Day 205 | Iran sets conditions for US talks as Houthis target Saudi Arabia

US President Donald Trump said the United States faces two options in dealing with Iran: intensify military action or reach a deal, according to an interview with Fox News.

Trump said he is considering whether to launch further attacks against Iran, adding that he is also open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

He also said the United States remains in contact with Yemen’s Houthis and claimed the group has agreed not to fight Washington.

Trump further described some Iranian officials as “hiding like rats” and said he believes it is difficult to find Iranian officials capable of reaching a deal.

Italy is “not at war” in the Red Sea, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, while urging the European Union to strengthen its naval mission protecting commercial shipping in the strategic waterway.

“No, we are not at war,” Tajani told Italian daily Corriere della Sera when asked about a recent attack involving an Italian fighter jet and statements by Yemen’s Houthis that they are not at war with Italy.

His comments came after a Houthi strike on the Taif airbase in Saudi Arabia reportedly damaged an Italian F-2000 Eurofighter aircraft on the ground.

Tajani said Italy would continue supporting the EU’s Aspides naval mission, established as a defensive operation to protect merchant vessels transiting the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.

He called for the EU to renew and strengthen the mission “in the face of the worsening situation in the strait.”

“We have a strong strategic interest: 40 percent of Italy’s entire commercial maritime traffic and 60 percent of the goods we export to Asia pass through the Red Sea,” Tajani said.

US President Donald Trump said he is facing a major decision over Iran, amid renewed tensions over the war and ongoing efforts to reach a deal.

Trump previously told Axios that he had “a big decision coming up” over whether to resume large-scale attacks on Iran, adding, “Anything could happen with me.”

Iranian authorities have sealed a French-affiliated language center in Tehran, known as CLF, following a judicial order, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.

According to Tasnim, the center had operated for years under the cover of foreign-language education without obtaining the required permits, despite repeated warnings from Iranian authorities.

The agency alleged that CLF had used language education to conduct activities contrary to Iranian cultural norms and national security, including identifying and networking with individuals and facilitating the departure of Iranian specialists from the country.

• The command claims it has received information that Washington has again decided to take action against the Islamic Republic.

Iran's central military command has cautioned Sunday that any American strike on the country will be met with a response against US bases and interests across the Middle East that carries "without any limitations or considerations," according to state media.

A statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters, carried by state media, put it bluntly: "Any mistake will result in painful attacks."

The command also claimed to have received information that Washington has again decided to take action against the Islamic Republic, and that the decision came with the approval of certain regional countries at a joint meeting held in a European country.

It said the US is seeking to hide its failures and secure fabricated gains in a war that was launched on the basis of Israeli lies and stage-managing and has been sustained through deception and trickery. In the statement's words: "According to information received, the United States, seeking to cover up its failures and achieve fabricated gains in a war that was launched based on Israeli lies and stage-managing and has been sustained through deception and trickery, has once again decided, with the green light from some regional countries, to resume actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran at a joint meeting in a European country."

The warning comes as tensions between the two countries continue to rise.

Read more: Iranian official rejects US claims of fuel shortages as “baseless lies”

• Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran's Parliament, dismissed US claims of petrol queues as "nothing but baseless lies."
• The claims came from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told the House Financial Services Committee on Sep. 15 that drivers faced three-to-four-hour waits after tighter sanctions.

A senior Iranian legislator has publicly denied Sunday assertions by a top American official that drivers in Iran are stuck in lengthy queues for petrol, calling the account "nothing but baseless lies."

Ebrahim Azizi, who chairs the national security commission in Iran's Parliament, responded to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the social platform X. He also directed a warning at Washington: "Take this as a lesson and refrain from repeating your miscalculations, or else the victorious armed forces will give you an unforgettable lesson."

Azizi backed up his rebuttal by sharing a video from Iran Press. According to the outlet, motorists in the country were refuelling in "just three to four minutes rather than waiting for hours."

بار دیگر مشخص شد همه این "به اصطلاح" اطلاعات‌تان چیزی جز دروغ های بی اساس نیست.
درس عبرت بگیرید و از خطای محاسباتی مجدد پرهیز کنید وگرنه نیرو های پیروز مسلح، درسی فراموش نشدنی به شما خواهند داد. https://t.co/dJWXlm7Ojd

— ابراهیم عزیزی (@Ebrahimazizi33) September 17, 2026

The exchange traces back to testimony Bessent gave on Sep. 15 before the House Financial Services Committee. 

He told lawmakers that after the Treasury Department stepped up its economic sanctions on Iran, drivers there were facing waits of three to four hours at petrol stations.

Azizi's remarks mark a direct contradiction of Bessent's account, with each side presenting a sharply different picture of conditions at Iranian fuel pumps.

Read more: US says Iranian UN officials barred from luxury shopping in New York

• Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed until the US fulfils its commitments under the June peace deal.
• The deal is currently defunct.

Iran's Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has reiterated Tehran's position on the Strait of Hormuz. He said the critical waterway will remain closed until the United States fulfils its commitments under the peace deal signed in June, which is now defunct.

Speaking in Parliament, Ghalibaf said Iran has "explicitly conveyed its messages and conditions to the opposing side through intermediaries." He did not say in the remarks provided what those conditions are or who the intermediaries are.

He also said the reopening of the strait and any return to the previous state of negotiations are both off the table for now. "The enemy is well aware that the path of deception and unilateral imposition is closed," he said. 

According to Ghalibaf, there will be no opening for either until Iran's conditions are met, the legitimate rights of the Iranian nation are recognised, and American commitments are fulfilled.

Ghalibaf's remarks tie the closure of the Strait of Hormuz directly to the fate of the June peace deal.

Tehran presents the closure as a response to what it says are unmet American commitments rather than a standalone decision. 

The deal's collapse has left the two sides without an agreed framework, and Iran says it is now communicating through intermediaries instead of direct talks. 

By calling the strait "critical" and linking its reopening to a return to negotiations, Ghalibaf signals that Iran sees the waterway as leverage in any future talks. Since the remarks provided do not spell out Iran's specific conditions or the US response, how the standoff might be resolved remains unclear.

Read more: Iran’s acting defense minister says women are vital to defense industry

The US Department of State on Saturday issued a security alert for the Middle East, warning of a potential for rapid escalation following recent attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces on Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the department’s TravelGov account said Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports.

“Americans currently in the region should exercise heightened vigilance and remain aware of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures, and other travel disruptions,” it said on X.

“Those outside the region were advised to seriously reconsider travel to or through the Middle East,” it added.

Earlier on Saturday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group fired a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones at “sensitive sites” in the Saudi capital Riyadh and at facilities of state oil company Aramco in the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Saudi-led coalition forces said their defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh, marking the first such targeting of the capital since the latest escalation of fighting.

Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki stated that additional attempts to target civilian infrastructure in locations including Yanbu, Taif, Bisha, and Farasan were also thwarted.

Saudi authorities reported no casualties or damage. Residents in Riyadh reported hearing explosions and seeing smoke near the airport area.

Several US embassies in the Middle East issued a warning to its citizens warning of potential escalating tensions, as the Iran-backed Houthis claimed strikes against Saudi Arabia, including one on Riyadh airport.

They include, at the time of writing this article, the embassies in Jordan, ‘Israel’, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon.

“Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports. This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly,” the warnings said.

“Due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” it added.

“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions,” it added.

For coverage of the previous day, visit the link below.

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