IAEA inspectors cannot return to Iran amid US threats: Russia
Press TV – September 24, 2026
Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna says the return of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to Iran is not possible amid continued US threats against the country.
Mikhail Ulyanov said the United States has never provided guarantees that it will halt missile attacks on Iranian territory. “On the contrary, they are practically issuing threats every day, and sometimes several times a day,” Ulyanov said, according to RIA Novosti.
“In such circumstances, what meaning can there be in talking about the presence of IAEA inspectors?” he added.
Ulyanov’s remarks come against the backdrop of a fundamental security problem surrounding the resumption of inspections. In June, Israeli and US strikes targeted Iranian nuclear facilities that had been under IAEA safeguards.
The US and Israel attacked Iran while nuclear negotiations were underway, using the talks as a cover for aggression under the illusion that the attack would eliminate Iran’s nuclear program and eventually topple the Islamic Republic.
The bombing has killed the bilateral framework for cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, which has so far refused to condemn the aggression, thus failing in its commitment and now demanding Iran to go out of its way and cooperate with aggressors—amounting to awarding the aggressors.
The attacks forced the Agency to halt its field verification activities and withdraw its inspectors from Iran for safety reasons. The IAEA itself reported that its inspectors had been withdrawn from the country by the end of June because of the security situation.
That history provides an important context for Tehran’s refusal to immediately restore unrestricted access. Iran is being asked to facilitate the return of international inspectors while the military threat that forced their withdrawal has not been conclusively removed.
From Tehran’s perspective, the question is therefore not simply whether inspectors should have access, but whether the conditions exist for them to operate safely and independently without their presence becoming entangled in an active military confrontation.
The IAEA has also acknowledged the exceptional circumstances created by the attacks. In its reporting, the Agency stated that attacks against nuclear facilities can have serious consequences for nuclear safety, security, safeguards and international peace and security, and recalled that nuclear facilities must not be attacked because of the risks to people and the environment.
This is particularly significant because the facilities targeted in the strikes were not outside the safeguards system. Russia has argued that the affected Iranian sites had been subject to regular Agency monitoring before the attacks.
In a 2025 statement, Ulyanov said the facilities at Fordow, Natanz, Isfahan and Arak had been regularly inspected and that the strikes damaged both nuclear infrastructure and IAEA equipment.
The attacks therefore created a difficult contradiction for the international verification system: facilities under international monitoring were struck militarily, inspectors were subsequently withdrawn for security reasons, and Iran then faced intensified demands to restore access under conditions in which it continues to regard itself as exposed to further attack.
The Agency has reported unresolved questions concerning uranium particles and has said that it requires further information from Iran before it can provide broader assurances about the exclusively peaceful nature of the country’s nuclear program.
At the same time, the current dispute cannot be separated from the security environment in which verification is being demanded. A sustainable inspection arrangement would require more than simply instructing Iran to open its facilities.
It would require credible security arrangements for inspectors, protection for safeguarded nuclear installations, and a mechanism that prevents inspections from becoming a source of additional military or political escalation.
Tehran’s position is that inspectors should not simply return under the same conditions that existed before the attacks. There are several concrete reasons for that position.
First, the safety of inspectors has become a direct issue. The IAEA withdrew its personnel because of the security situation after the attacks.
Without credible assurances that inspectors and their equipment will be protected from further military action, Iran can argue that an immediate return would expose Agency personnel to risks that are beyond the Agency’s ability to control.
Second, Iran’s nuclear facilities have themselves become potential military targets. The IAEA has repeatedly stressed the dangers of attacking nuclear installations.
Allowing inspectors to return without addressing the possibility of renewed strikes would leave them operating in an environment where the facilities they are monitoring could again come under attack.
Third, the previous monitoring framework was disrupted by military action rather than simply by a disagreement over access. The IAEA’s own records state that verification activities stopped following the attacks and that Iran subsequently enacted legislation suspending cooperation with the Agency.
Fourth, the dispute now involves a question of reciprocity and confidence. Iran maintains that it cannot be expected to provide extensive access while simultaneously facing threats of additional military action.
The dispute has intensified following a September resolution by the IAEA Board of Governors reporting Iran’s case to the United Nations Security Council.
