Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had proposed to the United States a seven-day plan to cease hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and then begin in-depth talks on the country's nuclear program.
The Iranian president in an interview with Fox News stated that "it is the US that must decide whether to end the war" because "we did not choose war, we were attacked and we had to defend ourselves". And again: "We don't want to continue, it's America that has to choose whether to put an end to it or not." Pezeshkian then specified that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, absent from the public scene for months, is in excellent health, denying rumors that he is dead or brain dead.
Upon the entrance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the UN General Assembly, dozens of diplomats from numerous delegations left the room in protest, which remained half empty amidst pro-Palestine chants. He: "If there are others, let them leave immediately. We would all be dead if we hadn't attacked Iran."
At least $71.5 billion will be needed to rebuild the Palestinian enclave, a figure expected to rise as the true extent of the destruction becomes clearer. This is what a new report from the United Nations Agency for Trade and Development (Unctad) finds, according to which the destruction in Gaza requires a project that will take decades. Nine out of ten companies have been damaged or destroyed, agricultural and industrial production has collapsed, and the housing sector represents the largest share of the destruction and reconstruction needs. Even essential services are devastated. More than half of hospitals and primary health care centers are out of service. In agriculture, less than 1.5% of Gaza's land remained accessible and intact, further increasing the population's dependence on food aid. An assessment conducted jointly by the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations had already estimated, by early 2026, the damage caused to physical infrastructure at $35.2 billion, as well as $22.7 billion in economic and social losses. Over 90% of Gaza's working-age population is unemployed. Gaza's share of the Palestinian economy, which stood at 17.4% before October 2023, has fallen below 4%. Prices have increased by 274%, with some essential commodities, such as potatoes or cooking gas, trading at prices far higher than pre-war prices. And according to the UN agency, the crisis extends far beyond the borders of the enclave. In the West Bank, unemployment, which in 2022 affected 13.1% of the active population, reached 28.7% in 2025. Poverty, after a decade of decline, also rose sharply: from 11.7% in 2023, it reached 28% at the end of 2024. For Unctad, therefore, the challenge does not simply consist of rebuilding destroyed houses, roads or hospitals. Recovery requires rebuilding production capacity in the agriculture, industry, construction, energy and technology sectors, "as part of a strategy that goes beyond simply restoring the pre-October 2023 situation." The UN agency identifies three urgent priorities: transferring currently withheld Palestinian tax revenues, preserving the banking system and ensuring that international reconstruction funding is commensurate with the scale of the destruction.
Former Palestinian National Authority minister Sufian Abu Zaida again confirmed that he conveyed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's warning of an "earthquake" he had planned against Israel to the Shin Bet in September 2023. His testimony corresponds to what Haaretz journalists recently revealed about a warning that reached Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before October 7, 2023, without the latter doing anything. The Fatah representative, close to the former high-ranking Palestinian official Mohammed Dahlan, in an interview with the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Rad reported by Times of Israel, provided the details of the affair, underlining that he had conducted mediation for a year and a half between Israel and Hamas for an exchange of prisoners. At the time - before October 7 - work was underway to have four hostages held in Gaza, the bodies of two soldiers together with two civilians, returned to Israel in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. At the end of September 2023 Sinwar asked him to convey a message to Israel: "By the end of September we will put the cards on the table and this will cause an earthquake in the negotiations. They must prepare for the emptying of prisons (in Israel)." Abu Zaida informed both Dahlan and his close associate Samir Mashharawi of the message, while passing the information on to Shin Bet officials. According to Haaretz, the warning was then passed on to Emirati leader Mohammed bin Zayed, who personally called Netanyahu to warn him.
"Mutual recognition is needed between Israelis and Palestinians: accepting that the other has a bond with this land, a history, a right to live in freedom, security and dignity. As long as we imagine a future without the other or based on their subordination, dialogue has no place. This does not mean putting everything on the same level: equal dignity does not erase the differences in responsibility, power and condition. The security of Israelis and the freedom of Palestinians must find a place in the same political perspective. We then need to rebuild trust by meeting and working again together. Religious communities also have a responsibility: not to give a sacred justification to the closure." Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, said this in an interview with the newspaper 'Il Sole 24 Ore'.
"Christians share the life and difficulties of their people. In Gaza the small community bears, together with the entire population, the wounds of mourning and destruction. The Church tries to accompany and assist people, not just Christians. In the West Bank, occupation, travel restrictions, the crisis of work and pilgrimages, attacks by settlers weigh heavily. People emigrate not only out of poverty - continued Pizzaballa - but because they lose faith in the future. In Israel the communities Christians, mostly Arab, participate in social life, but they also face discrimination, tensions and insecurity, also linked to local crime, including Jewish Catholics and migrants, with different needs. Our common task is not to preserve a memory of the past, but to allow a living community to express its faith and continue to serve society".
"A religious place can encourage meetings or be used to assert exclusive possession: it depends on how we safeguard it and make it accessible. The collaboration between Christian communities in the restoration of the Holy Sepulchre, for example, shows how the care of a place can become a shared task. Safeguarding means transmitting a memory without making it a weapon against that of others, keeping the stones and the people together. A restored sanctuary, but separated from the suffering of those who live next to it, risks losing something essential. Art does not replace justice, but it can create shared experiences that make the possibility of coexistence less abstract", concluded Pizzaballa.
"We presented to the United States, through intermediaries, a plan according to which, if certain conditions were met, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened at the end of the seventh day and talks would resume," Araghchi told reporters, explaining that the proposal faithfully followed the commitments contained in the so-called memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran in June, but then quickly foundered. Although the Iranian proposal contains many of the conditions foreseen by the previous agreement which later failed, the diplomacy behind the scenes, writes the NYT, suggests that both sides could benefit significantly from finding a way out of the conflict. Iranian officials explained that while the proposal is essentially identical to the June memorandum of understanding, it is designed to proceed at a much faster pace. In fact, in the previous agreement, a time frame of 60 days had been set to reach nuclear negotiations. A U.S. official familiar with the talks said the administration was conducting positive and constructive discussions through intermediaries but that the United States did not intend to rush a deal. According to what Araghchi reported, the conditions set by Iran for the agreement provide that, within seven days, all hostilities, including those in Lebanon, cease; The United States would have unblocked frozen Iranian assets — estimated to be at least $12 billion — lifted sanctions on Iranian oil and lifted the naval blockade imposed on Iran. Finally, on the last day, the Strait of Hormuz would be opened. After the seven days had passed, Araghchi said, global negotiations on Iran's nuclear program would begin immediately. The Iranian proposal came as US negotiators attempted to revive diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear program through talks on the sidelines of the United Nations Assembly. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a three-hour meeting between US and Iranian officials, mediated by Qatar, did not lead to a breakthrough. Esmeil Baghaei, spokeswoman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said further meetings could be held through intermediaries in the coming days.
The Israeli army announced that yesterday two reservists were killed after a small explosive drone, which they were operating in the Gaza Strip, crashed due to unknown causes and exploded shortly after. The Times of Israel writes it. The soldiers were identified as Sergeant Major (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, from Har Halutz, and Sergeant Major (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, from Jerusalem. Both served in the 7007th Battalion of the Jerusalem Brigade. According to a preliminary investigation by the army, the two soldiers were operating first-person view (FPV) drones on Thursday afternoon from a position in the army's buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip. A first drone completed its planned mission, while a second, during the take-off phase, crashed inside the military post for reasons yet to be ascertained. According to initial findings, the soldiers approached the crashed drone a few minutes later and picked it up; at that point the device exploded, mortally wounding them. The two were transported to the Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon, where their death was confirmed. Pending the outcome of the investigations into the causes of the crash and explosion, the army has temporarily suspended the use of all small drones capable of carrying explosive loads, both those of the 'kamikaze' type and those designed to drop explosives on a target.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Israel immediately after his speech at the UN in New York, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported. Following his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, he met with the leaders of Paraguay, Panama and Bolivia, urging the three countries to deepen ties with Israel through the Isaac Accords.
Israeli media have speculated that Netanyahu's visit to New York was scaled back for security reasons. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously said he would arrest the Israeli prime minister during his election campaign. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Mamdani reiterated that he does not have the authority to arrest the Israeli leader, but said that the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Netanyahu must be respected. Netanyahu's visit has sparked demonstrations across New York, with over 100 protesters arrested today.
The Chiefs of Staff of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are preparing to hold an urgent military meeting in light of the recent attacks by the pro-Iranian Yemeni Houthi rebels against the Wahhabi Kingdom. This was reported by Riyadh's Foreign Ministry on On the occasion of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, met with his Pakistani and Turkish counterparts, Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Hakan Fidan. The three strongly condemned the "violent attacks directed against Mecca, as well as against civil and economic infrastructure in Saudi Arabia".
It is the USA that "must decide" whether to end the war: "We did not choose war, we were attacked and we had to defend ourselves". Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said this in an interview with Fox News, in response to a question about his predictions regarding the end of the conflict.
"When we can resolve issues through dialogue, we should not resort to killing each other. But, due to Israel's provocations, this war was forced on us," the Iranian president added. "However, we do not want to continue. It is America that has to choose whether to end it or not," Pezeshkian noted, reiterating that Iran is ready to reach an agreement with President Donald Trump to end the conflict.
