Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian accused Donald Trump of a "bullying mentality" as he vowed that Tehran would not surrender and said the US has no respect for international law
Speaking at the United Nations on Wednesday, Pezeshkian said his country remained open to diplomacy to end the conflic but threats would only harden Iran's resolve, rejecting Trump's warning that he could annihilate Iran if no deal were reached.
"The remarks made by the US president yesterday ... are a sign of a bullying mentality. ... The Iranian people will not bow to pressure”, he said.
“Those who are terrorists and train terrorists call us terrorists”, he added.
The US delegation walked out at the start of Pezeshkian’s speech, after Tehran’s delegation did the same for Trump’s speech on Tuesday.
It comes one day after Trump said that US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff had held a productive meeting with Iranian officials.
Earlier on Tuesday, the 80-year-old Republican delivered a combative speech at the UN, during which he said he could “annihilate” the Iranian government and “drive them into hell” if a peace deal is not reached.
Read MorePentagon officially adds one more soldier death to US count from Iran war
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Key Points
- Trump claims 'very good meeting' with Iran despite his 'annihilation' threats
- Trump denies reports of US weapons shortages - watch
- Iran says it presented conditions to US through Qatari mediator
- Iranian president: US has no respect for international law
- Oil prices edge lower as Iran says it is open to diplomacy
Oil prices edge lower as Iran says it is open to diplomacy
04:25 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarOil prices edged lower today, after climbing 4 per cent in the previous session, as Iran said it remained open to diplomacy to end the US-Iran war, though the two countries remain far apart on ways to do so.
Brent crude futures fell 94 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $102.13 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures eased 59 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $91.56.
Watch: Trump continues to make ominous threats against Iran at Middle East meeting at UN
03:00 , Alex CroftPentagon officially adds one more soldier death to US count from Iran war
01:30 , Alex CroftJasmine Fernández reports:
The Pentagon updated its official casualty database to list 19 total U.S. military deaths related to the war with Iran after quietly adding a new fatality.
The change occurred following the death of a female Army officer who suffered a fatal medical emergency Friday while traveling to the Middle East, as reported by The Washington Post.
A U.S. defense official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the outlet that the casualty was logged into the database sometime after Monday afternoon. The death was reported earlier by Task & Purpose. Her identity has not been released.
The addition brings the total number of documented fatalities in the Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, to 19, up from 18 recorded earlier in the week. The database also lists more than 820 service members wounded in action.
However, current and former officials indicate the public count remains incomplete. Five U.S. officials told the publication last week that at least 22 service members have died in the region since military action began on February 28, while a sixth official placed the figure at 23.
Some of those unrecorded deaths involve military personnel deployed to the region during active hostilities, even if not directly killed in combat.
In response to reports regarding the accounting discrepancies, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected claims of intentional omissions.
“Even if we wanted to attempt to hide a combat death, we never would and we never could,” Hegseth said.
Full report: Iranian president accuses US of ‘terrorism’ and flouting international law in defiant UN speech
Thursday 24 September 2026 00:00 , Alex CroftIran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian launched a defiant attack on the United States and Israel at the UN, the day after President Donald Trump threatened to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic.
The US leader warned he could send Iran to “hell” during his combative address to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, seven months after the war he started alongside Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.
In his address to the gathering in New York on Wednesday, Pezeshkian insisted that Iran would never surrender and held up images of children killed in a strike on a primary school in Minab.
Maira Butt reports:
Iranian president accuses US of ‘terrorism’ and ignoring international law at UN
Iran, Taiwan and AI: What's at stake as Trump rolls out the red carpet for China's Xi
Wednesday 23 September 2026 23:00 , Alex CroftMacron says Strait of Hormuz risk was 'underestimated' but refuses to blame Trump
Wednesday 23 September 2026 22:01 , Alex CroftFrench president Emmanuel Macron said the risk posed by the Strait of Hormuz "was probably underestimated" but declined to blame US president Donald Trump for the escalating crisis.
In an interview with ABC News, Mr Macron said the main objective of his meeting with Mr Trump on Monday was to find a deal to reopen the strait and address the global energy crisis, which has driven up the price of petrol, diesel and jet fuel.
