Al Jazeera

By Kristina Harazim and Zsombor Peter

    Iran says it has learned that the US may be planning a new round of strikes, and warns it will retaliate “without limitations” if Washington follows through.

    US President Donald Trump says the only options on the table in relation to the war are “to obliterate Iran, letting it rot economically, or reach a deal”.

    Ahmed’s new book, Crossing the Red Line, argues that top officials in the administration of former US President Joe Biden made the US complicit in Israel’s war crimes and empowered Israel to act with impunity.

US envoy says Iran can never have nuclear weapons, door to talks still open

    Mike Waltz, the US envoy to the UN, says US President Donald Trump is determined to ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon and will continue to apply “maximum pressure to that end”.

    In a post on X, Waltz also said the door is still open for Iran to return to the “negotiating table if they do so in good faith”.

    The post included a clip of a part of Waltz’s remarks at an event in New York hosted by Al-Monitor. In the footage, Waltz called the US-Israel war on Iran the continuation of a 47-year conflict.

    “The president is determined to stay focused on his goals of Iran, the largest and most prolific sponsor of terrorism the world has ever seen, will certainly not be able to hold the world hostage, much less the Strait of Hormuz, under a nuclear umbrella,” he said at the event.

    Iran has denied seeking a nuclear weapon and signed a deal with world powers in 2015 to curb its atomic programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump pulled the US out of the accord in his first term, leading to its collapse.

US preparing sanctions on entire International Criminal Court

    The Reuters news agency is reporting that the Trump administration has prepared sanctions against the entire International Criminal Court and plans to announce them soon.

    The agency cited two sources familiar with the matter.

    The US, which wants the ICC to drop its arrest warrants for Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has already imposed sanctions on a number of judges and prosecutors.

    Sanctions on the entire organisation, as well as entities that cooperate with it, could severely undermine the court’s work. The ICC’s registrar and president have warned that affected operations could include purchasing IT services and insurance, hiring investigators and carrying out everyday financial transactions, such as paying dozens of American employees.

    The Wall Street Journal first reported the move.

    Citing two documents and US officials, it says the sanctions would forbid most transactions with the ICC after a grace period of six to seven months. Officials told the paper the decision could be finalised as soon as this week, during the UN General Assembly meeting.

China’s involvement could help spur US-Iran diplomacy

    We’ve been speaking with Mark Pfeifle, a US Republican strategist and former White House and national security official.

    He says that beyond the efforts of mediators Qatar and Pakistan, another development could help push diplomacy between Tehran and Washington, and that is “the movement of China”.

    “In this week ahead, I’m really going to be looking at what China says and does,” he said, pointing to Saudi Arabia’s request for Beijing’s help with the Houthis, and the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in the US.

    The Houthis “have made a commitment that they’re not attacking the US, which takes the ability of the Iranians to have a two-front war, both in the Red Sea and in the Strait of Hormuz, at least off the table to a degree,” he said.

    “Now, the Saudis have asked the Chinese to intervene with the Iranians and to hold back the Houthis. So, you’re seeing for the first time, really, China involving themselves.”

    Pfeifle said Trump and Xi are also likely to meet with each other and with Gulf states on the sidelines of this week’s UN summit in New York, “where more pressure could theoretically be put on Iran to come to the negotiation table”.

Oil prices dip on hopes of boost to diplomacy

    Oil prices have fallen to their lowest in more than a week on hopes of diplomacy in the US-Israel war on Iran, and as investors weighed a partial recovery in Saudi shipments despite continued Houthi attacks, according to the Reuters news agency.

    Brent crude futures and US West Texas Intermediate crude touched their lowest since September 10 this morning, with Brent at $101.71 a barrel by 02:13 GMT, down $2.16, or 2.08 percent.

    US West Texas Intermediate crude lost $2.15, or 2.14 percent, to $98.15 a barrel.

    “It seems that a degree of risk premium is being removed from oil prices on hopes that a diplomatic path to de-escalate the US-Iran war may arrive this week,” Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, told Reuters.

    “Whether that hope proves to be warranted or not is another question. Time will tell.”

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    Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum in New York, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani says the region needs to have good relations.

Weekend ship traffic through Strait of Hormuz drops

    A total of 12 commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday and Sunday, the Reuters news agency reports, citing the latest shipping data.

    That’s down by nearly two-thirds from the 35 vessels that transited the waterway the previous weekend.

    Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed “until the US fulfils its commitments” under the interim peace deal signed in June.

    The US also continues to enforce a blockade on Iran’s southern ports.

    Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said the threat level in the waterway remains severe, with at least three attacks reported on ships in the past three days.

Tensions rise as Iran accuses US of planning new attacks

    Here’s what we know:

    The Iranian military says it believes the US is planning to resume strikes against the country and has promised to retaliate “without limitations” if Washington follows through.

    “According to information received, the criminal America has once again decided to resume measures against Iran, with the green light of some regional countries, at a joint meeting in a European country,” the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement on Sunday.

    It also warned regional countries that they will “all be considered complicit” if they support the US’s attacks and said they can “no longer expect restraint or decency” from Iranian forces.

    US media meanwhile reported that Trump is in a “deciding mode” and “that very big things are going to be happening in the not-so-distant future”.

