Broadcast timeline
BBC News Now
Wednesday 23 September 2026 · 12:00 BST · 30m · 4 stories · 15 annotated moments · 24 of 30 min on news stories (79%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
Iran’s president was due to address the United Nations as diplomats sought to de-escalate the crisis in the Gulf. The broadcast reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff said mediators had completed a round of discussions he hoped would prove constructive and promising, while President Trump warned he could annihilate Iran if there was no deal but also suggested an agreement could come soon. A senior Iranian official said Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days if the US eased military pressure and lifted its blockade on Iranian ports. In an interview, Iranian-American journalist and women’s rights activist Mahsa Alinejad criticised the focus on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz while, she said, human rights abuses, mass executions and imprisoned protesters in Iran were not being addressed.
At the UN, British prime minister Andy Burnham accused Russia of an industrial-scale disinformation campaign to stoke division and sow despair in the UK, saying there was evidence of attempts to interfere with the 2019 general election and that the Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion a year on manipulating information. He said a new national centre for information defence would detect, attribute and disrupt hostile state information attacks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Burnham had said nothing new and accused Britain of stoking Russophobic sentiment. A think-tank expert, Carl Miller, told the programme the threat was very large, involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, and said AI was both being used for disinformation and becoming a target for information operations.
At the UN, French President Emmanuel Macron criticised the international community over Gaza, saying it was a spectacle that must shame everyone, and a translation error during his speech led to a diplomatic incident with Israel over remarks on the occupied West Bank. Israel’s prime minister’s office called the translated remark a grotesque absurdity, while the White House said President Trump had taken on the region’s complex problems. The broadcast also noted that more leaders were expected to criticise Israel, including Syria’s leader, after Jordan’s king accused governments of failing to see what he called Israel’s creeping territorial expansion. It reported that a Board of Peace meeting was expected to unveil a six-month Gaza recovery plan costing close to $2.5 billion, though progress was seen as unlikely before Israel’s election. Separately, IMF head Kristalina Georgieva warned advanced economies to cut borrowing and get on top of debt, telling the UN General Assembly that governments must prioritise fiscal consolidation and price stability.
On air
People and organisations this broadcast put on air during its news coverage. The channel's own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed.
- 1:55
Mahsa Alinejad, Iranian-American journalist, author and women's rights activist
“She is an Iranian-American journalist, author and women's rights activist.”
- 4:01
Donald Trump, US President
“But I have a big decision to make.”
- 7:41
Andy Burnham, British prime minister
“In recent years, we have seen industrial scale assault”
- 9:42
Dmitry Peskov, President Putin spokesperson
“The British prime minister didn't say anything new.”
- 10:25
Carl Miller, senior fellow at Demos
“who is a senior fellow at Demos,”
- 17:03
“The White House came out afterwards in response,”
- 17:18
Israeli prime minister's office
“And then the Israeli prime minister's office”
- 19:14
“The Board of Peace came up with its plan”
- 19:59
Kristalina Georgieva, head of the International Monetary Fund
“Our message to everybody is”
- 1:05 Story begins Iranian president attacks US and Israel in UN speech
- 1:05
Claim Iranian president attacks US and Israel in UN speech
Iran's president and foreign minister planned to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 1:05-1:12
- 1:15
Claim Iranian president attacks US and Israel in UN speech
US envoy Steve Witkoff said mediators completed a round of discussions that were hoped to be constructive and promising.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 1:15-1:24
- 1:15
Claim Iranian president attacks US and Israel in UN speech
US envoy Steve Witkoff said mediators completed a round of discussions that were hoped to be constructive and promising.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 1:15-1:24
- 1:24
Claim Iranian president attacks US and Israel in UN speech
President Trump warned that Iran could be annihilated if there is no deal, but suggested an agreement could come soon.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 1:24-1:35
- 7:00
- 7:14
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
The Prime Minister asked UK security chiefs to start work on a new national centre for information defence to detect, attribute, and disrupt hostile state information attacks.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 7:14-7:20
- 8:04
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
Russian agencies ran a disinformation operation using bots, fake websites, falsified articles, and forged branding from 28 British organisations, including universities and the BBC.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 8:04-8:11
- 8:27
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
The Kremlin was reported to spend around 1.3 billion pounds a year on information manipulation.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 8:27-8:34
- 8:27
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
The Kremlin was reported to spend around 1.3 billion pounds a year on information manipulation.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 8:27-8:34
- 9:42
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
The Kremlin rejected the allegations, and Dmitry Peskov said the UK was stoking Russophobic sentiment.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 9:42-9:52
- 9:42
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
The Kremlin rejected the allegations, and Dmitry Peskov said the UK was stoking Russophobic sentiment.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 9:42-9:52
- 10:53
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
An expert estimated that Russia and China jointly spend about $11 billion annually on information warfare.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 10:53-11:03
- 10:53
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
An expert estimated that Russia and China jointly spend about $11 billion annually on information warfare.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 10:53-10:59
- 15:16
- 19:41
- 20:09
Claim IMF tells advanced economies to cut borrowing as interest costs spiral
The IMF head warned that governments must tackle debt and inflation, citing repeated shocks and rising debt servicing costs.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 20:09-20:20
- 20:22
Claim IMF tells advanced economies to cut borrowing as interest costs spiral
The IMF head warned that governments must tackle debt and inflation, citing repeated shocks and rising debt servicing costs.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 20:22-20:38
- 21:17
Claim IMF tells advanced economies to cut borrowing as interest costs spiral
The IMF head warned that governments must tackle debt and inflation, citing repeated shocks and rising debt servicing costs.
BBC News, BBC News Now, 23 September 2026, 21:17-21:30
- 26:04 ~4 min without annotations
Source: BBC NEWS, "BBC News Now", Wednesday 23 September 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.