Live Update From the Liveblog of Saturday, September 26, 2026 Today, 3:40 pm Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his team will likely stay in New York until Wednesday, Iran’s state news outlet IRNA reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Araghchi met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and presented Iran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media has reported. The conditions reportedly included the immediate lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian shipping, immediate release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to the war across all “resistance” fronts. The Wall Street Journal earlier today cited US officials as saying US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal and plans to resume strikes on the Islamic Republic after the US midterm elections in November. - Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks to the media during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, September 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

NEW YORK – On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the newly elected Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, met for official diplomatic talks with Swiss President Guy Parmelin. The meeting captured widespread media attention due to a highly unusual and ironic gesture by the Iranian delegation. During the encounter, Pezeshkian presented his Swiss counterpart with a lavishly bound photo book titled "American Aid to the Iranian People." The book features visual documentation of casualties among Iranian civilians and scientists who Tehran claims were targeted by the United States and its allies. The Iranian President was captured on camera flipping through the book alongside Parmelin, pointing out specific images. However, political and economic analysts suggest that beyond the diplomatic grandstanding and symbolic gifts, the true, core interest of the meeting lies directly within the Swiss banking system. Switzerland, globally renowned primarily for its massive financial sector, has little strategic interest in Persian cuisine, music, or beverages; the focus of such high-level meetings inevitably revolves around money, assets, and economic survival. A Central Possibility: Evading Restrictions and Managing Elite Wealth Iran is currently mired in severe economic distress, facing strangling U.S. sanctions. Consequently, a primary theory circulating behind the scenes is an Iranian attempt to identify loopholes or alternative routes around U.S. financial restrictions, leveraging Switzerland's historical status as a diplomatic channel and financial safe haven. These assessments are further reinforced by persistent reports that high-ranking Iranian officials and their families hold vast wealth and financial assets outside Iran. Meetings at this level can serve as a screen for attempts to secure, protect, or move these funds to shield them from international asset freezes. Notably, Switzerland recently made headlines when its financial regulator (FINMA) shut down the Swiss institution MBaer Merchant Bank following severe U.S. allegations regarding the transfer of over $100 million and assistance in evading sanctions for networks linked to Iran and Russia.

Live Update From the Liveblog of Saturday, September 26, 2026 Today, 11:17 am The Palestinian Authority’s Central Elections Committee says it has begun receiving candidate slates for the PA legislative election scheduled to take place on November 28, for the first time in over two decades. Parties have until 4 p.m. on October 7 to submit lists of between 16 and 132 candidates, with female representation as required by PA law, the committee says. Lists are to be submitted at the committee’s offices in the central West Bank’s al-Bireh or in the central Gaza Strip’s Deir al-Balah. Both offices “received a large number of candidate slates on the morning of the first day,” the committee says in a statement. It adds that candidate slates are not automatically approved and are instead “subject to study and scrutiny to ensure they comply with legal guidelines.” The PA’s Legislative Council has not met since 2007, a year after Hamas defeated PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah in the last PA legislative election. Abbas announced in July that the PA would hold legislative elections on November 28, amid demands for PA reforms from the West Bank-based body’s international backers, including the European Union. It’s unclear whether Hamas or candidates affiliated with it will be allowed to participate in the election. Abbas in June signed a new election law that requires all candidates to accept the Palestine Liberation Organization’s political program, which includes recognition of Israel and support for a two-state solution — both nonstarters for Hamas. Abbas, 90, who has not stood for reelection since 2005, has also said the PA would hold presidential elections in 2027, but no date has been set. Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

Live Update From the Liveblog of Saturday, September 26, 2026 By Reuters and ToI Staff Today, 3:46 am US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the November midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials. The officials say that Trump is reluctant to resume major combat operations however, with the scope of the envision strikes unclear, while noting his views could change and that he could also end up being swayed by the midterm results.

Live Update From the Liveblog of Saturday, September 26, 2026 By AFP Today, 10:45 am Bangkok authorities declare a flood disaster across the Thai capital after almost 48 hours of heavy rain left canals full, roads submerged and residents knee-deep in water. The declaration, which gives local organizations special powers to act, is in effect across all the city’s 50 districts. Bangkok authorities say they have prepared one million sandbags for distribution and have opened several temporary shelters in schools. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt says the situation has “stabilized,” but that it will still take two or three days for the water to drain, as long as the rain holds off. The governor has urged people to stay home after almost 300 millimetres (11.8 inches) of rain fell since Thursday afternoon, while Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said he is cutting short a trip to London to return. The almost continuous rain has swelled Bangkok’s network of canals, sending murky water into surrounding homes, restaurants, shops and alleyways. Numerous major roads were also flooded on Saturday, AFP journalists report, while residents were forced to wade through knee- or sometimes thigh-high water in several different neighbourhoods. Widespread deluges across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes. - The streets are flooded after heavy rain in Bangkok, Thailand, September 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)