He said that when the war began, "the Iranian regime discovered they had this card in their hands", referring to Iran's ability to close the strait. Asked whether this had been a blind spot for Mr Trump, Mr Macron said: "I will not here blame anybody. We are where we are. I think the US is the one able to fix this issue, and we need you."
He added that the situation with the strait "was probably underestimated, and today we have to fix this issue."
Asked whether France would offer its military to help reopen the strait, Mr Macron said he did not want to enter a confrontation with any country, but that France was "ready to be more engaged in order to protect some capacities in order to make this transit possible."
Mr Macron also criticised the decision to go to war with Iran, saying that "having a regime change by bombing a country is not something I think feasible", adding that it was "not a good option, because it doesn't work" and that the US had made the same mistake "several times in the past decades."
Responding to Mr Trump's complaints that European allies were not doing enough to support US military spending, Mr Macron said France respected the US and considered itself a "good ally", but that allies should be consulted and strategised with before a war is launched.
In pictures: Life continues for ordinary Iranians in Tehran
Wednesday 23 September 2026 21:00 , Alex Croft
Trump's approval rating on foreign affairs hits new low
Wednesday 23 September 2026 20:00 , Alex CroftUS president Donald Trump’s approval rating on foreign affairs has hit a new low as the war in Iran drags on.
Just 29 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of foreign affairs, while 71 percent disapprove, according to a new CNN/SSRS poll. CNN noted that this is a new low in its polling.
When asked specifically about Iran, 26 percent of Americans said they approve of Trump’s handling of the war. This is down from 33 percent who approved of his job a month after the war began in late February.
UAE bans major Iranian bank from operating in the country
Wednesday 23 September 2026 19:00 , Alex CroftThe United Arab Emirates has banned a major Iranian bank, Melli, from operating in the country as it accused it of failing to comply with regulations.
It could come as a blow to Tehran, whose links to the UAE provide a vital lifeblood for its economy.
Bank Melli Iran, founded in 1927, is the largest state-owned bank in the country and served as its central bank until 1960, when it was replaced by the Central Bank of Iran.
Watch: US walks out as Iranian president accuses them of 'terrorism' for 'bombing girls school'
Wednesday 23 September 2026 18:01 , Alex CroftYemen’s factions battling Iran-backed Houthis share a common enemy but not common goals
Wednesday 23 September 2026 17:00 , Alex CroftYemeni factions fighting the Iran-backed Houthis are united mainly in one thing — their opposition to the rebels who control the country’s north and have recently advanced along its Red Sea coastline.
But beyond that, the groups fighting under the banner of Yemen's internationally recognized government are divided by geography, foreign patronage and competing visions for what their country should look like if the Houthis are pushed back.
In a month of intense fighting that saw the Houthis' biggest land grab in years, factions of the anti-Houthi coalition lost their hold of Mokha, a strategic city on the Red Sea, and islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait further south. The advance ended a truce that had been in place since 2022 and had calmed a devastating civil war.
In pictures: US delegate walks out during Iranian president's speech
Wednesday 23 September 2026 16:01 , Alex Croft
Weapons used to attack Iran must not pass through Hormuz - Iranian president
Wednesday 23 September 2026 15:46 , Alex CroftPezeshkian has turned to the Strait of Hormuz, the central sticking point in negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
"It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access to shipping through this waterway. The permanent deployment of hostile fleets and the expansion of the war will not lead to peace," he says.
The strait also must not be used for the passage of weapons that will be used to hurt Iran, he adds.
'They were innocent': Iranian president holds up image of children killed in Minab school strike
Wednesday 23 September 2026 15:36 , Alex CroftIranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has shared images of children killed in a strike on a school in Minab.
“I come from an Iran where they bombed a school,” he told delegates at the assembly.
“These children perished under bombs with weapons used by the United States and Israel. They were innocent, had committed no crimes.”
A preliminary US military investigation has determined that Washington is responsible for the deadly Tomahawk strike, likely due to a targeting mistake.
