Day 210 of the WarFriday, September 25, 2026

Day 210 — Araghchi: 'The Choice Is Now With America'; Pezeshkian Puts January Toll at 3,000; Colombia Cuts Ties

Admin

New YorkNew YorkTehran · Mashhad · AhvazStrait of HormuzBogotá · New York · Washington

Iran

Pezeshkian told Fox News every Iranian has the 'full right' to protest but called the January protests a 'coup' attempt, put the dead at 3,000 including 500 security forces, and said 'we apologize for the mismanagement'; other tallies cite tens of thousands killed, per Iran International.source
Iran International notes the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission has found that killings, torture and arbitrary detention in the crackdown amounted to crimes against humanity, and Amnesty has reported extensive use of live ammunition by the IRGC and police.source
He said Iran is 'not seeking war' but will respond 'decisively' to further attacks, pledged to do 'whatever we are supposed to do' under the NPT on its 60% uranium, and claimed the Houthis take no direct orders from Tehran, per Iran International.source
Asked by Bret Baier whether the Leader is fit to govern, Pezeshkian said he met Mojtaba Khamenei for about seven hours 'a month, a month and a half ago' and that he is 'fully' capable; he also admitted Iran cannot even withdraw its export earnings from China, per Iran International and LiveIranNews.source

Iran

Iranian flights to Najaf were cancelled from early Friday after Baghdad flights were halted and the UAE stopped all Iranian aircraft; the U.S. Treasury blacklisted all Iranian airlines on September 23, and Scott Bessent says 80–90% of Iranian aircraft are grounded worldwide, per RadioFarda.source
The father of Erfan Abdipour, killed in the January protests, answered Pezeshkian's claim that protesters were trained and armed abroad: his son was an architecture student who went to Aryashahr only to protest. 'If you have evidence he had a weapon, publish it,' he said, per Iran International.source
Mashhad Friday prayer leader Ahmad Alam-ol-Hoda claimed Iran's missiles can reach 'the middle of the Indian Ocean' and that it holds a weapon able to destroy a U.S. fleet 'along with all its crew,' per Iran International.source
Ahvaz Friday prayer leader Mohammad Nabi Mousavi-Fard said the U.S. 'has no choice but to accept Iran's conditions' and called for tighter oversight of citizens' dress against what he called a Western intelligence plot, per Iran International.source

Gulf & Naval

A U.S. defense official told Al Jazeera 60 ships crossed Hormuz on Wednesday, September 23, carrying the largest daily oil volume since July; a U.S. official told Reuters about 40 of them coordinated with the U.S. military and some 22 million barrels passed, per Iran International.source
CENTCOM says its forces have redirected 122 commercial vessels as of September 25 while enforcing the blockade, as Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit train aboard USS Boxer in regional waters.source
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said 'we are the victors of the war,' insisted the IRGC Navy controls Hormuz with only oil of Iran's trading partners crossing by Tehran's permission, and vowed confrontation until Iran's seven conditions are fully met, per Iran International.source
Babak Taghvaee cites Israeli military sources who believe the 29 U.S. Navy personnel and eight Marines reported wounded in the war were hurt aboard a U.S. warship, likely a destroyer, hit in September by an IRGC Khalij-e Fars ballistic missile; this is unconfirmed.source

Global

Araghchi told reporters at the UN that Tehran has handed Washington a specific seven-day plan: 'If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal maritime traffic can resume within seven days. The choice is now with America,' per Iran International.source
He said the steps required of the U.S. are 'not new' and were all in the memorandum the two sides agreed in June, and told India's Jaishankar that Iran and Oman have negotiated a secure Hormuz shipping route and reached 'some understandings,' per Iran International.source
A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran will show no flexibility on its nuclear program even if the U.S. accepts the Hormuz proposal, which includes lifting the naval blockade of Iran's ports, and that the strait stays closed until all conditions are met, per Iran International.source
The Wall Street Journal reports the Gulf is split: Qatar is lobbying for talks and floated a seven-day pause to reopen Hormuz, Oman backs a phased reopening, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE want pressure on Tehran maintained, per Open Source Intel.source

Global

Colombia formally severed diplomatic relations with Iran as of September 19, citing alleged links to terrorist and narcoterrorist groups, rights abuses, attacks on non-party states, the Hormuz blockade and obstruction of the IAEA; consular ties remain, per Open Source Intel.source
Around 80 countries, in a joint statement read at the UN by Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, demanded the immediate and complete reopening of Hormuz and condemned attacks by Iran and its Houthi allies, warning against a Houthi push toward Bab al-Mandab, per Iran International.source
Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told CNN the Hormuz situation is 'very difficult and challenging,' that Gulf ships including Qatar's struggle to pass, and that using waterways for pressure and extortion must end, per Iran International.source
NIAC says it has sued President Trump in federal court in Washington, D.C., arguing that continuing the war with Iran since February 28 without congressional authorization is unconstitutional, per Iran International.source

Sources