Iran has rejected the move as politically motivated and has stressed that the military strikes and subsequent diplomatic pressure have fundamentally changed the circumstances surrounding the nuclear dispute.
Russia and China have opposed efforts to escalate the matter through the Security Council.
At the same time, Iranian officials have warned that continued military and political pressure could lead Tehran to reconsider its position within the nuclear non-proliferation framework.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Iran’s recent experience could encourage other countries to reconsider participation in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Senate Rejects Iran War Powers Resolution Passed By House
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | September 24, 2026
The Senate narrowly voted to reject legislation that would require President Donald Trump to end the war against Iran.
The Senate voted against the War Powers resolution 49-50 on Thursday, largely along party lines. Republican Senators Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Rand Paul, and Lisa Murkowski all voted for the legislation with nearly all Democrats. The only Democratic senator to vote against the War Powers resolution was John Fetterman.
The resolution would have required Trump to end the war against Iran. It directs the President to “remove the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, including potential ground forces in a combat role or used for occupation, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran.”
The House passed the legislation, H.Con.Res.89, in July. Earlier this month, the House passed a separate War Powers resolution, H. Con. Res. 93, 220-204, with seven Republicans joining nearly all Democrats to pass the legislation.
Even if the legislation had passed the Senate, Trump likely would have vetoed it. In 2019, Trump vetoed a War Powers resolution directing him to withdraw US support for Saudi Arabia’s war against Ansar Allah in Yemen.
Congress has not passed any authorization for the US to wage war against Iran, making the conflict unconstitutional. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has introduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for waging an undeclared war.
“By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” said Massie when he introduced the articles of impeachment. “Secretary Hegseth’s constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran. He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the lower chamber for the midterm recess early, delaying the vote on Massie’s articles of impeachment.
Iraqi Resistance faction links arms to sovereignty, questions US exit
By Al Mayadeen | September 24, 2026
Weapons are tied to Iraqi sovereignty, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada spokesperson Sheikh Kazem al-Fartousi said Thursday, arguing that they exist to defend the country and establish deterrence.
Speaking to Al Mayadeen Plus, al-Fartousi said, “If you provide sovereignty to Iraq, then there is no need for weapons.”
He said the group had put forward 10 points that would guarantee Iraqi sovereignty, stressing that the proposals serve Iraq’s interests rather than those of the factions.
Al-Fartousi questions US withdrawal from Iraq
Addressing the US presence in Iraq, al-Fartousi said its continuation, alongside US control over political decision-making, the economy, and oil sales, constitutes a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
He also stressed that the presence of Turkish forces and armed members of Turkish Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq was a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
Al-Fartousi expressed doubts about the US withdrawal from Iraq, saying that the US side was speaking about needing additional time.
In this context, he revealed information indicating that large numbers of US forces have returned to the Ain al-Assad base in Iraq 10 days ago.
Warning over possible political mobilization
Recent reporting has likewise placed the future of foreign forces and armed factions’ weapons at the center of discussions in Iraq, with some factions linking any weapons arrangements to the restoration of full Iraqi sovereignty.
Al-Fartousi also warned Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi about “a street movement being prepared with US support to overthrow the government.”
The remarks come as Baghdad approaches the September 30 deadline for the end of the remaining US-led Coalition mission, while discussions over bringing weapons under state authority remain unresolved.
Iraq forms new committee amid transformation in relations with coalition
Spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Sabah al-Numan, announced earlier this month that Commander-in-Chief and Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi has directed the formation of a committee to determine the form of the relationship with the international coalition based on the principle of reciprocity.
Al-Numan said, “The relationship with coalition countries will transition to integration and cooperation after September 30 of this year,” reaffirming that September 30 is the final date for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.
He said the timing is “a culmination of Iraqi sovereignty and a beacon for the capabilities of the security forces in the national security file and the protection of sovereignty.”
Al-Numan revealed that the country is witnessing an acceleration in the withdrawal of foreign forces within the international coalition, noting that “the office of the Commander-in-Chief has provided facilities.”
The spokesperson stressed the authority’s determination to restrict weapons to the state, saying, “We will not allow the existence of any weapon outside the framework of the state.” He explained that “the process of organizing weapons is proceeding according to the vision of the Iraqi government and has a political and legal framework” and noted that “after September 30, dialogues will accelerate in order to resolve the weapons file.”
