fell 39.0 points, or 0.51%, at the open to 7666.99​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 201.5 points, or 0.75%, to 26734.508 at the opening bell.

London shares fell on Thursday as crude oil prices continued to rise amid little progress towards a US-Iran deal, fuelling inflation concerns and lifting government bond yields.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.05% to 10,700.05 points by 1007 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.60%.

Three Iran-linked oil tankers seized by the United States and carrying nearly six million barrels of Iranian crude oil were in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, tracking data indicated.

They did not have their destination marked on their transponders, but specialist website TankerTrackers said Wednesday on X that they were heading towards the United States.

"Nearly six million barrels (valued at nearly $600 million) of seized Iranian crude oil are quietly crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards the United States of America," the post said.

One of the tankers, the Majestic X, briefly listed the US as its destination from July 31 to August 2, as it began heading towards the Atlantic from waters off Malaysia, according to tracking data from maritime platform Kpler.

The three tankers are sanctioned by the United States under programmes aimed at limiting Iran's oil exports.

They were seized after the US started a blockade of Iranian ports in retaliation for Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil exports from Gulf countries.

The Iranian and Ukrainian foreign ministers held a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported, the first such meeting since tensions rose in July following a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea.

Iraq is exporting around 2.6 million barrels of oil per day from its southern ports so far in September and producing more than 3 million bpd from its southern oilfields, Bassem Abdul Karim, head of Iraq's Basra Oil Company, said on Thursday.

Abdul Karim, speaking at an energy conference in Basra, added that Iraq is transporting around 250,000 bpd of Basra crude to Kirkuk for exports via Ceyhan in Turkey.

On September 16, Iraq launched a pilot operation to ‌transport crude oil by road from its southern oilfields to a Kirkuk storage facility in an effort to boost supplies to the northern export system and potentially increase shipments through ​Turkey's Ceyhan port.

The initiative forms part of broader Iraqi efforts to​increase flows through the northern export route after the US-Israeli war ⁠on Iran disrupted Iraq's shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, its main export ​route.

The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthis said Thursday that its forces intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-backed group, thwarting attacks on the Saudi cities of Taif and Yanbu.

"Escalations and violations by the terrorist Houthi militia will be dealt with firmly," said coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki in a series of posts on X.

The UAE central bank said Wednesday that it had imposed sanctions on the Emirati branches of Iran's Bank Melli, accusing it of violating local laws on money laundering, terrorism and arms proliferation.

The bank said in a statement that "it has been decided to prohibit all branches of Bank Melli Iran operating in the UAE from conducting any financial transactions to and from Iran, including trade finance and fund transfers".

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The United Arab Emirates suspended all flights by Iranian airlines in support of US sanctions on Tehran, according to Iranian news agency ISNA.

According to the report, all flights by Iranian airlines to the UAE were also canceled starting at midnight.

The Israeli prime minister's brief stay in New York for his speech at the UN General Assembly includes meetings with several world leaders, according to his office—but not Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio or any Arab leaders.

Netanyahu's office claimed "many world leaders" asked to meet with Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity, but that he was on a "tight schedule" and needed to return to Israel before the start of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which begins at sundown on Friday.

Netanyahu will meet with the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, and Ethiopia, the vice president of Colombia, and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia, and Papua New Guinea, according to his office.

A top EU official says only 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) has been raised out of the 71 billion euros ($80.8 billion) that the United Nations, the World Bank and the 27-nation European Union estimate are needed to rebuild Gaza.

“All of us, we have to scale up our efforts,” said European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica, speaking on the sidelines of the General Assembly. She called for a unified recovery plan that would bring together Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the U.S.-backed Board of Peace, and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

The UN rights chief is "appalled" by the growing civilian toll in the Yemen conflict, his office said Thursday, with at least 125 civilians killed and wounded in attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis since the start of August.

"As if the people of Yemen haven't already endured enough misery, civilians are now bearing the brunt of this latest upsurge in fighting," the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement, insisting that "civilians must never be targeted, and their protection must be the overriding priority".

Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces repelled overnight attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on a key supply route to the southern port city of Aden where the internationally recognised administration is based, government sources said on Thursday.

The steep, winding mountain pass, known as Hejat al-Abd, is a lifeline for forces fighting on behalf of Yemen's government, which has been hemmed in by a lightning Houthi advance this month linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The road is also critical for goods entering Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, and its southern and western rural areas. It is the only route for residents seeking to travel abroad, with no commercial flights operating from Houthi-controlled areas.

The Houthis have kept up pressure on government forces as they seek to consolidate gains made nearly two weeks ago, when their offensive along Yemen's western coast brought them to the shores of the Red Sea's strategic Bab al-Mandeb waterway.

