President Donald Trump delivered a 37-minute address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday, in which he threatened to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” of Iran if a deal to end the ongoing war is not reached. Framing his decision as a binary choice, he said he would either allow Iran to “rebuild and create a far greater country” or “drive them into hell with no chance of survival.”

"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly... drive them into hell with no chance of survival...?" Trump said.

Trump called on all nations to enforce the “complete economic isolation of Iran” and maintain sanctions to bring down global energy prices. Iranian delegation reportedly walked out of the General Assembly hall during his address.

Trump defended the war, which began in February 2026 alongside Israel, as a necessary action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, dismissing reports of U.S. munitions shortages despite Pentagon inspector general reports of “strategic inventory shortfalls.”

The U.S. president later expressed confidence that a deal would ultimately be struck shortly after the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, asserting that Iranian officials are “waiting to see how I do” in that vote.

Iran’s armed forces condemned the speech as an “exploitation of the U.N.’s podium to legitimize aggression.” President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the assembly on Wednesday.

Shortly after his speech, Trump announced that U.S. officials, including envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, held a “very good” three-hour meeting with Iranian representatives at the U.N.

Beyond Iran, Trump touted U.S. operations in Venezuela, issued warnings to Cuba and Mexico regarding national security, announced plans to build two new military bases in Greenland via agreements with Denmark, and criticized international bodies like the UN Human Rights Council and the ICC.

On the sidelines of the 2026 UN General Assembly, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that American and Iranian delegations held a three-hour meeting mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, marking the first high-level contact between the sides in months.

Witkoff described the talks as "constructive and promising," stating in an X post, that mediators "shuttled between the two sides" throughout the day. President Donald Trump characterized the outcome as "very good" and "very productive."

The U.S. delegation included Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, while the Iranian side was led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was also present in New York.

Although Trump initially suggested direct talks, Witkoff clarified via X that the negotiations were indirect, with mediators facilitating communication between the two delegations.

Iranian state media confirmed that Foreign Minister Araghchi presented Tehran’s non-negotiable conditions to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz. These terms include: an immediate lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, unfreezing seized Iranian financial assets abroad and an immediate halt to military operations across all regional fronts.

The meeting occurred against the backdrop of an ongoing conflict, with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noting that discussions took place under the "constant threat of attack" as the U.S. conducted consecutive nights of strikes on Iranian military targets.

This indirect session marks the first high-level diplomatic exchange between Washington and Tehran since mid-June.

As part of the U.S. campaign to enforce maximum economic pressure and isolate Tehran, Washington has imposed secondary sanctions on foreign entities doing business with Iranian transport and aviation infrastructure, notably Mahan Air and Iran Air.

Beijing has consistently rejected unilateral U.S. sanctions against Iranian transport and aviation, maintaining that economic relations and trade with Iran comply with international law. China continues to reject Washington's efforts to enforce unilateral extra-territorial jurisdiction over non-U.S. entities, officials say.

Google and PC manufacturing partners on Monday, opened pre-orders for Googlebook laptops, a new premium hardware category built on an Android-based technology stack paired with ChromeOS desktop foundations. The devices, manufactured by Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, launch with prices starting at $899 and are scheduled for general release in October 2026.

The Googlebook OS (internally known as Aluminium OS) represents a strategic unification of Google’s mobile and desktop ecosystems, ending years of internal debate about merging Android and ChromeOS. It retains the desktop windowing environment, multi-monitor management, desktop-class Google Chrome (with full extension support), and a robust file manager from ChromeOS.

The operating system runs on a native Linux kernel using the Android technology stack, integrating the Chrome browser and Play Store into a single, AI-first platform optimized for both ARM and x86 architectures. This means Google Play Store apps run natively on the host system with hardware acceleration, improving performance for desktop-class mobile apps like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and CapCut.

