Iran denied that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expelled its delegation including its foreign minister from the US for overstaying their welcome
HERE IS THE LATEST-
- President Trump told TIME magazine that U.S. military action against Iran could resume after the midterm elections if Tehran and Washington fail to reach a satisfactory agreement, and that he doesn’t think “you could ever have peace” with Iran.
- Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday that Iran might be linked to a co-pilot’s attempt to crash a packed plane traveling from Dubai to Israel. The president did not offer any further details and said Iran would be hit “very hard” if it was determined that Tehran was behind the incident.
- Iranian officials and state media said Wednesday that the U.S. had responded to Tehran’s recent proposal for a seven-day cease-fire and the phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz with a counterproposal, which the government is now considering.
Trump says Iran “ready to fold up” and “will be very quickly ended”
Speaking in Denton, Texas, Thursday night at the Peterbilt Motors facility, President Trump said Iran “is ready to fold up.”
He said he believes the U.S. will win the war “right after the election,” though he also said “maybe before the election.”
“I’m ensuring that Iran will be very quickly ended,” the president said, adding that energy prices would be “rapidly, rapidly coming” down.
Mr. Trump said the U.S. is “trying to be nice” to the current Iranian leader. “We don’t know who the hell to deal with, to be honest with you. Nobody wants to be president,” he said.
U.S. naval presence builds in the Middle East as ships deploy
Three ships carrying over 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines are heading to the Middle East, a U.S. official told the Associated Press on Thursday.
The group includes the recently deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group.
It could mean three carriers are in the region as early as the end of October, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
That would create an unusually high U.S. naval presence of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines and hundreds of aircraft. The USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington are in the area now, along with the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group.
U.S. naval presence builds in the Middle East as ships deploy
Three ships carrying over 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines are heading to the Middle East, a U.S. official told the Associated Press on Thursday.
The group includes the recently deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group.
It could mean three carriers are in the region as early as the end of October, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
That would create an unusually high U.S. naval presence of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines and hundreds of aircraft. The USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington are in the area now, along with the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group.
Treasury Department targets shadow banking network used by Iranian regime
The U.S. Treasury Department took “unprecedented action” Thursday targeting a shadow banking network with ties to Russia that the Iranian regime has used to evade sanctions.
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said on X that it had proposed a rule that would prohibit transmittals of funds that involved the A7 Network. The network was also sanctioned as a “significant transnational criminal organization.”
An alert was also issued to help financial institutions detect and report suspicious activity related to the A7 Network.
The actions are part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” a sustained effort by the Trump administration meant to put financial pressure on Tehran. The U.S. Treasury also issued new sanctions affecting Iran’s rail and automobile industries.
Houthi rebels, Yemeni government forces clash in residential areas
Iran-backed Houthi rebels clashed with Yemeni government forces overnight into Thursday in residential neighborhoods in eastern Taiz, located about 60 miles from Mokha, which the Houthis seized last month.
A main road linking Taiz and Aden was cut off due to the latest clashes.
Al-Thawra Hospital, located a few kilometers from the clashes, received six bodies and 35 wounded people Thursday, according to hospital manager Abdelrahman al-Sabry.
The official told The Associated Press by phone Thursday the number of dead and wounded was similar to those in early September, when fighting was intense before clashes de-escalated.
Renewed violence in Yemen has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands. The Houthis captured the strategic city of Mokha and a number of Red Sea islands last month, extending their reach to the key maritime waterway of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
It was the Houthis’ biggest land grab in years and ended a 2022 ceasefire that largely stopped major fighting in Yemen’s 12-year civil war.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said Thursday the rebels targeted a power distribution station in the area of Medina two days earlier. The strike shut down a transformer, but didn’t affect the power grid. The Houthis have yet to respond to the claim.
U.N. “deeply concerned” about impact of war on Lebanon’s food supplies
The deputy director-general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said Thursday that she was “deeply concerned” about the impact of the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict on agriculture in south Lebanon.
Trump suggests Iran may be linked to attempted FlyDubai crash
President Trump suggested Thursday that Iran may be linked to the attempted hijacking of an Israel-bound FlyDubai plane.
When asked by reporters if he had been briefed about any links between Iran and the co-pilot who attacked his fellow pilot and attempted to crash the plane before being subdued by passengers, Mr. Trump said “we’re working on it right now.”
“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes,” Mr. Trump said. “But we’re working on it right now.”
Iran’s president says U.S. should “get the idea of bringing us to our knees” out of its head
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that the country would continue to defend itself while remaining open to dialogue with the U.S.
“We defend the rights of our society with dignity and pride, and we have never run away from dialogue and will not do so, although the United States has targeted our country three times despite having signed the agreement,” Pezeshkian said during a meeting with entrepreneurs and economic figures, according to IRNA, Iran’s official news agency.
By “the agreement,” Pezeshkian appeared to be referring to the memorandum of understanding signed by himself and President Trump in mid-June. The cease-fire ushered by that agreement fell apart in less than three weeks, as Iran accused the U.S. of violating its terms by keeping its naval blockade in place.
“The enemies thought that with the martyrdom of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the people, commanders, and scientists – the country – would collapse, but our national and internal unity and cohesion increased,” Pezeshkian said. “The U.S. should get the idea of bringing us to our knees with terror and martyrdom out of its head.”
Trump says “Saudi Arabia wouldn’t be here right now” if it wasn’t for him
President Trump has said the kingdom of Saudi Arabia “wouldn’t be here right now” if it wasn’t for him, while reiterating the same claim about Israel.
In an interview with TIME magazine published Thursday, the president was asked about his relationship with Saudi Arabia, after CBS News and other outlets reported that he had turned down a request from the kingdom to join Saudi forces in bombing the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
“Good,” Mr. Trump said of his ties with Saudi leaders. “I’ve done a lot for Saudi Arabia. I protect Saudi Arabia. If I weren’t president, Saudi Arabia wouldn’t be here right now. Neither would Israel. They’d be wiped off the face of the planet.”
“I like the crown prince,” he added, referring to Mohammed Bin Salman. “My relationship is very good. But remember, if I weren’t here, there wouldn’t be a Saudi Arabia. There wouldn’t be an Israel. There wouldn’t be various other countries, also.”
Iran denies report that Rubio expelled its delegation from New York
Iranian delegation including its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly ordered out of New York by top US diplomat
Iran’s Mission to the United Nations in New York said its delegation left the city on Monday evening as scheduled, rejecting reports that it had been asked by the United States to leave.
The mission said the departure had been planned in advance and that the schedule had been communicated to the U.S. Department of State on Sept. 17.
Axios reported Wednesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had asked the delegation on Monday to leave New York after negotiations between the two nations, carried out via mediators, stalled, citing a U.S. official and a second source with knowledge of the matter.
“Having achieved nothing, the State Department has resorted to propagating baseless and worthless news,” Iran’s mission said in a post on X about the reported request from Rubio.