Iranian president: US has no respect for international law - but Iran won't surrender
Wednesday 23 September 2026 15:30 , Alex CroftWe’re hearing now from Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, who is speaking to the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday.
Iran will not surrender in the war with the United States, but believes in diplomacy to try to end the conflict, he says.
He adds that Washington has no respect for international law, adding that the Iranian regime needs to be strong and powerful to resist its US enemies.
Watch: Trump denies reports of US weapons shortages
Wednesday 23 September 2026 15:01 , Alex Croft.@POTUS: The cowards and traitors would love to say the United States is low on munitions — but that’s not true. We have more munitions than we could ever possibly think of using and are building them up at levels we have never done before.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 22, 2026
In addition, in the very near future,… pic.twitter.com/uQhWMGFoz7
Two injured after cargo vessel struck by projectile in Strait of Hormuz, says UKMTO
Wednesday 23 September 2026 14:28 , Alex CroftAn incident has been reported in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, in which a cargo vessel was struck by an unknown projectile, leaving it on fire and adrift, the UKMTO reported.
All crew were evacuated and two casualties reported, it said.
UKMTO said authorities were investigating, and that there was no reported environmental impact.
Pentagon officially adds one more soldier death to US count from Iran war
Wednesday 23 September 2026 13:58 , Alex CroftJasmine Fernández reports:
The Pentagon updated its official casualty database to list 19 total U.S. military deaths related to the war with Iran after quietly adding a new fatality.
The change occurred following the death of a female Army officer who suffered a fatal medical emergency Friday while traveling to the Middle East, as reported by The Washington Post.
A U.S. defense official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the outlet that the casualty was logged into the database sometime after Monday afternoon. The death was reported earlier by Task & Purpose. Her identity has not been released.
The addition brings the total number of documented fatalities in the Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, to 19, up from 18 recorded earlier in the week. The database also lists more than 820 service members wounded in action.
However, current and former officials indicate the public count remains incomplete. Five U.S. officials told the publication last week that at least 22 service members have died in the region since military action began on February 28, while a sixth official placed the figure at 23.
Some of those unrecorded deaths involve military personnel deployed to the region during active hostilities, even if not directly killed in combat.
In response to reports regarding the accounting discrepancies, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected claims of intentional omissions.
“Even if we wanted to attempt to hide a combat death, we never would and we never could,” Hegseth said.
Yemen's Houthi rebels shook up the Mideast with a sudden blitz. Iran helped, sources tell AP
Wednesday 23 September 2026 13:27 , Alex CroftIt took Houthi rebels less than 48 hours to seize Yemen's Red Sea coast from pro-government forces in a resounding blow to U.S. interests and Washington's regional allies.
But the Houthis didn’t do it alone. Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers were in the field helping direct the battle, people familiar with the offensive told The Associated Press, marking Iran’s most direct intervention in favor of its longtime ally since Yemen’s civil war erupted in 2014.
The intervention shows how Iran has built the Houthis into a major regional partner able to open a new front in the wider war with the U.S. The rebels’ biggest land grab in years, along with the closure of a key Saudi pipeline, strengthened their ability to choke off Saudi Arabia’s oil exports, pushing up global fuel prices and giving Iran greater leverage. The United States has seemed reluctant to help its ally Saudi Arabia, even as the Houthis have gained momentum in Yemen's revived civil war.
Read more here:
Yemen's Houthi rebels shook up the Mideast with a sudden blitz. Iran helped, sources tell AP
JD Vance questioned over Republicans breaking with Trump over Iran war
Wednesday 23 September 2026 12:56 , Alex CroftUS Vice President JD Vance has said people are “very excited” about his administration’s handling of the Iran war, despite Republican candidates in the midterm election breaking with Donald Trump over the issue.
A reporter asked Vance for a response “about a growing number of Republicans in battleground states, calling for an end to the Iran war”.
“I haven't seen what you're talking about”, Vance said during a press conference Tuesday. “What I've seen is people who are very excited about what we've done. And, frankly, who don’t want to give control of Washington, D.C., over to the far-left Democrats”.
