Middle East crisis live: oil spill warning after tanker attacked in Dubai; explosions in Tehran and Jerusalem amid wave of attacks

• The world marks the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21 amid ongoing global wars and social crises. • Abdullah Kanaan, Secretary-General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs, stated there is a widening divide between formal peace language and the humanitarian reality of war.

• Nearly 130 heads of state and government are gathering in New York for the UN General Assembly’s High-level Week to address global cooperation. • Leaders from nations including China and Brazil have previously used these speeches as a platform to launch initiatives aimed at ending conflicts.

• The international community observed World Peace Day on September 21 amid a rise in global security crises and conflicts. • The Middle East is currently the primary center of international concern regarding these widening wars.

• The United Nations General Assembly is meeting to address ongoing global crises, new conflicts, and the rise of artificial intelligence. • The organization is currently searching for a successor to Secretary General António Guterres, who is stepping down after serving two terms.

• World leaders are meeting at the United Nations this week to address global conflicts, political divisions, artificial intelligence, and climate change. • The organization has faced financial troubles over the past 12 months that forced cutbacks to humanitarian aid and peacekeeping operations.

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres returned to New York this week for his final U.N. General Assembly. • The gathering occurs as diplomacy falters regarding ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping called for international cooperation and an end to power politics during this month's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. • Xi stated that most countries do not want conflict or confrontation and instead seek an equal place on the world stage through their own development.

• The United Nations is facing severe operational dysfunction as world leaders gather in New York for the annual General Assembly high-level week. • Veto-wielding powers including China, Russia, and the United States have blocked the Security Council from acting on conflicts in Ukraine, Iran, Myanmar, and Sudan.

• President Donald Trump is considering new demands from Iran to end a conflict that has lasted seven months. • Trump returned from Camp David on Saturday before his scheduled address to the General Assembly on Tuesday.

• Iran issued a warning of severe retaliation against the United States and its allies after claiming to have intelligence about an impending attack. • Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stated that the country must continue fighting and negotiating to push back enemies and consolidate gains.

• World leaders are returning to the United Nations for an assembly featuring potential high-level Security Council meetings on Ukraine, the Middle East, and artificial intelligence. • AI industry leaders recently called for a coordinated slowdown of technology development to prevent systems from improving on their own and escaping human control.

• Middle powers are focusing their influence on the United Nations and the prevention of mass atrocities to stabilize a multi-directional world. • Various UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions are currently targeting the revitalization of the UN system to make it more coherent.