Cannon fodder no more… South Korea rejects Trump’s pressure to join his criminal war on Iran
By Finian Cunningham | Strategic Culture Foundation | September 24, 2026
This is a pivotal moment in history as South Korea tells Trump it is done with being a vassal for American imperialist wars.
KJ Noh notes in this interview for Strategic Culture Foundation that South Korea’s defiance of U.S. power is resonating with growing resistance among other nations towards Washington’s bullying and warmongering.
President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea gave a televised nationwide address last week declaring that his country would not be deploying military forces to the Strait of Hormuz.
That announcement followed weeks of speculation that South Korea would cave to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been arm-twisting Seoul and other allies to send military support for his seven-month war on Iran. A war that is plunging the global and American economy into turmoil and could derail his presidency in the U.S. mid-term elections.
Geopolitical commentator KJ Noh says the public rejection of Trump’s appeal by South Korea is a major blow to Washington’s international image.
He notes that the Republic of Korea has been a loyal vassal of the United States, always sending its troops to fight American wars. South Korean soldiers have deployed in every U.S. overseas war from Vietnam to Iraq.
“The Korean people are saying they do not want to be cannon fodder for any more U.S. wars,” comments KJ Noh.
He adds that this defiance will inspire other nations to reject American hegemony.
However, KJ Noh warns that Washington is exerting severe pressure on South Korea to bend the knee. “South Korea is a living example of the maxim that to be an enemy of America is dangerous, but to be an ally is fatal.”
Trump is in a deep mess of his own making as a result of his criminal war against Iran, which he is losing. He needs “allies” to bail him out by supplying weapons and military personnel to act as cannon fodder.
Over the past eight decades, South Korea would have bent over and loyally obliged. But not anymore, it seems. The Korean people have had enough of being Uncle Sam’s vassal.
Korean defiance is a rallying call for global repudiation of American imperialism.
‘We don’t seek permission to defend our country’: Snippets from President Pezeshkian’s UNGA address
Press TV – September 23, 2026
In a powerful speech to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held up photographs of victims of American and Israeli war crimes against Iran, firmly rejecting Washington’s terrorism accusations and declaring that the Islamic Republic can never be forced into submission through military aggression.
The address, delivered under the summit’s theme of “Rebuilding Trust,” came one day after US President Donald Trump delivered deeply provocative rhetoric against Iran in his own remarks from the same podium.
Pezeshkian systematically dismantled Western double standards, detailed the unprecedented crimes committed against Iran during the US-Israeli war of aggression, reaffirmed Iran’s nuclear rights, and issued a warning to the aggressors.
Below are snippets from his speech:
Response to US terrorism accusations
- Yesterday, the president of the United States said we are terrorists. We are the victims of terrorism.
- I come from an Iran where they assassinated our Leader, without any legal justification.
- I come from an Iran where they bombed a school. You can see these children. They bombed these children and killed them with weapons they used from America and Israel. They had committed no sin. They had committed no crime.
- Lamerd is one of Iran’s small cities. There is a sports hall there where children were exercising. America bombed it with cluster bombs that split into thousands of pieces. They martyred our scientists, our people, our women, and innocent children who had committed no sin.
- Those who are terrorists and breed terrorists call us terrorists. We only defend ourselves. We are not terrorists.
The US-Israeli assault on Iran
- Our innocent people are the target of the cowardly attacks they imposed on our country, and we defended ourselves with power. America and Israel attacked us with the latest technology and equipment, and our people stood firm. They struck, but we did not bow our heads before them. We struck back, but we did not strike civilians.
- From the territories they came from and were equipped in, they attacked our schools, our hospitals, our universities, our bridges, and our infrastructure. All of this is in violation of international law.
- When I took office, on the very first day, they assassinated [Hamas leader] Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel bombs and assassinates any government, any state, any region it wishes.
Gaza: 80,000 massacred
- In Gaza, they massacred over 80,000 innocent human beings. More than 100,000 people are displaced. They are committing genocide with the tools and technology at their disposal. Then they say others are terrorists, that they are the source of instability.
- Are we the source of instability? We who want to live independently, who refuse to bow our heads- are we the source of instability?
- If those who assassinate, kill, and commit crimes are the agents of security and peace, while they observe none of the rules of international law, this is the reality we face.
