Iranian president makes nuclear program offer but insists bomb 'unholy'

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Friday that the U.S. has redirected 122 ships from the waters near Iran in a post on X.

“As of Sept. 25, CENTCOM forces have redirected 122 commercial vessels to ensure strict compliance,” the post read.

The post also shared a photo of U.S. Marines in action in the region.

“U.S. Marines assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit train aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) as the ship sails in regional waters and continues to support enforcement of the U.S. blockade against Iran,” the post read.

The U.S. has enforced a naval blockade near Iran since July 14, following an initial implementation from April 13 to June 18.

The United Nations Security Council condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia in "the strongest terms" Friday.

The members of the Security Council condemned, in the strongest terms, continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks impacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury of civilians, including women and children,” Jerome Bonnafont, says the rotating president of the Council said in a statement.

Houthi missile and drone attacks have targeted energy and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including in the capital Riyadh.

The Iran-backed terror group, which has been mired in a civil war with Yemen's Saudi-backed government since 2014, began escalating attacks directly on Saudi Arabia in July this year, launching a ballistic missile barrage at the southern part of the kingdom in response to a Saudi attack on Sana'a International Airport in Yemen.

Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday that the country was suspending all diplomatic relations with Iran.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Government of Colombia, reports that, effective September 19, 2026, it formally severed diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran," the Ministry wrote in a statement posted to X.

"This sovereign decision aligns with the pillars guiding the Government's foreign policy regarding national and hemispheric security, as well as the fight against transnational crime, taking into account alleged links between the Iranian government and international terrorist groups and other narcoterrorist groups that threaten the country's security," the statement continued.

Colombia also condemned Iran for human rights violations both within Iran's sovereign borders and through attacks on non-belligerent countries in the Middle East.

The Ministry stipulated that the cessation of diplomatic relations did not mark an end to consular relations.

"The defense of national sovereignty constitutes an indispensable axis of Colombian foreign policy. In this context, national diplomacy will protect borders, reject any form of external interference, and promote the defense of citizens and the interests of Colombia before the international community," the post concluded.

Three Iraqi airports suspended flights from Iranian airlines this week, joining numerous Middle Eastern and European nations in complying with U.S. sanctions.

Iraq's Erbil and Sulaimaniya airports suspended flights Friday, joining the Sulaimaniya airport which suspended flights earlier in the week.

The move now means Iranian carriers are suspended from flying in all Iraqi airports.

Iraq's Civil Aviation Authority ordered the airports to suspend the flights on Wednesday amidst threats of secondary sanctions from the U.S. Treasury Department,

"Any foreign firm or individual enabling sanctioned Iranian airlines—including through aircraft transfers, cargo services, or general sales agent support—will face serious consequences for supporting the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism," read a Treasury Department sanctions announcement from Sept. 8.

Iraq joins other Middle Eastern nations — including Azerbaijan, Oman, Iraq, Georgia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates — in making the move.

President Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping that any aid China provided Iran during the ongoing war would be unacceptable, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue revealed during a Friday interview.

"We made it very clear to them weeks ago that, you know, any help that they would give Iran, whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence or parts or military equipment, was totally unacceptable. President Trump made that very clear again yesterday. This is an ongoing drumbeat," Perdue told CNBC on Friday.

"These two leaders are beginning to develop a relationship of somewhat trust and also working on the issues. I mean, this was a very candid and open conversation, and every time they talk, I think we see a different level of intimacy about these difficult issues that we're dealing with," Perude added.

Trump hosted Xi and other Chinese dignitaries for a state dinner at the White House on Thursday night.

The dinner followed warnings from U.S. lawmakers that Iran was using Chinese satellite imagery to aid bombing campaigns on U.S. military bases in the Middle East, including during an attack on a base in Jordan that resulted in the deaths of three U.S. service members.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian denied using Chinese satellite imagery during a Thursday interview with Fox News' Bret Baier.

The military chiefs of Turkey and Pakistan will travel to Saudi Arabia to talk defending the country against Houthi attacks after discussing the conflict during the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

In August — shortly before the Houthis began launching attacks on Saudi Arabia — Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed on to the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement which offers security guarantees to each party in the event one is attacked.

Numan Kurtulmuş, the Parliamentary speaker in Turkey, indicated Friday that the meeting between the three nations could shape the Mecca Defense Pact into a broader agreement "for the Muslim world."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Iranian mediators have submitted a plan to the White House to begin talks to open the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday.

Araghchi also said that Iran would seek concessions laid out in the previously agreed upon Islamabad Memorandum.

The memorandum, which the U.S. and Iran signed in June, opened a 60-day window for negotiating and offered Iran a termination of sanctions, oil wavers and a lifting of the U.S. naval blockade in the Persian Gulf in exchange for an opening of the Strait and for a commitment to reducing nuclear stockpiles.

Aragachi's admission comes as reports of sidebars between U.S. and Iranian negotiators revealed both sides' willingness to engage in a phased reopening of the Strait and a removal of the naval blockade.

New York Police Department (NYPD) officers arrested 103 people during anti-Israel protests in New York during the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, according to the NYPD.

All 103 people were released with summons for disorderly conduct.

The ranks of arrestees included high-profile politicians and activists, including actress Susan Sarandon, New York City Council member Chi Ossé and Democratic Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier.

Chevalier, the Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives seat in New York's 13th Congressional district, touted her arrest in a series of posts on X.

"Darializa was just arrested while peacefully protesting Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations," her campaign account posted Thursday.

"Our government has unlimited funds to arm a genocide against Palestinians but tells us there's nothing left to feed and house our own people. Stop arming Israel!" the post continued.

"As the Democratic Nominee for New York's 13th Congressional District, I refuse to allow a war criminal to roam the streets of our city unchallenged. I refuse to be complicit in genocide," another post concluded.

Ossé, a staunch ally of New York's mayor Zohran Mamdani, also posted photos of his arrest with the caption "Free Palestine. Netanyahu burn in hell."

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, during a Thursday interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, denied that Iran used Chinese satellite imagery to conduct a strike on a U.S. military base in Jordan that resulted in the death of three service members.

"I’m specifically unaware of these purported images that you talk about," Pezeshkian told Baier.

"Now, what do militaries do with one another between two countries? It is their own business within their own guidelines," he added.

Pezeshkian's denial comes as Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., and Todd Young, R-Ind., warn that China is providing intelligence support to the Islamic Republic.

The pair specifically lobbied President Donald Trump to raise the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the pair's state dinner on Thursday night.

“The president should make clear that we know that China is collaborating with the Iranian regime, and we're prepared to take some sort of action," Young said Thursday.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s U.N. address on Thursday, declaring that the walkouts sent a louder message than any “publicity stunt."

“The criminal Netanyahu came to the General Assembly to turn the podium of this international institution into a loudspeaker for justifying war and aggression; but the exit of 77 delegations from the hall spoke louder than any speech,” Gharibabadi said on X.

“The world will not be fooled by narrative-building. History will judge the crimes, occupation, and aggression, not the publicity stunts in New York,” he said.