US in talks with Iran despite "annihilation" threat

23. Sep 2026

(AWP Alliance News) - European equities are called up and Brent fell under USD100 per barrel after world leaders meet at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Here is what you need to know before the European market open on Wednesday:

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MARKETS

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CAC 40: called up 14.9 points, 0.2%, at 8,169.81

DAX 40: called up 84.1 points, 0.3%, at 25,662.95

FTSE 100: called up/down 41.7 points, 0.4%, at 10,750.03

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Hang Seng: down 0.8% at 24,895.01

Nikkei 225: up 1.4% at 65,018.95

S&P/ASX 200: up 0.1% at 8,768.60

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DJIA: closed down 185.14 points, 0.4%, at 51,863.69

S&P 500: closed flat at 7,764.64

Nasdaq Composite: closed up 122.18 points, 0.6%, at 27,244.28

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US 10-year Treasury yield: 4.96% (4.96%)

US 30-year Treasury yield: 5.30% (5.30%)

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EUR: lower at USD1.1428 (USD1.1440)

GBP: lower at USD1.3317 (USD1.3342)

USD: higher at JPY157.64 (JPY157.38)

gold: higher at USD4,344.50 per ounce (USD4,328.77)

oil (Brent): lower at USD98.35 a barrel (USD99.39)

(changes since previous London equities close)

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ECONOMIC CALENDAR

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09:15 CEST France flash composite PMI

09:30 CEST Germany flash composite PMI

10:00 SAST South Africa CPI

15:00 SAST South Africa interest rate decision

South Africa Monetary Policy Committee meeting

09:30 BST UK flash composite PMI

09:45 EDT US flash composite PMI

10:30 EDT US EIA crude oil stocks

10:00 CEST eurozone flash composite PMI

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TOP ECONOMIC NEWS

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President Donald Trump revealed that US and Iranian officials held talks for the first time in months, even as he told the UN he was still deciding whether to "annihilate" Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Trump's roving envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Trump's carrot-and-stick approach began with a bombastic speech to the UNGA focused heavily on his stalled, unpopular war against the Islamic Republic. "I have a big decision to make - will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country?" the 80-year-old said in his speech, during which all but one member of the Iranian delegation walked out. "Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival?" Trump said he believed Iran would make a deal immediately after November's midterm elections - in which Republicans face losing control of Congress due largely to the conflict's drag on the US economy. But just after his speech, Trump revealed that Iranian and US representatives had met for three hours on the sidelines of the UN gathering.

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Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi earlier said that Iran had hardened its conditions for ending the war with the US following the collapse of a June deal, adding that Washington now had "no choice" but to accept its demands. Iran had previously agreed with the US to a memorandum of understanding laying out a pathway to a permanent settlement of the conflict, only for the deal to later unravel as each side accused the other of violating it. "They broke the agreement and committed another vicious act. We have therefore toughened our conditions," Mohebi told AFP, noting that if the US persisted with its current course, "they will only make things difficult for themselves".

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Yemen's Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching a wave of deadly strikes that killed civilians and prison inmates, as Riyadh seeks to repel an offensive that has seen the Iran-backed group seize strategic territory. The recent Houthi takeover of Yemen's Red Sea coast has left hundreds dead and heightened fears over global trade and shipping through the vital Bab al-Mandab strait. It has also forced thousands to flee, with the UN on Tuesday forecasting the number of displaced could swell from over 130,000 today to more than 230,000 in the coming months. The gains made by the Houthis have cemented the hold of Iran and its regional allies over two key waterways in the Middle East - and the straits of Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz - which are major shipping arteries for global flows of energy. Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen's internationally-recognised government, has sought to contain the Houthi advance with airstrikes. The Houthis have retaliated with attacks on Saudi territory, including a strike targeting the capital Riyadh for the first time in years.

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President Trump signed a security deal with the leaders of Greenland and Denmark, cooling temperatures after his contentious calls to acquire the autonomous Danish territory. "It's going to be a long-term, fantastic relationship," Trump said at a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York. "This is tremendous for Europe and for the US and for everybody," he added. Under the 10-page pact, the US will build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland. These will be established in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Mestersvig in the east, in addition to the Pituffik base it already operates in the north. The deal also reaffirmed "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark" while recognising Greenland's "right to self-determination". Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump repeatedly insisted that the US needed control over Greenland for security reasons, alarming Nato ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.

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UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said at the UN that the G20 club of wealthy nations would work on developing artificial intelligence safety standards under the UK's presidency in 2027. "I can announce today that I am going to put AI at the heart of the UK's G20 presidency next year," he said. "We will work towards agreeing a single set of global principles and standards to ensure the transparency and access we need to increase our preparedness and to ensure that AI development is safe."