Iran’s 200-year record of non-aggression
- We want nothing. We have found our answer. We need power, because a nation that cannot defend itself will be crushed.
- In this world, the powerful, instead of thinking about people, humanity, justice, and democracy, are agents of ruin, destruction, and annihilation. Whoever they want to destroy, they label a terrorist.
- For 200 years, Iran has not attacked any country. Two hundred years. We have always defended ourselves. Yet now we must be accused of being terrorists and agents of insecurity in the region.
Power for defense, energy for development
- This has led us to choose our strategy: We want power to defend ourselves. We do not want power to launch aggression. We want energy for development, not for building bombs, destruction, or threatening society. And for security, we want to participate.
- Iran must be powerful enough so that its survival and progress are not threatened, responsible enough not to use its power for domination, and far-sighted enough not to seek its security in the insecurity of its neighbors.
The people’s seven-month vigil
- Over the past seven months, our people have been in the streets every night to defend our Iran and to prevent those whom America and Israel had incited and armed from entering the country and creating internal insecurity.
- For seven months, the people of Iran have been in the streets day and night. The people are our power, and we stand with the power of the people.
Iran’s defense doctrine
- Regarding Iran’s defense, we have built our defense system so that no one imagines that bombing Iranian cities will go unanswered.
- Iran’s military power is for defense. But we say clearly: we do not ask permission from anyone to defend our country.
Neither nuclear weapons nor deprivation
- For years, they have spoken about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program in the language of centrifuges, enrichment, sanctions, and bombs. But for our people, nuclear technology is part of the right to development.
- Nuclear energy means treatment for our patients, food security for agriculture, technology for industry, and sustainable electricity for the future.
- Iran does not accept that nuclear knowledge should be the exclusive privilege of a few countries. Iran does not consider nuclear weapons a factor of security, but it will not relinquish its right to science, industry, and peaceful energy.
- We say explicitly: neither nuclear weapons nor deprivation of nuclear knowledge.
- Iran’s nuclear position cannot be resolved on the battlefield. The solution is an agreement that provides the world with credible assurance of the peaceful nature of Iran’s program and provides the Iranian people with assurance that their rights will be preserved.
The Strait of Hormuz
- In the waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, we cannot be the historical guardian of a waterway that everyone benefits from, yet be deprived of the freedom of navigation even in our own waters due to unjust sanctions.
- They close the road to us, and then they transport weapons, explosives, missiles, and energy for the destruction of countries through the same waterway. This is not possible. They cannot do this, and we will not allow such a thing to happen in our country.
- The permanent deployment of hostile fleets and the expansion of war do not bring security. The security of shipping cannot be ensured by undermining the security of coastal states.
No peace without Palestine justice
- Palestine remains a wound on the conscience of the international community, and Gaza remains the symbol of the failure of international mechanisms to prevent civilian suffering. For decades, resolutions have been issued, but occupation and violence continue.
- We cannot speak of peace while ignoring Palestine. Lasting peace in West Asia will not last without justice for Palestine.
- As long as occupation, aggression, and injustice exist in the world, resistance will continue. If one form of it is harmed, it will emerge again in another form, perhaps even stronger.
- Gaza, despite relentless killing and widespread destruction, revealed the faith of the people that resistance cannot be forced into surrender by bombs and siege.
- This is the nature of humanity. If you drive a human being from their land, they resist. If you bomb a person’s home, they resist. What should they do if they do not resist? Accept bullying? Accept being driven from their homes and sit silently? And if they want to defend themselves, call them terrorists?
Regional solutions and strategic independence
- It is clear that the issues of our region, before becoming a pretext for the war of distant powers, can be solved within the region and by the countries of the region.
- Strategic independence means that relations with no foreign power become the possibility of war against a neighbor.
Message to the aggressors
- Now, a word to all those who were responsible for the decision-making, planning, and execution of the attack on our land: Our nation has experienced their military power and the consequences of their destructive decisions up close. They have tested Iran’s resilience, and now they know well that Iran cannot be forced to surrender through war.
- Iran has never initiated any war and has always demonstrated its commitment to the negotiating table. War was imposed on us, but we proved that we do not fear war to defend ourselves; we do not flee from negotiation for peace, and we stand to the last breath for the defense of dear Iran.