Leading German think-tanks on Thursday more than doubled their 2026 growth forecast for Europe's biggest economy as it withstands the Iran war energy shock, but warned of risks from rising debt levels.

The economy is now expected to expand 1.3 percent this year, up from a forecast of 0.6 percent in April, the five economic institutes said in a statement.

They also raised their prediction for 2027 slightly to 1.1 percent.

"The German economy performed significantly better in the first half of 2026 than had been expected in spring," they said, with growth supported by strong exports and a robust manufacturing sector.

"Although the energy price shock associated with the Iran war has weighed on the German economy, the higher prices for motor fuels and heating oil have so far had little spillover effect on broader consumer prices," they added.

Business rivals in the Gulf region had suffered "significant production disruptions" due to the US war on Iran, they noted.

And German manufacturers have been benefitting from business being redirected to them from harder-hit parts of the global economy.

"The need for fiscal consolidation is growing," the institutes said.

The forecasts are compiled by the DIW, RWI, Ifo, IWH and IfW institutes.

The international benchmark Brent crude jumped three percent on Thursday to $106.24 per barrel.

The surge came a day after world leaders at the UN General Assembly offered little to suggest progress in ending turmoil in the oil-rich region due to the US-Israeli wars.

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Thursday that Tehran may expand the Middle East war to the Indian Ocean if the US or Israel attacks again.

"Since the conflict has spread from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that, in response to more war, the front will expand even further, reaching the Indian Ocean and perhaps beyond," said Yahya Rahim Safavi in a video released by Iran's Fars news agency.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli artillery shelling has hit the eastern outskirts of the town of Chaqra in the Bint Jbeil district.

Earlier, Israeli forces attacked villages in the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon, between the towns of Mayfadoun, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Wadi al-Salouqi, as well as the towns of Barachit and Beit Yahoun.

Moreover, the town of al-Mansouri in the Tyre district was also bombed for the second time, after previous reports of artillery shelling hours into the morning.

For many Palestinians in Gaza, the annual gathering of world leaders in New York at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has become increasingly disconnected from the reality they face in their war-torn territory.

As the 81st session of the UNGA enters its third day, world leaders and senior officials are discussing wars, global crises and the future of the Palestinian issue, with Gaza once again taking centre stage in speeches and diplomatic meetings.

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Several countries have begun restricting Iranian airlines from operating at their airports as sweeping new US sanctions targeting Iran's aviation sector came into force on Wednesday.

The measures are beginning to disrupt international routes operated by Iranian carriers, with restrictions ranging from blanket bans to the suspension of individual airlines or destinations.

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Hundreds of trucks idle along the road into Iran from Turkey’s mountainous eastern border. Bustling even in normal times, the countries' largest crossing is now a make-or-break economic lifeline for Tehran as the US navy blockades its ports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has pressed to accelerate overland trade as the blockade limits the vast majority of imports while cutting off the oil and gas sales that largely keep the economy alive.

It's the latest test of Iran's endurance. Frustrated Iranian truck drivers spoke to The Associated Press at the Turkey border crossing, where lines now stretch for miles.

“I’ve been driving through this border gate for 15 years. I’ve never had to wait as long as now,” said Muhammed Rıza Shiri, 55, who had waited four days to carry his load of rubber into Iran. “We had to wait at the end of a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) line. We used to wait, maximum, for three days here. Because of the war, the waiting times exceed five days.”

“They are trying to create difficulties wherever they can, and they are holding nothing back. They are closing off routes, shutting down air routes, blocking land routes and trying to fuel internal divisions,” President Masoud Pezeshkian added.

The backlash against NAZA filmmakers shows how Israel responds when allegations of genocide made by Palestinians are echoed by members of its own society, writes Yoav Litvin.

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Ten commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, up from seven a day earlier and below the 10-day moving average of about 17, preliminary shipping data showed on Thursday.

Nine vessels entered the strait, including Supramax ships carrying metals, grain and other dry bulk cargoes, as well as an empty very large gas carrier. One Supramax carrying fertilizer exited, according to the data, as of 0423 GMT on Thursday.

The figures exclude any vessels that might have crossed the strait with their transponders turned off to avoid detection.

Before the US-Israeli war on Iran started on February 28, the strait typically handled about 125 large, commercial vessels a day, including tankers, gas carriers, bulkers and container vessels, accounting for some 20% of the world’s daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

Iran and the US remain far apart on how to end the war but diplomacy must continue, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, after Iran's president told the United Nations General Assembly that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure.

The senior Iranian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Tehran was reviewing Washington's response to its peace proposals, which prioritise lifting a US naval blockade on Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

In the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, 27 commodity vessels on Wednesday transited the waterway, up from 24 a day earlier and compared with an average of 26 ships using the strait in the past 10 days.