    Trump told Fox News that the options on the table were “wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically or making a deal”. “My question is if and when do I blow the entire nation up  They better behave,” he said.

    The US virtual embassy for Iran also issued a security alert warning citizens not to travel to Iran for any reason and to leave the country.

    Earlier, Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran had handed the US a list of conditions to end the war. He also warned that Iran was ready for any new attacks, saying: “We will confront America with greater force, and with more numerous and more painful strikes.”

Fierce fighting continues in Yemen, but neither side making big gains

By Hadeel al-Yamani

Reporting from Taiz, Yemen

    There are military operations being carried out by government forces supported by warplanes and drones along various fronts that generally extend across the northern and western regions.

    The most prominent and fiercest front is the western coast front along the mountain range stretching from the western countryside of Taiz towards Lahj.

    The fighting is extremely fierce. The government forces are still engaged in heavy clashes with the Houthis in those areas, in an attempt to halt the attacks that the group has been carrying out for several days to take control of that strategic area.

    The area is surrounded by a mountain range that provides protection on two fronts – not only the western coast and the Bab al-Mandeb and Mocha, but also Taiz governorate from the interior and the surrounding rural areas.

    Inland, neither [side] is making significant progress. And it is difficult to speak of any advance by either force, particularly given the extremely challenging strategic location.

What are Iran’s latest conditions to end its war with the US

By Urooba Jamal

    Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei has laid out Tehran’s latest set of conditions to end its war with the United States.

    In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Rezaei said that Tehran has conveyed its conditions to the US via Qatari mediators, but added that Tehran was more battle-hardened now than in the first 40 days of the war, which began in late February following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

    He said the demands include:

    An end to the war on all fronts, including, in particular, Lebanon.

    The release of its frozen funds that run into billions of US dollars.

    An end to the naval blockade on Iranian ports.

    An end to US interference in Iran’s internal affairs.

    An end to US cooperation with “the opponents of our revolution”.

    An end to all US attacks on Iranian territory.

    “It is in Washington’s interest to accept these conditions. Trump’s threats will not achieve any results. We are prepared for a decisive war,” said the security chief.

UKMTO says independent data indicates Hormuz traffic far below US figures

    The United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) says independent tracking shows far fewer vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz than the US military has reported.

    It said the data shows “single-digit numbers transiting in both directions”, while figures from the US Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping indicate traffic has averaged more than 30 transits a day over the past 72 hours.

    Either way, the UKMTO said traffic remains below pre-war levels, and its threat level for the region remains “severe”, with persistent attacks, attempted attacks and harassment by Iran.

    It said that at least three attacks were reported in the last 72 hours, with one attack on September 18 that caused a fire on board a tanker.

    “These actions continue to demonstrate Iran’s intent to assert presence along key transit lanes and maintain pressure on transiting vessels,” it said.

    The UKMTO added that traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and southern Red Sea has also remained at “reduced levels” since July, but said no new attacks have been reported in the last few days.

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Houthis say Saudi forces carried out 28 air raids in Yemen over the past day

    Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, says the Saudi Air Force has carried out 28 air attacks across Yemen in the past 24 hours.

    In a statement on X, Saree said the attacks hit the provinces of Taiz, al-Jawf and Marib. He added that the Saudi-led coalition has carried out at least 760 air attacks since the recent escalation began.

US and Iran ‘still looking for room to negotiate’

    Mark Pfeifle, a Republican strategist and former White House and national security official, says both Iran and the US are still willing to strike a deal.

    “Sometimes in diplomacy it’s what’s taken off the table,” he told Al Jazeera.

    Pfeifle said that when Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei reiterated his demands for talks with the US, “he kept ending the blockade, releasing the frozen funds [and] stopping the attacks”.

    “But he left off reparations and reconstruction money, which tells me that there’s a concrete sign that amongst all the rhetoric, which is still very strident, that the pressure campaign that the US is putting on Iran is having some effect,” he said.

    “And it tells me that both sides are still looking for room to negotiate in the coming weeks.”

Three Palestinians wounded in Israeli attacks in southern Gaza

    The Wafa news agency is reporting that at least three Palestinians have been wounded in Israeli attacks in southern Khan Younis.

    The agency, citing local sources, said two of the victims were struck by gunfire from Israeli vehicles near Hamad City. A third person was also wounded by gunfire in the same area.

A recap of recent developments

    Iran says it has learned that the US may be planning a new round of strikes, and warns it will retaliate “without limitations” if Washington follows through.

    US President Donald Trump tells Fox News that the only options on the table in relation to the war are “to obliterate Iran, letting it rot economically, or reach a deal”.

    Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani warns against “cycles of escalation” in the Gulf, saying the region needs a “framework in which sovereignty is respected” and no state can pose a “threat to another”.

    The US virtual embassy in Iran urges American citizens to leave the country, citing fighting in Yemen between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition.

    Four people have been reported killed in Yemen’s al-Jawf province as fighting continues to rage between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces. Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, says Riyadh will “pay compensation” for the “unjust blockade” on Yemen.

    An Israeli settler has died in the occupied West Bank from a gunshot wound, with the Israeli army saying that the gunman is a Hamas member and that he has been captured. A Palestinian man was killed during an alleged car-ramming attack on Israeli soldiers.