Googlebook OS is centered on Gemini Intelligence, featuring tools like Magic Pointer for contextual analysis, Magic Cues, and Create My Widget. Devices offer deep integration with Android phones, allowing users to cast phone apps (Cast My Apps), access phone files via Quick Access, and sync settings and passwords seamlessly.

Each Googlebook device includes a Google Titan hardware root of trust, on-device malware detection, and a Level 5 security-certified pKVM hypervisor that isolates the Linux environment with direct terminal access for developers, enabling native execution of developer CLI tools, such as Claude Code and Google's Antigravity AI platform.

Googlebook device minimum requirements include flagship-tier chips (Intel Core Ultra Series 3 or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite) with NPUs, 16GB RAM (up to 32GB), and high-resolution OLED displays.

Google commits to 10 years of OS updates and feature drops. Every device includes 12 months of Google AI Pro (5TB storage + Gemini Advanced), 3 months of YouTube Premium, 1 year of GeForce NOW, and Adobe Photoshop.

The search and streaming giant also clarified that standard ChromeOS and Chromebooks will continue alongside Googlebook as lower-cost, web-focused options.

While ChromeOS established dominance in K-12 education, Chromebooks struggled to capture premium consumer markets against MacBook Airs and AI-centric Copilot+ PCs. Googlebook OS bridges the app gap by allowing high-end laptop silicon like Intel Panther Lake and Snapdragon X, to run Android's vast ecosystem natively while keeping the full desktop web browser and Linux workstation toolsets.

The conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has escalated in recent days, into a full-scale war, with the Houthis launching repeated missile and drone strikes on Saudi cities, oil infrastructure, and air bases, while Saudi warplanes have intensified airstrikes on Yemen, causing significant civilian casualties and displacement.

The Houthis claim to have targeted multiple high-value assets in southern and western Saudi Arabia using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones. Key targets include the Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu, the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, and the Abha International Airport.

Saudi authorities on Wednesday, warned of a "red line" after intercepting a Houthi drone near the holy city of Mecca, which Riyadh condemned as a terrorist attack.

The Houthis also released video claiming to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib Governorate using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile, though Saudi authorities have not confirmed the loss.

The Saudi-led coalition has vowed to respond "firmly" to the Houthi aggression.

Saudi warplanes have conducted massive retaliatory campaigns, with Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree alleging that up to 450 airstrikes were carried out across seven Yemeni provinces in a single week. Saudi F-15 fighter jets carried out dozens of airstrikes over Houthi-controlled territory, targeting weapons depots, launch sites, and troop movements in provinces including Taiz, Hajjah, and around Sanaa.

More recently, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching 26 attacks in just 24 hours, targeting Houthi-held territories in Taiz and Hajjah.

Houthi leadership seeks to compel Riyadh to ease remaining sea and air blockades on Houthi-controlled territory, facilitate public-sector salary payments from energy revenues, and halt support for anti-Houthi forces in Yemen.

While Saudi Arabia had spent recent years attempting to negotiate a direct diplomatic exit from the Yemeni civil war, the renewed cycle of strikes—initiated following Houthi moves near economic regions like Marib and Red Sea trade corridors—has severely disrupted the de-escalation pathway.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the attacks for causing civilian casualties and threatening maritime security in the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is critical, with the UN estimating that 125,000 people have been displaced since the start of September, and the Saudi-backed government reporting that approximately 150 civilians have been killed by Houthi forces since early September. The U.S. has tightened travel warnings for Saudi Arabia, banning government employees from traveling within 32 kilometers of the Yemen border.

The conflict has severely disrupted global energy supplies; Houthi attacks on Saudi pipelines and the Red Sea coast have disrupted up to 4% of global oil shipments and forced Saudi Arabia to rely more heavily on alternative routes.

This recent Yemen-Saudi Arabia escalation occurs against the backdrop of heightened Middle Eastern confrontations involving Iran, the U.S., and regional proxy forces. The Houthis have increasingly linked their military actions to broader regional dynamics, using long-range strike capabilities to pressure both Riyadh and international maritime security along Red Sea routes and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.