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Ukraine is ready to halt strikes on Russian energy sites if Moscow agrees to do likewise, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding both Kyiv and Washington want the war to end before winter. "We are ready for any kind of format of energy ceasefire" if Russia agrees to "not attack our energy system," Zelensky told journalists on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York. The Ukrainian leader however said he did not know Moscow's position, expressing hope that the "American side will find a way... to bring them to any kind of negotiations." Efforts led by Washington to broker a deal to end the hostilities - which have raged since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - have stalled in recent months as the US has shifted focus to its war against Iran. Russia and Ukraine have for months been engaged in intensifying long-range strikes targeting a growing number of civilian sites, including factories, warehouses and energy and port infrastructure, as well as ships in the Black Sea.

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Australia's private sector saw growth slow in September as manufacturing activity contracted, preliminary figures from S&P Global showed. The flash Australia composite purchasing managers' index fell to 50.8 points in September from 52.7 points in August. A reading above the 50.0-point neutral mark indicates an overall increase in month-on-month business activity, while a reading below signals a contraction. The flash services PMI fell to 51.4 points in September from 53.2 points in the previous month. The flash manufacturing PMI declined to 49.3 points from 52.0 points, while the flash manufacturing PMI output index dropped to 46.4 points from 49.6 points.

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COMPANY CALENDAR

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Baltic Classifieds Group PLC - AGM

Cintas Corp - Q1 results

JD Sports Fashion PLC - half year results

Paychex Inc - Q1 results

Renishaw PLC - full year results

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TOP COMPANY NEWS

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Alphabet, the Mountain View, California-based parent of Google, and Accenture, the Dublin-based information technology company, named Volvo Cars as the lead industry partner for Horizon, Alphabet's and Accenture's open-source software development platform for car makers and automotive suppliers to build, test, and deploy software for the Android Automotive Operating System. As lead partner, Volvo is migrating its global AAOS software development environment to the Horizon platform. "The platform will give its engineers access to faster development workflows, virtual testing environments and AI-assisted software development tools, freeing engineering teams to spend more time building in-car experiences," Accenture says, adding that "Insights from this collaboration will help refine the platform and expand its generative AI capabilities for automotive companies and other industrial manufacturers."

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Tuas said profit jumped in financial year 2026 as it grew its key offering in Singapore. The Sydney-based owner of Singapore's Simba Telecom, said net profit after tax for the year ended July 31 was SGD26.0 million, or USD20.0 million, multiplying from SGD6.9 million in the prior year. Revenue rose to SGD187.6 million, up 24% from SGD151.3 million the previous year. Basic earnings per share multiplied to SGD4.78 per share, versus SGD1.48 per share a year ago. Tuas did not declare a dividend, unchanged year on year. The firm said the total number of active mobile services increased 15% to 1.5 million, compared with 1.3 million the prior year. Tuas said it continued to expand its mobile network over the year, upgrading 470 sites in Singapore to broaden its 5G coverage.

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Qantas Airways announced plans to launch the first ever commercial non-stop services between Sydney and New York from mid-2028, with tickets going on sale from August 2027. The Sydney-based airline company said the flight will cut travel time by more than three hours when compared with existing one-stop services. The route is the second part of Project Sunrise, with non-stop Sydney to London flights starting in October 2027. Qantas will use specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft fitted with an extra 20,000 litre fuel tank. 12 of these aircraft with 238 seats across four cabins are set to be delivered.

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Fresenius Medical Care said it is investigating a cybersecurity incident after unauthorised access to "a limited number" of its internal systems. The Bad Homburg, Germany-based healthcare company said the incident did not impact medical devices, patient care, manufacturing or businesses continuity. It added that it took steps to contain the situation upon discovery and is engaging cybersecurity experts.

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Insurance Australia Group said the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has opposed its proposed acquisition of RAC Insurance. The Sydney-based insurance company said the ACCC determined that the acquisition would substantially lessen competition in Australia's motor insurance market. RACI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia Inc. The acquisition would have seen IAG underwrite motor and home and contents insurance in Western Australia, and left it with an overall market share of 55% to 65% in the region. RACI is the current market leader in Western Australia. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said: "The acquisition would combine two large insurers, resulting in a substantial increase in IAG's market share and a significant increase in market concentration." IAG said it will make a public benefits application to the ACCC, arguing that the public benefits of the acquisition will outweigh competition concerns.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced positive results from the phase 2b Amplfied study of inaxaplin in people with APOL1-mediated kidney disease and modest proteinuria and in people with AMKD and type 2 diabetes. The primary endpoint in the study was mean percent change in urine albumin to creatinine ratio at week 13 compared to baseline, the Boston, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical firm said. In patients with AMKD with modest proteinuria, treatment with inaxaplin led to a reduction in UACR to creatinine ratio of 43% at week 13 compared to baseline. In people with AMKD and type 2 diabetes, treatment with inaxaplin led to a reduction in UACR of 17% at week 13 compared to baseline. Inaxaplin was generally safe and well tolerated in both cohorts, the firm added.

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By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom [at] alliancenews.com