International double standards
- The theme of this summit is rebuilding trust. Trust is not built with words; it requires the avoidance of double standards.
- The atomic bomb and other weapons of mass destruction in this region are in the hands of the Israeli regime, yet inspections are demanded of Iran.
- Israel massacred 70,000 people in Gaza, yet Iran was bombed at the negotiating table.
- Israel has nuclear weapons, is not a member of the NPT, has never allowed a single inspector into its territory in its entire disgraceful existence, yet is rewarded with billions of dollars in free weapons and enjoys immunity to bomb any capital it chooses.
- I repeat: the nuclear bomb is in Israel, but the inspectors are in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is sanctioned. This is a tragedy; if you tell this to anyone, they will laugh. It kills, and we are sanctioned. And sanctions target the poor, the sick, and innocent people.
- Human rights are not a tool for geopolitical competition. Iran does not seek special privileges; it demands equal rights and accepts its responsibilities.
A warning against the law of the jungle
- Iran has learned one truth clearly in its long history: the world without power is dangerous, but a world that only understands the language of power will not have sustainable security.
- If international law is only enforced when it aligns with the interests of the powerful, more countries will conclude that they must rely solely on their own power to ensure their security, and this will mark the beginning of a far more dangerous world for all of us.
- We must not allow the 21st century to become an era of returning to the politics of the strong and the rule of tyrants. We must not build a world in which military power replaces legitimacy, sanctions replace diplomacy, assassination replaces politics, and war replaces dialogue.
Iran’s call to the world
- Iran extends a hand of cooperation to the world. We call the world not to another war, but to peace and justice, not out of weakness, but out of confidence in our own power and the understanding that no one in this region will have security alone.
- Either we will build security together, or we will endure insecurity together.
- We think of building a future in which security, justice, and human dignity are inalienable and shared rights for all nations. A future in which no nation is marginalized, no voice is lost in the noise of power, and no power has the right to determine the future of others on their behalf.
- An order worthy of the international system must be based on equality of nations, justice, fairness, and the shared will of humanity. Because peace that is not for everyone is not peace, and justice that excludes everyone is not justice.
Final message to Trump
- And finally, the remarks of the US president yesterday, before world public opinion, thinkers, politicians, and jurists, are a clear sign of bullying, the logic of force, and contrary to the explicit text of the UN Charter.
- Let him know that threats make our nation more united and stronger, and increase the resistance of Iranians. They must know that the nation of Iran will not bow its head before force, and it will make the aggressors regret it. This is what Trump and those who want to bully must understand.
- We are ready for dialogue, but let them know that we will not accept the language of force.
NATO chief wants Europeans to fight American wars [for Israel]
Mark Rutte has justified the US-Israeli war on Iran and said European nations should “take care” of the Middle East in the future
RT | September 23, 2026
European NATO nations should take greater responsibility for security in the Middle East, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said. He also defended the US-Israeli war on Iran and argued that European members should spend less on social programs and more on the military.
Rutte made the remarks at a Chicago Council on Global Affairs event in Iowa on Tuesday after being asked to “make the case” for NATO to Americans by explaining “what’s in it” for them.
He described the Middle East as “Europe’s backyard” and “not the United States’ backyard,” arguing that Washington’s war against Tehran was “necessary” but that the US had to launch it because “somehow the Europeans did not have enough capabilities to do it themselves.”
“In the future, what you get from a stronger NATO is that Europeans can take care of their own backyard,” Rutte said.
The US-Israeli war on Iran, launched in late February, caused major friction within NATO as several European members resisted supporting Washington’s belligerence. Spain refused to allow American warplanes to use its bases for the campaign, drawing US President Donald Trump’s ire. Germany and the UK described the conflict as “not our war,” while stopping short of condemning the US and Israel.
Trump has since repeatedly accused European allies of failing to meet their NATO commitments and claimed the bloc “was not there when we needed them.” In April, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said NATO’s future was uncertain and Washington could not currently reaffirm its commitment to collective defense.
Rutte also argued on Tuesday that the burden within NATO was unfair because European members spend heavily “on pensions and welfare,” while Washington has to devote more resources to weapons but “would also like to spend more on all these other lofty, beautiful items, but they can’t because they have to spend so much on defense.”
