Who's Speaking at the UN Today and Why It Matters
The presidents of Iran, Ukraine and Syria were scheduled to speak on day two of the UN General Debate in New York City on September 23, 2026. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa were on the list for the day. Al Jazeera
Pezeshkian was scheduled to speak followed by Zelenskyy. CNN listed that order in its September 23 schedule. Other European leaders were also scheduled that day, alongside the Iran and Ukraine speeches. The Guardian
The schedule for September 23 named leaders from many regions. It included Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Romanian President Nicușor-Daniel Dan, Czechia President Petr Pavel, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Spanish President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón. It also included Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye, Paraguay President Santiago Peña Palacios, Argentina President Javier Gerardo Milei, Kenya President William Samoei Ruto, Venezuela Acting President Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez and Democratic Republic of the Congo Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka. UN General Debate The e-Delegate schedule also listed the President of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Debate runs from September 22 to 28. Every Member State gets a turn at the podium. Think of it like a global roll call where each country gets the microphone. The United Nations calls it the yearly meeting of Heads of State and Government at the start of the General Assembly session and the cornerstone of UN High-level Week. UN General Debate The September 2026 meetings are part of the Eighty-First Session. The Debate closed for the day and was set to restart on September 23 at 9:00 a.m. New York time.
U.S. President Donald Trump was set to speak on Tuesday morning that week. He was also expected to meet Zelenskyy in New York on Tuesday. Reuters UN records list Pezeshkian as a speaker in the general debate of the 79th Session and in the General Debate of the 80th Session.
As the second day opened, focus was expected to turn to the war in Iran, artificial intelligence and climate change. DW
The broader context here is that the schedule sends its own message. The General Debate does not pass decisions. It gives airtime. Placing speeches back to back puts separate crises in the same news cycle. A speech by a president is weighed differently than one by a prime minister. An acting president draws extra attention over protocol.
Looking at what this means for the week ahead, speeches and side meetings do different work. Public speeches state positions. Private talks test them. The expected Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in New York shows that two-track pattern. With the Debate running through September 28, day two sets points that later speakers will answer, directly or by silence.
