Iran lays out demands to end war as Trump prepares for UN trip

Qatari mediators are working behind the scenes to bridge the divide between Iran and the United States, sending proposals back and forth to jumpstart negotiations, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Sunday.

"For the past couple of weeks now, we've been going back and forth over different ideas to restart the talks," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told Bloomberg's "This Weekend."

Ansari detailed how Qatari teams have worked through mediators with "both Tehran and the U.S." following the resurgence of hostilities to see if formally resuming negotiations is possible.

"A lot of ideas have been thrown back and forth," Ansari said. "This is just one iteration of these documents going back and forth, and we're trying to bridge the gap and find the right moment to move forward."

Ansari expressed hope that diplomatic efforts would bring "other documents and other ideas that could actually develop the discussion even more."

"But as we are speaking right now, our mediators are shuttling between different capitals in the hopes of developing that even further," he told the outlet. 

Houthi officials warned other nations Sunday against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s civil war while assuring Washington that U.S. ships in the Red Sea won't be attacked.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said the U.S had contacted the group after they advanced along Yemen’s coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

"We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy," al-Bukhaiti said.

"That remains the case." President Donald Trump also said last weekend that his team “had discussions” with the Houthis but did not specify when.

“The Houthis called us, and they don't want to fight with us,” he said. “They would much prefer not having us involved, and they're letting most ships go through.”

Oil prices rose in early Asian trading after the Houthis launched missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, over the weekend.

Brent crude futures climbed 81 cents, or 0.8%, to $104.68 a barrel by 2202 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 76 cents, or 0.8%, to $101.06 a barrel, Reuters reported.

The rising threat to Saudi energy infrastructure, along with the closure of the East-West pipeline and the Houthis’ control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, has also heightened concerns about global oil supplies.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) showcased its sailors aboard the destroyer USS John Finn carrying out operations in the Arabian Sea amid the conflict with Iran on Sunday.

“A look into the daily operations of U.S. Navy Sailors aboard USS John Finn (DDG 113) as the guided-missile destroyer supports military operations in the Arabian Sea,” the command said in a post shared on X.

France will summon Iran’s ambassador and take measures after Iranian officials sealed a French-language center affiliated with the French Embassy in Tehran, the French Foreign Ministry confirmed Sunday.

“This new attack against France’s cultural presence in Iran, following the assault on two French Embassy staff members last July, is unjustifiable and unacceptable,” ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said in a statement shared on X.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA also reported that the judiciary had closed the center over what it said were “illegal acts” that violated diplomatic conventions.

It accused the institute of abusing its status as a language school to identify and build networks among prominent Iranians, Iran International reported.

Iran’s embassy in Hyderabad, India, said Sunday that Washington has “no option” but to accept Tehran’s rights and conditions if it wants to begin negotiations with Iran.

“Iran has communicated its 7 conditions for the commencement of any negotiations to the U.S. administration,” the embassy said in a post shared on X.

“Tehran’s message is clear and unambiguous: if Washington seeks to extricate itself from the predicament of its own making and avoid further entanglement, it has no option but to accept Iran’s rights and conditions,” it added.

The statement came after Supreme National Security Council Secretary Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei said Iran had communicated seven conditions to Washington.

“If Washington wants to get out of the quagmire it created for itself and avoid becoming further entangled in it, it has no choice but to accept Iran’s rights,” Rezaei said on X. 

The world is safer under President Donald Trump, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said Sunday, arguing the president’s decisive stance on Iran helped prevent what he described as a potential nuclear disaster in the Middle East.

"We live in a safe world because Donald J. Trump is in the White House," Burchett said on Burchett said on Fox News' "The Big Weekend Show."

"The Iranians were close to nuclear; they were getting ready to launch Armageddon, from what I understand," Burchett said. "If President Trump [had not] intervened over there, Iran would have a nuclear weapon."

Burchett added that Tehran likely would have launched a nuclear strike against Israel "or somebody else."

