Prosecutors argued the statements by the defendant, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, were crucial evidence for the eventual death-penalty trial.

Prosecutors had asked for an earlier start. The judge has not yet ruled on several issues related to the defendants’ torture in C.I.A. prisons.

© Richard Perry/The New York Times

A possible expert witness was hurried off a video feed after an emergency alert in Dubai, near the Strait of Hormuz, a flashpoint in the U.S.-Iran war.

© Marisa Schwartz Taylor/The New York Times