Donald Trump speaks with reporters outside the White House, Washington, D.C., September 26, 2026 (Reuters)

EA on Dublin NewsTalk and Talk TV: US-Iran, UK, and Israel at the UN

UPDATES: US War on Iran, Day 212 — Houthis Fire Missiles on Saudi Arabia

UPDATE, OCT 1:

A US official has declared that Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the departure of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi from the US on Monday.

“Secretary Rubio kicked out the Iranian delegation who had overstayed their welcome. The UN General Assembly was over, so it was time for them to go,” the official proclaimed.

The Iranians, who left New York for Qatar’s capital Doha several hours later, said they were set to depart anyway.

UPDATE 1127 GMT:

The Trump camp has sent a counter-proposal to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi through Qatari mediators.

Araghchi has presented the proposal to the Iranian Cabinet.

UPDATE 1122 GMT:

Israeli forces, enforcing their zone of occupation in southern Lebanon, have injured a Lebanese soldier and three civilians.

The Lebanese army was accompanying civilians on their way to remove belongings from homes. As they entered the town, they were attacked.

UPDATE 1059 GMT:

The UK Maritime Trade Operations center reports several vessels being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

Three reports were on Tuesday, including a strike on a liquefied natural gas tanker and a crude oil tanker.

UPDATE, SEPT 30:

Iran has executed two more participants in January’s nationwide protests.

Ali Hemmati and Majid Nikandish were convicted on allegations of killing four security forces in Iran’s second city Mashhad.

Iran, alongside China as the world’s top executioners per capita, has escalated hangings during the US-Israel War.

UPDATE 1426 GMT:

Iraqi Airways plans to restart flights to Iran in October after obtaining an exemption to US sanctions.

The airline has already resumed flights between Najaf and Iranian airports.

The Iraqi ambassador to Iran, Yasser Abdul-Zahra Al-Hajjaj, said, “The government had not issued any decision to halt flights with Iran. Rather, foreign ground-handling companies had refrained from providing services due to fears of US sanctions.”

The Trump Administration is trying to block Iranian airlines as the part of the campaign of economic warfare against Tehran. Several other countries had halted air traffic to and from Iran.

UPDATE 1420 GMT:

A vessel was been struck and set afire by a projectile while passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, reports the UK Maritime Trade Operations center.

The fire was extinguished with no environmental impact. The crew are safe and the vessel continued its journey.

UPDATE, SEPT 29:

US and Iranian officials held separate talks with Qatari mediators in New York on Monday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “[The mediators] presented ideas, and we held a discussion that they will also raise with the American side; the final response from the US side will be conveyed to us subsequently, hopefully by tomorrow.”

Donald Trump denied claims that he offered Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds in return for nuclear concessions.

Araghchi rejected reports of a shift in Tehran’s stance: “Iran’s position has not changed at all, nor has there been any talk [on #nuclear issue], let alone flexibility. Current discussions concern the Strait of Hormuz, and reopening it remains conditional.”

UPDATE 1334 GMT:

Mediators will hold separate talks with the US and Iran, says “an official briefed on the negotiations”.

The discussions will include Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatari mediators in the US. They are expected to focus on an amended version of Iran’s proposal for a resumption of negotiations and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.

UPDATE 0652 GMT:

Eight Marines were injured two weeks ago when an Iranian cruise missile struck their ship in the Strait of Hormuz, confirm three US officials.

The Marines, one officer and seven enlisted troops, sustained smoke inhalation and possibly traumatic brain injuries with symptoms of concussions such as headaches. The men were part of a battalion landing team. They were not on a warship, but on a “maritime vessel”.

UPDATE 0606 GMT:

Ukraine’s air defenses downed 112 of 165 drones, 79 of them jet-powered, launched by Russia overnight.

Strikes were recorded at 14 locations.

At least 25 people were wounded in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv when a strike hit the second floor of a nine-story residential building, destroying part of the structure.

The wounded included eight children between the ages of 3 and 15. Two were hospitalized.

UPDATE 0600 GMT:

Russian independent media outlet Mediazona and BBC Russia have confirmed the identities of 258,989 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine.

More than 10,000 names have been added to the list in less than two weeks, around double the usual rate. The increase was largely due to a leaked list of bodies exchanged between Russia and Ukraine.

The journalists note that the actual number of deaths is likely significantly higher. Verified information comes from public sources such as obituaries, posts by relatives, regional media reports, and statements from local authorities.

Ukraine’s General Staff says 1,528,970 Russian troops have been killed, seriously wounded, or captured during the 55-month full-scale invasion.

UPDATE 0532 GMT:

Following Donald Trump’s rejection of negotiations with Iran, global oil prices have resumed their rise, reaching their level before last week’s UN General Assembly.

Brent crude has risen 3% this morning to $107.40 per barrel.

The increase came despite a report from the monitor Kpler that oil exports from the Middle East are at their highest level since the US-Israel War on Iran began.

About 12.8 million barrels per day have left the region in September, with 7.4 million bpd through the Strait of Hormuz.

The pre-war level through the Strait was 18.8 million bpd.

UPDATE, SEPT 28:

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has told the US outlet NBC News that Tehran is seeking negotiations to end the US War; however, it is also “fully prepared” for the renewal of full-scale conflict.

He emphasized on social media:

President Pezeshkian and I did not come to New York to sell a war. We came to forge peace. Iran nonetheless remains steadfast in the face of any aggression – even if it comes to an apocalyptic war.

At the same time, we are ready for real diplomacy.

UPDATE 1345 GMT:

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claim they captured a US autonomous underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guards said the Remus 600 is “now in the hands of the force’s specialists to retrieve its information”.

They repeated, “The IRGC Navy firmly declares that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, and we are taking strong and relentless action against dangerous movements and unauthorized passage.”

UPDATE 1149 GMT:

Israel has used combat helicopters for the first time in its daily attacks on southern Lebanon.

An Apache helicopter launched two strikes, the second less than 10 minutes after the first, on a shopping center on the main road between the towns of Shoukin and Mayfadoun in the Nabatieh district.

The Israelis also shelled the outskirts of the towns of Haddatha and Haris in the Bint Jbeil district.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump has confirmed the Administration’s rejection of Iran’s proposal to renew talks and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said on Saturday that the proposal is “unacceptable”, claiming Tehran wants it because “they are dying – the money isn’t coming in”.

He asserted, “They got themselves into a bind; we have established the greatest blockade in military history – it’s a wall of steel. And now they have no money because they wanted to close the Strait.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had seen Trump’s comment but had yet to receive an official US response through mediators. He said Iran will make a decision when this is received.

Araghchi told journalists on Friday that Tehran wants to return to talks on the basis of June’s Memorandum of Understanding. “The seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan,” he said.

In return for the reopening of the Strait, the US would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports and shipping. Discussions would return to the Memorandum — signed by Trump in June but soon pushed away by the Administration — over an end to all conflicts in the region; the removal of American sanctions; unfreezing of Iranian assets; and a resolution of issues around Iran’s nuclear program.

On day seven, the talks with the US will be started for the final deal on mutually agreed subjects. If there is seriousness on the US side to ⁠come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared.”

But US officials told the Wall Street Journal that renewed airstrikes are likely after November’s US mid-term elections.

Araqchi maintained Iran’s line, saying Tehran will not “back down” from its conditions.