He described raising NATO’s defense spending target from 2% to 5% of GDP as “the fairness element” and part of an “equalizing” process. The remarks come as Washington pushes for a reorganization dubbed NATO 3.0, under which European members would sharply increase military spending and production while assuming “primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe.”
Rutte also offered to help “protect the United States from threats of Russia” and China and prevent the Arctic “from becoming militarized by the Russians and the Chinese.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last month that Moscow was primarily interested in “preserving the Arctic as an area of peace and cooperation” and accused NATO of “driving the region towards militarization.” His comments followed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal earlier this year to use increased EU military spending on “Arctic-ready equipment.”
Mahan Air Flight Lands in China Despite US Threat against Iranian Airlines
Al-Manar | September 23, 2026
A Mahan Air commercial flight from Tehran landed in southern China today, a tracking data website says, despite the US threatening to “shut down” Tehran’s carriers and punish anyone doing business with them starting today.
Flight IRM093 landed in Guangzhou at 4:39 pm local time on Wednesday, according to the tracking website FlightRadar24.
The flight was not listed on the official website of Guangzhou Baiyun airport, which was the location shown as the landing site of the Mahan plane.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a CNBC interview on Monday that on September 23 “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world,” as the war launched by the United States and Israel nears the seven-month mark.
“If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets or you will be knocked out of the dollar system,” he added.
Staff at the Mahan Air office in Shanghai say they received no notice about any flights canceled, and tickets for the upcoming week are being sold as normal.
For his part, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reiterated Beijing’s opposition to illegal unilateral sanctions after the United States threatened to punish countries that allow Iranian flights to land in their territory starting on Wednesday.
“China’s position has always been consistent,” Guo said at a daily press briefing in Beijing.
“We firmly oppose illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and have not been authorized by the United Nations Security Council,” he said.
US eyes $10bn fund to rebuild war-battered Gulf infrastructure
The Cradle | September 22, 2026
Washington is seeking to funnel $5 billion into a fund to rebuild Persian Gulf energy infrastructure damaged during the seven-month war on Iran and reduce its partners’ reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 22 September.
The US would seek an equal $5 billion contribution from eight regional allies combined – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, and Jordan – bringing the total to $10 billion in a fund named the Partnership for Allied Trust and Construction, or Pact.
US officials said talks on the fund are ongoing and its terms could change. It remains unclear when, or even if, other countries will sign on.
According to WSJ, the proposal tacitly admits that the war has upended global energy markets and destroyed pipelines and refineries across the region that will be costly to rebuild.
Some regional officials said the initiative appeared to be a US attempt to cast the Strait of Hormuz as a less consequential energy route and to present Washington and its allies as united in confronting Iran.
They warned that creating a fund to rebuild destroyed energy sites without a peace deal with Tehran would be premature, as the Islamic Republic could strike any new infrastructure with drones and missiles.
“This strategy has risk written all over it,” said Bilal Saab, senior managing director of consulting firm TRENDS US, noting that Gulf states depend on the strait to differing degrees.
US President Donald Trump threatened to annihilate Iran in his address to the 81st UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 22 September, casting the choice before him as a deal with Tehran or the destruction of the country.
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” Trump said.
He dismissed any link between the upcoming US midterm elections and his Iran policy, even as the war on the Islamic Republic and its cascading effects on the US economy drive his plummeting approval ratings, including among Republicans.
Trump meets Rodríguez near Maduro’s prison as Venezuela’s oil flows to US
Press TV – September 23, 2026
US President Donald Trump has met Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, face-to-face for the first time at the Lotte New York Palace hotel, less than 15 kilometers from the Brooklyn prison where Nicolas Maduro has been held since US forces abducted him nearly nine months ago.
The closed-door meeting, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, was the first between US and Venezuelan heads of state in more than 11 years.
Rodríguez called it a “historic meeting,” saying the two sides discussed strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation in energy, mining, and security.
For critics of Venezuela’s interim government, the image of Rodríguez standing beside the man who ordered Maduro’s abduction amounted to a betrayal — the moment Caracas legitimized a kidnapping and opened the country’s resources to a foreign power.
The Lotte New York Palace sits in the heart of Manhattan. The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Maduro is being held on what many Venezuelans call fabricated “narcoterrorism” charges, is a short drive away.
