Day 213 of the WarMonday, September 28, 2026

Day 213 — Five Held Near RAF Fairford; CENTCOM Says Iran 'Has No Navy'; Mojtaba Khamenei Calls Iran the 'First Power'

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RAF Fairford, EnglandStrait of HormuzWashingtonTehran

Iran

In a written message, Mojtaba Khamenei said 'some consider us the world's fourth superpower' but by 'divine calculations' Iran is the 'first power in the world,' claiming enemy forces won't go beyond the Arabian Sea and that a 500,000-place mobilization call was filled in 100 minutes, per Iran International.source
RadioFarda noted the leader has not appeared in public since his selection and that the message insists on 'preserving' Hormuz; Mehdi Mahdavi-Azad on Iran International said the 'first power' claim clashes with his hiding, while LiveIranNews claimed, without confirmation, that the message was AI-generated.source
Officials from the Raisi and Ahmadinejad governments and several sitting MPs — signatories include Heydar Moslehi, Ensieh Khazali and Ebrahim Azizi — urged halting cooperation and starting the legal process to leave the NPT 'in the shortest possible time,' per Iran International.source
Kayhan wrote that Trump 'cannot be tamed by bowing' and can only be restrained by 'the language of missiles,' faulting the 'hasty' diplomacy in New York; separately, Hamid Rasaei began a 10-month sentence in Evin after a complaint by Speaker Ghalibaf, per Iran International.source

The brother of Esmail Beigi Harchegani, a 54-year-old father of two shot in the heart by snipers in Isfahan during the Dey protests, asked Pezeshkian 'by what right' he called protesters armed terrorists: his brother 'only went to be the voice of his fellow countrymen.'source
Video obtained by Iran International shows Allameh University students in Tehran chanting 'Death to tyranny, the hijab and the morality police' on Monday; Hengaw said IRGC intelligence raided a gathering of teachers in Nurabad Mamasani and detained six teachers and union activists without a warrant.source
IranWire reports that at symbolic funerals for Ali Khamenei held in Eslamshahr schools, students were made to kiss the coffin; those who refused were photographed and told: 'We identified you in Dey, and we will not let you live.'source
Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh won the 2026 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg, accepted by her daughter; in a video message from Tehran she said 'one day the sun of freedom will shine on our country too,' per Iran International.source

Gulf & Naval

Army deputy coordinator Habibollah Sayyari claimed the IRGC and Army navies hold 'full control' of Hormuz and nearby waters; CENTCOM called it false, saying U.S. forces sank Iran's navy and thousands of ships and over a billion barrels of oil have passed freely in recent months.source
In a TV interview Sayyari insisted the strait 'is closed' despite U.S. claims and said 'the matter of our revenge remains… anywhere or anytime'; Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said a new U.S. attack is possible and the armed forces are fully ready, per Iran International and LiveIranNews.source
NBC News, citing three U.S. officials, reported that eight U.S. Marines were injured when an Iranian cruise missile hit their ship in the Strait of Hormuz on September 14 — an attack not previously disclosed; injuries were not serious, but some showed symptoms of traumatic brain injury.source
A fishing dhow crew member told Iran International that a mine got caught in their net on Sunday while shrimp fishing between Qeshm and Larak islands with 20 people aboard; he said it appeared to have drifted for about a month, adding: 'Then they say America struck the fishermen.'source

Global

British police arrested five men near RAF Fairford, a base used for strikes on Iran, on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences after a report that three vans were heading toward it; counter-terrorism police are investigating whether the Iranian state was behind the plot, per RadioFarda.source
Reuters, citing an informed source, reported that an Islamic Republic link is considered the 'most likely option'; Iran's embassy in London denied any connection on Monday, calling the speculation 'baseless and malicious' and reserving the right to take legal action, per Iran International.source
The U.S. Embassy in London urged Americans to stay vigilant, warning that U.S.-related facilities, gatherings and organizations may face heightened risk; Trump said the detainees had been under surveillance for some time and intended to cause extensive damage to the base, per Iran International.source
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called the events at Fairford 'a reminder of the threats our country faces' and vowed to keep isolating the Iranian regime until Hormuz reopens; the IRGC had warned this summer that the base could be a 'legitimate target,' per Iran International and RadioFarda.source

Global

U.S. UN ambassador Mike Waltz told NBC that Tehran's offer to reopen Hormuz within seven days was 'a calculated effort' to propose something it knew was unacceptable, demanding sanctions relief, frozen assets and an end to the blockade; Trump keeps 'all options on the table.'source
The Wall Street Journal reported that mediators are pressing Tehran for a nuclear concession to revive talks, though its sources see low chances; Press TV quoted an Iranian official denying any nuclear flexibility and saying no such talks are under way, per RadioFarda and Iran International.source
Trump said more oil now passes through Hormuz than before the war and that the war 'will end soon'; Senator Mark Kelly called it a 'disaster' and a 'mistake,' noting that more than 20 U.S. troops have been killed and 800 wounded and estimating the cost at over $40 billion, per Iran International.source
Pezeshkian told Al Jazeera the region needs no 'regional gendarme' and that events in Yemen have 'nothing to do with us'; a Houthi military spokesman meanwhile claimed Saudi jets carried out 38 airstrikes in Taiz, Saada and Hajjah within 24 hours, per Iran International and LiveIranNews.source

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