Fixtures
September 23, 2026 07:10 CET
Upgraded
September 23, 2026 17:28 CET
As the dispute in the Persian Gulf continues to effect and form the area, reporters from RFE/RL’s Central Newsroom and Iranian service, Radio Farda, provide continuous updates and analysis.
Fixtures IRGC Commander Re[portedKilledInClashesInIran’sSoutheasternCityOfSaravan
Iranian security forces and unknown shooters have actually supposedly taken part in heavy combating in the southeastern city of Saravan, according to Iranian media and reports from the area.
A senior leader in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was eliminated throughout an operation in the nation’s restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news firm reported.
The company recognized the victim as Brigadier General Hossein Zarifi, who headed the Shahid Sajjad functional base in Saravan, near Iran’s border with Pakistan.
The declaration did not offer information about the scenarios of Zarifi’s death or determine who IRGC forces were combating throughout the operation.
Battling apparently started around 1300 regional time, in the Jihadabad location of Saravan, situated in the Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
Videos released by Haalvsh, a rights group and media company, caught the noise of continual shooting as security forces obstructed roadways causing the website of the clashes. Other video revealed a drone flying over the location, heavy smoke increasing above the area, and a structure on fire.
These videos have actually not been separately confirmed.
Iranian state media and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) stated security forces had actually targeted what they referred to as a “terrorist” group, which it stated had actually meant on performing an assassination operation however was determined and targeted based upon info gotten from the general public.
5 members of the group were apparently eliminated and others apprehended, while weapons and ammo were taken. The IRGC stated that a person of its guards was eliminated.
The reports might not be individually verified by RFE/RL.
Sistan-Baluchestan, which surrounds both Pakistan and Afghanistan, is primarily occupied by individuals of Baloch ethnic culture. Unlike in the rest of Iran, the majority of the population is Sunni Muslim.
The province has actually seen a long-running revolt including Baloch armed groups, with militants regularly targeting figures connected with the Iranian state. On September 14, unknown enemies assassinated the pro-government Sunni Baloch cleric Yousef Gorgij outside his home in Zahedan, the capital of the province.
Fixtures Iranian MP Says Pezeshkian-Trump Meeting’Likely’
Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, an Iranian legislator and member of parliament’s National Security Commission, stated he believes it is “likely” that Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian and United States President Donald Trump will satisfy in New York throughout today’s United Nations General Assembly.
“It would not be bad if the Iranian president had a meeting with him [Trump], but the nature of the relationship between the two countries is much more complicated than solving problems with a meeting,” he stated in an interview with the Iranian news outlet Didban.
Ardestani included that while a conference in between the 2 stopped working to emerge in 2015 throughout the UNGA although Pezeshkian was prepared to hold talks, “I think it is likely that their meeting will take place this time.”
White House authorities have actually offered no indicator that Trump will consult with his Iranian equivalent in New York, though the president himself stated recently he would “probably” meet Pezeshkian.
Trump’s unique envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and his delegation on September 22 at the General Assembly– the very first direct contact in between the 2 sides because June– that the United States leader called “very productive.”
Prior to that, Trump stated throughout a speech to the UNGA that he would either strike a handle Iran or “obliterate” it.
The possibility of a Trump-Pezeshkian conference has actually currently drawn criticism from hard-line figures in Iran.
Fixtures Iran Cancels Some International Flights As United States Sanctions Bite
Iranian airline companies canceled some worldwide flights on September 23 after the United States tightened up sanctions on Iran’s air travel market as part of efforts to increase financial pressure on Tehran.
Flights from Iran to Baghdad, Muscat, Qatar, Georgia, and Azerbaijan were suspended, a Tehran travel representative informed AFP, while services to locations such as China and Turkey continued in spite of some cancelations.
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed the procedures on September 21, promising to “close down” Iranian providers and threatening charges versus nations and business that supply them with services.
The complete effect stayed uncertain. Mahan Air, among Iran’s biggest providers, ran a flight to Guangzhou after the sanctions worked, while China stated it opposed the steps.
Iraq has not openly revealed whether it will impose the constraints, although authorities informed AFP that Baghdad would comply. Iranian authorities remained in speak with reroute Baghdad services to Najaf, a significant location for Shi’a pilgrims.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian flew to New York on September 22 for the UN General Assembly aboard Ashianeh, an obscure Iranian airline company that does not seem under United States or EU sanctions.
With reporting by AFP
Fixtures Why Saudi Arabia’s Oil Is Getting Harder To Ship
The crises in the Middle East are producing a growing difficulty for Saudi Arabia: how it gets its oil to worldwide markets. Delivering expenses are increasing, oil just recently topped $105 a barrel, and international stocks are being quickly drained pipes. (Video by Kian Sharifi and Kenan Cerimagic)
Fixtures Iranian Hard-Liners Up In Arms After Araqchi-Witkoff Meeting In New York
For days, both Iranian and United States authorities were signifying that some level of interaction in between the 2 sides would happen in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
It came as little surprise when news broke that White House Special Representative Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had actually satisfied on September 22.
That did not stop hard-liners inside Iran from railing versus the federal government of Masud Pezeshkian, with some going as far as requiring impeachment procedures.
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Fixtures Oil Falls Below$100 Per Barrel After US-Iran Talks
Oil costs fell on September 23 after United States President Donald Trump stated American and Iranian agents had actually held “excellent” and “really efficient” talks at the United Nations, raising hopes of development towards relieving the seven-month Middle East dispute.
Brent crude was up to $98.41 a barrel in afternoon Asian trading, while United States West Texas Intermediate dropped to $89.23, putting both standards listed below $100.
