TOP STORIES
Iran's Nuclear Program Has No Peaceful Justification, US Tells IAEA | Iran International
Lacking any credible peaceful purpose, Tehran's expanding nuclear program blatantly defies international concerns, the latest US mission statement to the UN nuclear watchdog warned. “Iran continues to move further in the wrong direction. Iran continues to expand its nuclear program, to install additional advanced centrifuge cascades, and to produce highly enriched uranium for which it has no credible peaceful purpose,” US Ambassador Laura S.H. Holgate told the IAEA Board of Governors.
UK Summons Iranian Charge D’Affaires Over Transfer Of Ballistic Missiles To Russia | Reuters
Britain's foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Iran's charge d'affaires, the country's most senior diplomat in London, over the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia. "Today, in coordination with European partners and upon instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Russian Ship Suspected Of Delivering Iranian Ballistic Missiles Seen At Caspian Sea Port | CNN
A Russian cargo ship suspected of carrying Iranian ballistic missiles for Moscow’s war against Ukraine was seen at a Russian port on the Caspian Sea a week ago, satellite imagery shared with CNN shows. The vessel – the Port Olya 3 – was identified by Maxar Technologies in satellite imagery taken on September 4 at Port Olya in Astrakhan. The ship had previously been in the Iranian port of Amirabad on August 29, according to ship tracking data. It turned off its transponder at some point after. The US Treasury Department assessed Tuesday that the Russian Ministry of Defense had “used the vessel Port Olya-3 to transport CRBMs from Iran to Russia.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy are in Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has called on Ukraine's allies to permit long-range missile strikes on Russia...The export of its ballistic weapons onto European soil was, according to former Iran expert Kasra Aarabi director of IRGC research at United Against Nuclear Iran, “a deeply disturbing development” with Iran “moving the goalposts again, this time in Europe, without any meaningful consequences being imposed on it.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iranian Actress Faces Legal Action For Dancing In Web Series | Iran International
Iranian judicial authorities have taken legal action against actress Sahar Dolatshahi for allegedly “dancing” in a scene from a drama series, Dariush, as the government continues its crackdown on personal freedoms. The judiciary labeled her actions “contrary to Islamic principles,” sparking outrage among Iranians who see the move as yet another sign of the government's control over cultural expression. The Mizan website, a mouthpiece for Iran’s judiciary, announced on Tuesday that Dolatshahi, the production company of the series, and the streaming platform Filimo, have all been subjected to judicial proceedings. The authorities provided no details on the specific charges or punishments.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iran’s President Slams The West Over The War In Gaza And Support For Israel | Associated Press
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday slammed the West, saying that Israel is “committing massacres” in the war in Gaza and using European and American weapons to do so. Pezeshkian, who spoke in Baghdad at the start of his first visit abroad since taking office, is hoping to cement Tehran’s ties to Baghdad as regional tensions increasingly pull both majority Shiite countries into the widening Middle East fray.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
US Aircraft Carrier In The Middle East Is Heading Home | The Washington Post
The Pentagon’s rare move to keep two Navy aircraft carriers in the Middle East over the past several weeks has now finished, as the USS Theodore Roosevelt is heading home, according to U.S. officials. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the Roosevelt to extend its deployment for a short time and remain in the region as the USS Abraham Lincoln was pushed to get to the area more quickly. The Biden administration beefed up the U.S. military presence there to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies and to safeguard U.S. troops.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Republicans would pull out every stop to block a Harris administration from negotiating another Iran deal, according to the House’s No. 3 Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York. "We would block that at every turn," the GOP Conference chairwoman vowed in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. "Biden and Kamala Harris have given hundreds of billions of dollars straight to Iran, the greatest sponsor of terror, and the dollars are going to support proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah, which are attacking Israel every single day."
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Iran Accuses Kuwait Of Exploiting Disputed Offshore Field | Iran International
In a new twist in the diplomatic standoff over the Arash field, a top Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard general claims Kuwait has begun exploiting disputed oil and gas reserves in the Persian Gulf. Abdolreza Abed, the commander of the IRGC's Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters told domestic reporters on Tuesday that there is evidence the Kuwaitis created a company to utilize the contested field and a call for tenders has been issued. "However, they should know that the Arash field is the inalienable right of the Iranian people," Abed said.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iran’s New President, Tending to a Pivotal Alliance, Visits Iraq | New York Times
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, arrived in Iraq on Wednesday for his first trip abroad since taking office in July, a demonstration of the value the Iranians place on the strategic alliance with their neighbor as tensions rise in the region around them. Mr. Pezeshkian’s three-day trip will include visits to several cities that represent Iran’s political, religious, economic and security interests in Iraq. He was traveling with a delegation of senior officials and businessmen, according to Iranian media.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
269 Afghan Families Repatriated As Iran, Pakistan Continue Deportations | Amu TV
As deportations continue, 269 families were repatriated to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan on Wednesday, Sept. 11, according to Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency. The families entered Afghanistan through border crossings in the provinces of Nangarhar, Kandahar, Nimroz, and Herat. The report noted that 18 families returned via the Torkham crossing, while 39 families crossed the Spin Boldak border. An additional 89 families returned through the Pul-e-Abrisham border, and 123 families entered through the Islam Qala border.
MISCELLANEOUS
Iran Turns To Hells Angels And Other Criminal Gangs To Target Critics | Washington Post
In the months before his attackers tracked him down, the exiled Iranian journalist had been moved in and out of safe houses by London’s Metropolitan Police, given a secret way to signal rescue units and had monitoring devices installed in his home. British authorities have done even more to protect Iran International, the London-based satellite news channel that airs the weekly program of the journalist, Pouria Zeraati, and has built an audience of millions in Iran despite being outlawed by the Islamic Republic.