"That's why he had so much support from other Middle Eastern Muslim nations — because they knew they didn't want any more of that," Burchett said. "They don't want to see their kids dying any more than we do, and yet the media will not give us any credit for that."

Burchett’s remarks came as Trump warned Tehran that it "better behave" amid escalating regional tensions.

Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported Sunday that Trump is in "deciding mode" over potential strikes while warning that "big things" could happen if the regime fails to comply.

U.S. Central Command said Sunday its naval forces had redirected more than 100 vessels as they tightened its blockade of Iranian ports.

“A U.S. Sailor stands watch aboard USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53),” CENTCOM said in a post shared on X.

As of Sept. 20, CENTCOM forces had redirected 109 commercial vessels to ensure compliance with the blockade, CENTCOM added.

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a security alert on Sunday requiring special authorization for government employees traveling to the cities of Taif and Yanbu.

“The U.S. Mission strongly encourages all U.S. citizens to remain vigilant and to follow the recommended ‘actions to take’ listed in the full alert,” the embassy said in a post shared on X.

This came after Yemen’s Houthis launched an attack near Riyadh’s main airport on Saturday. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the group attacked using cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi during a visit to Cairo on Sunday, as the United States warned of escalation in the Middle East, according to The Times of Israel.

Sissi’s office said the meeting, attended by Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, covered the wars in Iran, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, along with attacks on Gulf countries and threats to maritime security.

Sissi also stressed “the paramount importance of settling regional crises through political and diplomatic tracks,” according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

Sissi’s office also said Ratcliffe “lauded Egypt’s pivotal role in supporting efforts aimed at reaching peaceful, comprehensive settlements to regional crises.”

Ratcliffe’s visit came days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Sissi in Cairo.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left Iran for New York on Sunday to take part in the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), Reuters reported.

According to Iranian state media, Araqchi will make a brief stop in Qatar, Reuters said.

The trip comes amid rising tensions over the war, with President Donald Trump saying he is in a “deciding mode” on Iran as he weighs military action, continued economic pressure or a deal.

Trump also told Fox News on Sunday that “very big things” could happen soon.

Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst joined "Fox News Sunday" to report on security concerns in the Middle East amid the Yom Kippur holiday and regional tensions involving Iran and the Houthis.

The German federal prosecutor’s office recently announced that it indicted seven people for allegedly securing weapons for the Hamas terrorist organization, with the goal of launching terrorist attacks on the second remembrance date of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.

The indictment has catapulted the danger of Hamas’ network in Europe to Israeli, American and European installations and citizens into the spotlight.

According to the prosecutor’s office, "All of the accused belong to the foreign terrorist organization Hamas. Some time ago, the organization’s military wing (the so-called Qassam Brigades) began establishing weapons depots in Europe. No later than July 2025, Hamas planned a concrete assassination in Germany or Austria targeting representatives of Israel, people of Jewish faith, or persons with pro-Israel views." The seven suspects were arrested between October 2025 and May 2026.

The statement added, "The attack was to take place in close temporal proximity to the second anniversary of Hamas’s assault on Israel on 7 October 2023 — i.e., in early October 2025."

The indictment listed the nationalities and first names and first letter of the last name of the suspects: German national Abed Al G., Danish national Yousif C., Lebanon-born Borhan El-K., Lebanon-born Wael F.M., German national Ahmad I., Lebanon-born Kamel M., Bulgarian national Mohammad S."

German law shields the last names of criminal suspects for privacy reasons.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal.

PHILADELPHIA — Ed Sheeran was overcome with emotion as he apologized to fans during his return to the stage Saturday following backlash after Macklemore was dropped from his tour.

"I’m not surprised that this week’s criticism was about something much more important," Sheeran said upon opening his show at Lincoln Financial Field. "I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes. I’m so, so sorry. I don’t want to disappoint fans."

He added, "Now, I want to address the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine and whether this concert here tonight implies where I stand. I’ve tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind, because I want my music and shows to be about unity not division, about humanity not politics.

