⚡🇨🇳🇺🇸 — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in US, greeted by President Trump.

📋 TODAY'S 5 BIGGEST DEVELOPMENTS - Wed, Sept 23

1️⃣ 🇺🇸🇮🇷 US and Iran held their first talks since June in New York, through Qatari mediators. Both sides say big gaps remain.
💡 Why it matters: Trump told the UN he's choosing between a deal and "annihilating" Iran. These talks decide which way it goes.

2️⃣ 🇮🇷🇺🇳 Pezeshkian at the UN: "They did hit us, but we did not bend the knee." Says Iran is ready to talk, but not under "the language of force."
💡 Why it matters: Tehran wants a deal without looking like it surrendered. Watch the wording, not just the tone.

3️⃣ 🇮🇷⛵ Hormuz: bulk carrier Cape Dao hit by a projectile, 1 Indian crew member killed. Separately, Iran says it could reopen the strait within a week if the US lifts its blockade.
💡 Why it matters: about 1/5 of the world's oil and gas went through Hormuz before the war. Every attack and every offer moves fuel prices.

4️⃣ 🇾🇪🇮🇷🇸🇦 AP: IRGC advisers helped direct the Houthis' seizure of Yemen's Red Sea coast in under 48 hours.
💡 Why it matters: it's Iran's most direct move in Yemen since 2014. The Houthis can now squeeze Saudi oil exports from a second chokepoint (Bab al-Mandab).

5️⃣ 🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russian strikes kill at least 7 across Ukraine, 2 of them in Kyiv. Lavrov says there will be no "pause" in the war.
💡 Why it matters: the winter energy war is starting. Zelensky offered an "energy ceasefire" but warned Ukraine will hit Russian energy if the attacks continue.

🔔 Follow @warpointupdates for daily key updates

🇺🇸🇨🇳⚡️ — A U.S. Air Force B-1 Lancer conducted a flyover as President Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington.

🇷🇺❌🇺🇦 — Scenes from Kyiv, Ukraine, following what appears to be Zircon/Oniks/Hwasong-11A impacts against energy infrastructure.

🇷🇺❌🇺🇦 — MIM-104 Patriot interceptors up in Kyiv, Ukraine.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Iran:
The external flights from Iran, probably more than 80 or 90% of them, got shut down.

I'm not sure how the Iranian representatives at the UN are going to get home.

⚡️🇮🇶🇮🇶Drones have been recorded over Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, with one being intercepted and crashing.

🇮🇷❌🇮🇶 — Impact took place in Soran, northeastern Erbil Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan.

🇮🇷❌🇮🇶 — Moment of the Shahed-136 UAV impact in Soran, Erbil Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan.

🇮🇷❌🇮🇶 — More footage of the Shahed-136 UAV strike against Soran, Iraqi Kurdistan. The strike was conducted against the outskirts of the city.

🇵🇰❌🇦🇫 — Pakistan Air Force airstrike against Kandahar, southeastern Afghanistan. Kandahar is Afghanistan's second-largest city.

🇵🇰❌🇦🇫 — Pakistan Air Force airstrikes were also conducted against Khost and Paktika provinces, eastern Afghanistan bordering Pakistan.

⚡🇷🇺 — CIA warns of potential Russian drone attack against Spain, France or Italy soon.

⚡️🇺🇸🇮🇷TankerTrackers: Around six million barrels of seized Iranian oil are crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards the U.S.

The estimated value of this oil is $600 million.

⚡️🇵🇰🇦🇫 Pakistan says it carried out air and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan after accusing the Taliban of launching drones into Pakistani territory on September 23.

Pakistan’s information minister said air defenses intercepted all of the drones before they reached their intended targets. Islamabad described its subsequent strikes as limited to sites used to launch and store the drones.

🇨🇳🇮🇷📰— Wall Street Journal: Chinese sources shipped thousands of drone and missile components to Iran.

🇮🇱❌🇱🇧💥— Israeli army carries out a violent explosion in the town of Braachit, southern Lebanon.