Trump stated the three-hour conference with Iranian arbitrators on September 22 would be followed by another “in the really future,” hours after informing the UN he dealt with a “huge choice” on whether to reach a handle Tehran or “wipe out the Islamic republic and do it rapidly.”
The dispute has actually interfered with local energy streams, with Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and combating in Yemen squeezing Red Sea exports.
Costs likewise relieved as Saudi Arabia apparently rebooted its East-West Pipeline, with exports anticipated to resume later on today.
With reporting by AFP
Fixtures Iran Says Araqchi Met Witkoff At UN
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi satisfied United States unique envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 22 and laid out Tehran’s conditions for resuming the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, mentioning an unnamed source, stated the conference occurred at Witkoff’s demand which Tehran consented to it in order to communicate its conditions for resuming the tactically crucial waterway.
According to IRIB, those conditions consist of the instant lifting of the United States marine blockade of Iranian ports, the release of frozen Iranian properties, and an end to combating on what Tehran calls the”resistance”fronts– a referral to disputes including Iran-aligned groups in the area.
There was no instant public verification of the conference from the United States.
The reported encounter comes as Tehran and Washington check out a possible go back to diplomacy in the middle of their months-long dispute and stress over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial path for worldwide oil and gas deliveries.
A senior Iranian authorities informed Reuters previously on September 22 that Iran might resume the strait to Gulf shipping within 7 days if Washington alleviated military pressure and raised its blockade on Iranian ports.
Tehran had actually formerly interacted its newest proposition to Washington through conciliators, a senior
Iranian authorities informed Reuters. The Araghchi-Witkoff encounter, if verified, would mark a shift to direct contact in between senior United States and Iranian authorities as world leaders collect in New York for the UN General Assembly.
United States President Donald Trump, nevertheless, struck a tough line in his UN address on September 22, “warning that he could “annihilate the Islamic republic” if no offer was reached to end the dispute. Trump however stated he thought Washington and Tehran would reach an arrangement after the United States midterm elections in November.
Fixtures United States Senators Call On Rubio To Prioritize Release Of Ex-RFE/RL Journalist Held In Iran
A bipartisan group of 4 United States senators has actually composed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio prompting him to make the release of previous RFE/RL reporter Reza Valizadeh, who has actually been put behind bars in Iran given that September 2024, an “immediate concern.”
The letter was signed by Democratic Senators Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and David H. McCormick of Pennsylvania.
“We ask that his flexibility and well-being be an immediate top priority through all offered diplomatic channels with Iranian authorities,” the senators composed in a letter released on September 22, the 2nd anniversary of Valizadeh being positioned in pretrial detention while going to household in Iran.
Valizadeh, a US-Iranian double resident, is serving a 10-year sentence on charges of “teaming up with a hostile federal government.” The United States State Department has condemned his jail time and designated him as wrongfully apprehended
Valizadeh worked for RFE/RL’s Persian-language service, Radio Farda, from 2012 to 2022. The senators stated the charges versus him come from his United States citizenship and his work for Radio Farda, where he reported on corruption and repression in Iran.
The appeal comes as world leaders collect in New York for the UN General Assembly, which Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian is going to. Trump stated previously today that he would “most likely be open” to conference Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the event.
The senators stated Valizadeh’s health had “substantially scrubby” at Tehran’s Evin Prison which he had actually been rejected healthcare, consisting of an inhaler required for his asthma.
“With every day of ongoing detention, Mr. Valizadeh’s life remains in threat,” they composed.
Fixtures Trump Expects Peace Deal With Iran After United States November Elections
United States President Donald Trump stated he anticipates his administration will strike a peace arrangement with Iran after citizens in the United States head to the surveys in November for midterm elections.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, Trump cautioned he might “annihilate the Islamic republic” if no offer is reached to end the dispute, though he stays positive of a contract.
“I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump stated.
“Or do I annihilate the Islamic republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
He included his speech: “Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations? But I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election.”
Trump has actually frequently threatened significant attacks on Iran just to call them off, declaring a contract in between Washington and Tehran impended. Previously, a long lasting peace arrangement has actually been evasive, with tit-for-tat strikes by both sides resuming.
In June a memorandum of understanding was reached that intended to provide the 2 sides 60 days to work out a broad peace offer. That fell apart rapidly with battling resuming generally around the Strait of Hormuz, an essential international transit path for energy and customer items.
Fixtures Pezeshkian Flies To United States Aboard Obscure, Unsanctioned Airline
Iran’s President Masud Pezeshkian is on his method to New York to go to the 81st UN General Assembly, however he’s flying on an aircraft run by an obscure airline company called Ashianeh.
The United States on September 8 broadened its sanctions on Iran’s air travel market to consist of all 27 staying airline companies that used industrial flights and brought authorities.
Ashianeh does not run arranged traveler flights or offer tickets. It likewise is not usually utilized to bring authorities. That duty is up to the US-blacklisted Meraj Airlines.
Ashianeh does not appear to have actually been approved by the United States or the European Union, making it most likely the only Iranian airline company that can bring Pezeshkian and his delegation to New York.
According to info gotten from FlightRadar24, Ashianeh’s Airbus A340 aircraft landed in Algiers for what is likely a refueling stop en path to New York.
Pezeshkian’s United States journey has actually been highly slammed by hard-liners in the house, who firmly insist taking a trip to the United States while at war is “embarrassing” and will just assist to decrease oil costs. High oil rates triggered by the dispute have actually increased financial pressure on the United States and other oil-importing nations, offering Tehran a prospective source of take advantage of.
United States President Donald Trump stated recently that he was “most likely open” to conference Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
Reuters on September 22 priced estimate a senior Iranian authorities as stating that Tehran “invites revival of diplomacy” if the United States “takes concrete actions” to reduce military pressure.
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