Rodríguez posted images of the meeting on Telegram and X, calling it a “historic meeting” and saying: “Venezuela and the United States have historical relations which, at this stage, we are called upon to guide through dialogue.”
She thanked Trump for US support after June earthquakes and for backing the country’s “return” to international forums.
Trump, in his UN address the same day, again called Maduro a “dictator” and a “criminal,” and framed the US military aggression that removed him as a financial victory. “The spoils belong to the victor,” Trump said.
The oil deal behind the handshake
The meeting followed an oil agreement announced in late August that handed Washington control over a vast share of Venezuela’s reserves.
Under the deal, North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) — a company founded in 2024 by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt — received 100-year concessions covering 17 Venezuelan oil fields with roughly 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.
The US government secured a 35% stake in NABEP’s parent company, preferential access to 20% of production at cost, and veto power over board appointments, with the board’s majority required to be US citizens. The agreement is governed by US law.
Trump has claimed the US and Venezuela together now hold “more than 60% of the world’s oil.” Observers describe the deal as treating Venezuela not as a sovereign nation but as a vassal state whose resources exist for Washington’s benefit.
Rodríguez assumed the interim presidency after Maduro’s abduction, installed with Washington’s acquiescence.
Since then, she has replaced legal firms representing Venezuela and PDVSA in US lawsuits, moved to regain control of Citgo from opposition-appointed boards, signed a petroleum law reform opening the sector to foreign private investment, and refused to set an election date.
For these services, she received what Maduro never could: international legitimacy, a UN platform, and a photograph with the US president. The price was Venezuela’s resource sovereignty.
Her visit drew protests from Venezuelans in New York and Doral, Florida, who called on world leaders not to normalize relations with what they described as an illegitimate government installed by force.
Critics asked how Washington could sit at a table with Caracas while expanding deportation programs targeting Venezuelan migrants in Florida.
Maduro remains in a US prison, his trial scheduled for June 1, 2027. He has consistently denied the charges and described his detention as a kidnapping. “I am innocent,” he said at his arraignment. “I was kidnapped.”
For Venezuela, its president is in a US cell, its oil is under US control, and its interim leader has shaken the hand of the man who took both.
Trita Parsi: Middle East Unraveling — Are We on the Path to World War?
Glenn Diesen | September 22, 2026
Trita Parsi is the co-founder and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Follow his excellent Substack: https://tritaparsi.substack.com/
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Iran FM meets with US envoy on UN meeting’s sidelines at American side’s insistence: Report
Press TV – September 22, 2026
At the insistence of the American side, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has met with the United States’ regional envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s 81st meeting, a report says.
The news outlet affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Iran’s national broadcaster, carried the report on Tuesday, citing an exclusive IRIB source.
According to the source, “Iran agreed to Witkoff’s request for the meeting in order to convey Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran’s “firm positions” were communicated to the US representative during the meeting, it noted.
Iran’s conditions
The source identified the conditions specified by the Islamic Republic during the meeting as the immediate lifting of the illegal naval blockade that the United States has imposed on Iranian ports and vessels, the immediate release of all of Iran’s frozen assets, and “an end to the war on all resistance fronts.”
Iran closed the chokepoint following the launch of the latest round of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against the country on February 28.
The Islamic Republic and the United States agreed on a 60-day reopening period as part of a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding in June.
Iran devised the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), an authority tasked with managing legal transit through the strait, towards implementation of the understanding, but American violations forced the Islamic Republic to reestablish the closure.
As part of Iran’s efforts at enforcing the closure, the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces have been targeting the vessels trying to illegally cross the chokepoint under American escort.
Tehran has, meanwhile, warned ship owners, charterers, and buyers against buying into Washington’s pledges of “protection” for the vessels seeking to illegally cross the waterway.
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From the Archives
Israel: Strategic Ally or Liability?
By Stephen Sniegoski | My Catbird Seat | June 12, 2010
The claim that Israel serves as a valuable ally for the United States is made by both pro-Zionists and much of the anti-war and anti-Zionist Left that is influenced by Noam Chomsky. As a result of the Gaza flotilla massacre, which has caused a world-wide uproar against Israel, the value of Israel to the United States is being publicly questioned in more mainstream foreign policy forums. … continue
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