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Iran's president rejects submission while leaving diplomacy open
Pezeshkian said any agreement must end the U.S. blockade preventing Iranian ships from using a key Gulf waterway.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would not submit after almost seven months of war with the U.S. and Israel. He also said the country remained ready for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Pezeshkian set a condition for any agreement: an end to the U.S. blockade that prevents Iranian ships from using a key Gulf waterway. He said a deal would have to include that change.
Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz by attacking commercial vessels in the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. A fifth of global oil and gas shipments normally pass through the strait. The U.S. imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and ships in April.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff held indirect talks through Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
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Politics ·
Trump threatens Iran at U.N. while holding out prospect of a deal
U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, September 22, that he faced a choice over whether to destroy Iran if it failed to make a deal to end the war in West Asia.
Trump framed the alternatives as an agreement allowing Iran to rebuild or the swift destruction of the Islamic Republic. His remarks described a decision he said he still had to make, while leaving open the possibility of an agreement.
As Trump began describing six months of intermittent military strikes against Iran, members of the Iranian delegation began walking out of the General Assembly. Only one person remained seated.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in New York for the annual meeting but did not attend Trump's speech. Lower-level staff and delegates attended instead, leaving about 10 minutes into the address.
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World ·
Iran reviewing U.S. response to proposals, senior Iranian official says
Tehran was reviewing Washington's response to its proposals, a senior Iranian official said. Those proposals include lifting the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz; the official described a review of the response.
The UN facilitated the first indirect talks between American and Iranian officials since a ceasefire collapsed in July. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated through mediators.
An agreement did not appear imminent. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that reaching a deal would require hard work over time.
Rubio also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. After their talks, Rubio said Ukraine and Russia had both expressed interest in a limited ceasefire covering grain and energy-related targets.
Ukraine and its allies are seeking limited agreements covering energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping before winter, amid fears of renewed Russian attacks on power and heating facilities.
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