"But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. What happened in Israel at a … music festival on Oct. 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.

"My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives and the systemic justice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked."

He added, "I am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and listening and learning because I do not know enough."

During the show, Sheeran admitted he wasn't so sure how the audience would react to his performance. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Tracy Wright.

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK: President Donald Trump will return to the United Nations this week seeking greater international cooperation in confronting Iran, even as his administration moves to reshape the global institution hosting world leaders, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview ahead of the gathering.

With the U.S.-Iran war entering its seventh month, Trump is expected to address the General Assembly on Tuesday and meet Gulf leaders whose countries have been directly affected by the conflict.

The gathering comes as Washington seeks to intensify economic pressure on Tehran, European allies confront Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and the administration faces questions about whether its push to reduce the U.N.'s size and spending risks diminishing the organization's ability to respond to international crises.

Waltz outlined what Washington expects from its partners on Iran: full enforcement of sanctions against Tehran, with consequences for countries that fail to comply.

"They will reinforce that message, but importantly, it's all of these countries actually enforcing the sanctions and what they're going to hear is there will be consequences for friend and foe," Waltz said. "The president is doing this for the future security of the world."

European and Asian allies have largely resisted Trump's requests for assistance in the Iran conflict, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes in February, Reuters reported on on Sept. 18. The war has also disrupted energy markets, with Iran obstructing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and its Houthi allies tightening their grip on a critical Red Sea shipping corridor.

Waltz said the administration intends to make sanctions enforcement a central part of its diplomatic push during UNGA.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Efrat Lachter.

"The Five" co-hosts discussed President Donald Trump teasing a "big decision" on the war in Iran and saying the conflict will end soon this weekend.

Fox News' Martha McCallum emphasized Iran's aggression in the Strait of Hormuz as well as its proxy group, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, harassing another major thoroughfare.

Nearly seven months into the war with Iran, a new Fox News national survey finds views souring as voters feel the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the war, a growing number think the conflict will make the U.S. less safe and a majority believes the decision to take military action was wrong.

Seven in 10 voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the conflict, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents and 43% of Republicans.

In addition, a growing 47% of voters say the conflict will make the U.S. less safe in the long run, up from 39% in April. By comparison, 32% think it will make the country safer, and 20% say there will be no difference. The rise in concern is largest among White voters, voters under 45 and independents.

Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while 37% say it was right, widening the margin to 23 points, up from 17 points in June (58% to 41%). Attitudes against the war have increased modestly across most demographic groups, with the largest shifts among Hispanic voters, voters under age 30, moderates and voters 65 and over.

"Typically, the public rallies around the president in response to a foreign policy crisis," said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. "But two things are different here. First, President Trump hasn’t consistently and forcefully made the case for the war, and the U.S. doesn’t have boots on the ground. Both of those things matter for public opinion."

Trump’s overall job performance stands at 39% approval and 61% disapproval.

The president’s ratings on foreign policy are underwater by 24 points. His 37% approval is a second-term low and is just one point above his first-term low of 36% in September 2019.

When asked to name the most important issue facing the country, in their own words, only 4% of voters say Iran and a miniscule 1% name foreign policy in general. By comparison, 34% mention the top issue of the cost of living.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Victoria Balara.

Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported on President Donald Trump's warning to Iran that they "better behave" as tensions escalate on Sunday.

Trump is reportedly in "deciding mode" in relation to Iran, but warned Tehran that "big things" could happen if the regime doesn't behave.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon joined Fox News on Saturday to warn Iran that Israel is closely monitoring their nuclear activities.

Danon said Israeli surveillance captured activity at at least one of Iran's nuclear facilities in recent weeks.

Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported on Houthi missile strikes targeting Riyadh and U.S. military readiness in the Middle East on Sunday.

U.S. Embassies across the Middle East issued warnings following the Houthi strikes.

