The top photos of the day by AP's photojournalists

From front-page news to powerful moments you may have missed, this gallery showcases today’s top photos chosen by Associated Press photo editors.

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Volunteers from an animal welfare organization carry stray dogs on a stretcher after sterilization outside a veterinary hospital in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Germany's Linda Riedmann rides past spectators as she competes in the women's Under 23 individual time trial event, at the road cycling World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten is introduced onto the field prior to an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Servers carry trays with a cup of coffee, a croissant and a glass of water as they take part in a servers' race through the streets of Paris, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

A Hindu devotee performs rituals on the occasion of Mahalaya, an auspicious day to pay homage to ancestors in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Melissa Amuli, one of many wounded by fighting in the region, sits in her home in Goma, eastern Congo, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Orthodox Jews pray at the gravestone of Rabbi Nachman, the great grandson of the founder of Hasidic movement, to mark the Jewish new year in the town of Uman, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A civil defense worker inspects a damaged car hit the previous day in an Israeli drone strike that killed four members of the same family in Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Rescue workers put out a fire at a building destroyed during a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

A dog named Zoe, runs out from one of the rooms of the Dog Relais, a hotel for dogs at Rome's Fiumicino International Airport, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Community members move tree branches onto the Pan-American Highway to protest the government, in Otavalo, Ecuador, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)

Venezuelan migrants depart Jaque on Panama's Pacific coast en route to Jurado, Colombia, as they return home after failing to enter the United States, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Volunteers from an animal welfare organization carry stray dogs on a stretcher after sterilization outside a veterinary hospital in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist, and Maryam Bukar, Global Advocate for Peace, take a selfie together after they each addressed the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Protesters enter Central Station during clashes with police after the strike march in support of Palestine, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (Marco Ottico/Lapresse via AP)

People participate in fire rituals during the Autumn Equinox celebration in Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., listens as President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.

Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

Iran previously closed its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June.

Here is the latest:

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.

“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.

“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”

“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”

Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.

Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.

Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.

Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.

Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,

Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.

“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.

Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.

Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.

The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.

A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.

Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.

State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.

“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.

Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.

A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)