Sep 23, 2026 · 31 min
US-Iran talks collide with pressure over sanctions and war
US and Iran hold talks on sidelines of UN General Assembly
The episode connects fragile diplomacy with economic coercion, regional conflict, climate disruption, and crises affecting communities from Colombia to Ghana.
- 1US-Iran discussions at the UN unfold alongside threats, sanctions, and disagreement over conditions for negotiations.
- 2Sri Lanka’s Easter bombing convictions and Colombia’s gang violence expose the continuing costs of political and institutional failure.
- 3A record-strength El Niño threatens rainfall, food production, and global temperatures, while Ghana turns plastic waste into classroom furniture.
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The brief
US-Iran talks at the UN are framed by President Trump’s threats, sanctions on Iranian aviation, and competing conditions for negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s meeting with Ukraine’s president turns to ending attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, while the episode asks whether Russia, China, and others will honor Iran-related sanctions.
Sri Lanka’s sentences for Easter bombing suspects revive questions about intelligence failures and the treatment of the country’s Muslim minority; Colombia’s gang violence shows another form of institutional strain.
The Met Office calls the current El Niño the strongest in the observational record, with altered rainfall, floods, drought, food disruption, and record global temperatures among the risks.
The lighter stories offer practical and human counterpoints: Ghana recycles plastic into school desks, while a six-year-old Chinese girl sets a women’s Rubik’s Cube record.
Featuring
Steve Witkoff
Piers Morgan
Ghana
BBC World ServiceListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.