Fox News correspondent Stephanie Bennett reported on flames and smoke seen near Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh airport and threats of further attacks from Iran-backed Houthis on "Fox Report."

Iran’s sanctioned Persian Gulf Straits Authority (PGSA) regained secure online access for four days after a Shanghai-based internet security firm provided and then revoked its web credentials, enabling Tehran to vet vessels, collect Strait of Hormuz tolls and operate despite U.S. digital restrictions, global internet monitors said.

TrustAsia issued an automated domain-validated certificate, a routine process that verifies control of a website domain through server checks and typically does not involve manual vetting or background checks.

The move prompted U.S. sanctions experts, including Jeremy Paner, a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, to urge TrustAsia to review its compliance program before offering further services to the IRGC-linked maritime authority — with Paner warning them to act "before it is too late."

The PGSA first said its website was disrupted Aug. 10 because of "the enemy's political influence on the internet service provision systems," according to a post on X.

NetBlocks CEO Alp Toker told Fox News Digital that the authority had lost its web security credentials after the entity was added to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list on May 27.

The loss of standard SSL/TLS certificates, Toker said, made the PGSA website inaccessible using standard browsers. This forced shipping firms to use unencrypted connections that, according to Toker, could leave their data vulnerable to interception.

While no data breaches resulting from the use of these connections have been made known, and there are no known instances in which a shipping firm’s data was intercepted and used to its detriment because of the certificate expiration, Toker said the site’s inaccessibility resulted in a shift to what he described as "insecure protocols."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Emma Bussey.

President Donald Trump plans to use his upcoming U.N. General Assembly address to make the case that Iran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said this weekend.

The president will also discuss the administration's efforts in Gaza, including its 20-point peace plan, Waltz told reporters.

Trump's U.N. visit will include a meeting with leaders from six Gulf Arab countries as Washington weighs its next steps in the war with Iran.

Waltz said Trump is also scheduled to hold meetings with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The president is set to address the General Assembly this coming week as world leaders gather in New York.

Fox News' Brittany Miller contributed to this report.

Nonpublic 2024-2026 roadmap shows Moscow and Tehran building financial, energy and industrial ties, creating new channels for trade and cooperation as both face mounting Western sanctions.

A nonpublic Russian government document obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital reveals how Moscow sought to deepen its relationship with Iran far beyond conventional trade — laying out plans for alternative financial channels, nuclear cooperation, Iranian production of Russian aircraft components, major energy projects and new transportation routes stretching toward the Persian Gulf.

The 44-page Russian-language document, titled "Plan for Cooperation Between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran for 2024-2026," is marked "For official use" and was approved on the Russian side on Sept. 2, 2024. It assigns ministries, agencies and state companies responsibility for projects and sets deadlines extending through the end of 2026.

But an independent review of the Russian-language document, along with subsequent public reporting, shows that a number of initiatives described in the roadmap later advanced or materialized.

Keti Korkiya, a research analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Russia Program, reviewed the document for Fox News Digital and said its significance lies less in any single project than in the architecture Moscow was trying to build around the relationship.

"The roadmap is not revelatory: people paying close attention to the relationship between Russia and Iran will see many collaborations between the two countries that have been public for years," Korkiya said in written analysis provided to Fox News Digital.

"What is more revealing is the architecture of the relationship Moscow is trying to build," she said, pointing to financial mechanisms, transportation routes, energy investment and aviation cooperation as different ways of reducing vulnerabilities created by sanctions and Western economic pressure.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Efrat Lachter.

President Donald Trump returned to the White House Saturday evening after leaving Camp David in Maryland earlier than initially expected.

Marine One arrived at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., around 8 p.m. Saturday evening after the president departed the presidential retreat in Maryland.

Trump's return comes as his administration weighs its next steps in the war with Iran and ahead of his trip to New York next week for the U.N. General Assembly.

Iran said Saturday that it had conveyed conditions to the U.S. through Qatar for ending the war and was awaiting Trump's response.

Fox News' Brittany Miller contributed to this report.