Iranian president makes stopover in Algeria, meets interior minister

A plane carrying Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to New York to attend the UN General Assembly made a brief stop in Algeria, Nournews reports.

The report said Pezeshkian met with Algerian interior minister Saïd Sayoud at the airport during the stopover.

Before departing for New York, Pezeshkian stated that he intended to defend Iran’s position, speak about the suffering of the Iranian people and alleged crimes committed by the country’s opponents, and address the decline in trust in negotiations.

“We will use this opportunity in the best possible way to convey Iran’s message of victimhood to the international community,” the president noted.

The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, opened on September 8, 2026, and running until September 7, 2027 under the presidency of Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh, is being held under the theme Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.

US President Donald Trump has said he is “probably open” to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the gathering, although no formal plans have been confirmed and direct US-Iran contacts at such events have historically been rare.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov