Iranian Supreme Leader’s political adviser Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr said on Thursday the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were removed from power. In a message marking 200 days of what he described as the Iranian people’s resistance and steadfastness, Zolghadr said Iran had endured decades of confrontation with what he called “imperialism” while defending its existence, identity, independence and ideals. The message was published by Iranian state-linked outlet Iran Online. “The enemies had come believing they would defeat this nation within three days,” Zolghadr said. “What a vain delusion!” He said Iran was determined to defeat the “invading enemy”, force the “arrogant powers” to their knees and prevent foreign powers from interfering in Iranian territory. Zolghadr also referred to Iranian casualties, saying Tehran would avenge the deaths of its “martyred leader”, children in Minab, youth in Lamerd, soldiers in Bampur and sailors aboard the Dena, as well as thousands of other victims. “Until the criminal Trump and bloodthirsty Netanyahu are brought down from power, our fighters will not open the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, describing the reopening of the strategic waterway as the “first stage of the Iranian nation’s revenge”.  The statement comes amid continued tensions over the status of the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route for global energy shipments. Iranian officials have previously linked its reopening to conditions concerning the conflict and US actions. Iran urges caution over Makkah drone claim Earlier, Iran urged caution over claims that a drone had been intercepted while heading towards Makkah, saying such an allegation alone could not serve as grounds for accusing any specific party. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said any aggression against Islamic holy sites, particularly Makkah Mukarramah, Madinah Munawwarah and Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as threats to pilgrims and neighbouring countries, was condemnable. “However, a mere claim of intercepting a drone en route to Makkah Mukarramah cannot constitute grounds for accusing a specific party,” Baghaei said on X. He pointed out that Yemen's government of Change and Construction had explicitly denied the claim. ان أيّ اعتداء على الأماكن المقدسة الإسلامية، ولا سيما مكة المكرمة والمدينة المنورة والمسجد الأقصى، وكذلك تهديد الزائرين والمجاورين لها، هو أمرٌ مدان. وفي الوقت نفسه، فإن مجرد ادعاء اعتراض طائرة مسيّرة في طريقها إلى مكة المكرمة لا يمكن أن يشكّل أساسًا لاتهام طرفٍ بعينه، ولا سيما… — Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) September 17, 2026 Baghaei stressed the need to prevent the issue of Islamic holy sites and their security from being politicised or used to incite discord and escalate tensions in the region. The Iranian spokesperson also cautioned against drawing conclusions before establishing the facts, citing what he described as numerous instances of “false flag” operations in the region, particularly in recent months. Such operations, he alleged, were aimed at diverting public attention from the actions of Israel and the United States in the region and creating divisions among Islamic countries. “Caution and vigilance must be exercised,” Baghaei said. CDF Munir urges Iran to persuade Houthis not to target Saudi energy facilities: officials Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir has urged Iran to persuade Yemen's Houthi group not to target Saudi Arabia's energy facilities, Pakistani government officials told Anadolu on Thursday. In Islamabad's latest attempt to bring a negotiated settlement to the raging Middle East conflict, CDF Munir spoke to Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi over the phone, urging Tehran to "use its influence" on Houthis to halt their strikes on Saudi oil and economic infrastructure, the officials added. The two spoke during Araghchi's visit to China on Wednesday, Iranian state media confirmed. "CDF Munir discussed the overall regional situation, with special focus on the Houthis' attacks and the revival of stalled direct talks between the US and Iran," an official familiar with the developments said. The development emerged amid a widening Middle East crisis, as Yemen’s Houthi group began targeting Saudi Arabia and its energy facilities. A day earlier, Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed a drone near Makkah. The Houthis, however, denied responsibility for the attack, rejecting Saudi Arabia’s accusation that they had launched the drone. The incident drew condemnation around the world. Islamabad has already warned that the recent escalations would further complicate the already complex regional scenario. Describing Araghchi's response as "hopeful," the officials did not provide further details. Foreign Minister @araghchi in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart @HakanFidan reviewed the latest regional developments. pic.twitter.com/5O8SEYquld — IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) September 17, 2026 Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei recently stated that Tehran did not interfere in Yemeni affairs and described the Houthis as independent actors "pursuing their own interests." Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year inked a bilateral defence pact, which subsequently led to the signing of a trilateral Mecca defence agreement last month involving Turkiye. Yemen has been gripped by war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led Arab coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government. The group has been engaged in renewed fighting with government forces since July, when it declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh, and has recently claimed advances along the Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis have also targeted the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia, which has further raised oil prices in the international market. Officials said that CDF Munir and Iran's top diplomat also discussed ways to revive stalled direct talks with the US to end their months-long war. Araghchi, for his part, said Iran is ready to return to negotiations as the US halts hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz and "abides by the Islamabad memorandum," the officials further said. China is also assisting Pakistan's efforts to revive the US-Iran talks and stop the conflict from spilling over, they added. "Beijing is equally worried about the raging hostilities because it's getting its oil bill heavier," an official said, without offering further details about China's assistance. In his meeting with Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi encouraged Iran and the US to remain rational, exercise restraint, return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, and "engage in substantive consultations." China "does not want to see regional tensions to spill over further into Yemen and the Red Sea," Wang added. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington, DC, next week, where the two sides are likely to discuss ways to resolve the lingering Middle East conflict, in addition to other pending issues between the world's two largest economies. Pakistan has remained the main mediator between Iran and the US throughout the war that began on February 28, and has maintained close contact with both sides. The US and Iran signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding on June 17 and launched negotiations toward a final agreement. However, the talks later stalled over disagreements on security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategic routes for global energy supplies and trade. Trump to hold Iran talks with Gulf leaders next week in New York: Axios US President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next Tuesday to discuss next steps in the war with Iran, the Axios news site reported Wednesday, citing, but not naming, three sources with direct knowledge. Axios said the meeting is expected to focus on US ideas for a postwar strategy, with the Trump administration working on a broader “day-after” plan expected to be finalised after the US midterm elections in November. Leaders or foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — are expected to attend, according to the report. The meeting could expand to include other Arab and Muslim leaders, it added. The State Department sent initial invitations Wednesday, Axios reported. Read: Iran's Araghchi says new regional order should exclude foreign forces Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also wants to meet with Trump in New York, but no meeting has been scheduled, according to the report. UN mission finds grounds to believe US committed war crimes in Iran The UN experts said they found reasonable grounds to believe US forces were responsible for an attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh ​Primary School in the city of Minab, where more than 150 people were killed, including around 120 schoolchildren, according to Iranian officials. The attack constituted an indiscriminate attack causing ​civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure, amounting to a war crime under international law, the mission concluded. According to the report, the US relied on intelligence suggesting a senior Iranian military commander was present at the site but failed to adequately verify the information before launching the strike. Investigators said the failure to update targeting intelligence and confirm the building was ​a military objective amounted to more than mere negligence. "Rather, the US directed the strikes at the building of the school while being aware of a ​substantial risk of striking a civilian object and acting recklessly as regards the possibility that this would happen." In June, Trump said that "nobody" purposefully attacked a girls' school ‌in Iran ⁠in February, citing an investigation into the incident. Reuters first reported that an initial internal US military investigation showed US forces were likely responsible for the fatal strike in Minab in southern Iran. The Pentagon has since elevated the probe, but it has not published any preliminary findings. UN experts said the school was a clearly identifiable civilian object and found no evidence that it was being used for military purposes. The experts reached a similar conclusion over a strike on a sports centre in Lamerd. ​The report said the attack damaged nearby ​residential buildings and a school and ⁠killed and injured 22 civilians. It concluded that the strike was indiscriminate and therefore constituted a war crime. US Central Command said in a statement in March that US forces did not launch any strikes into the city of Lamerd on ​that day. The report also said that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their crackdown on US-Israel-endorsed anti-government protests. Iran ready to resolve issues with neighbours through diplomacy: Pezeshkian Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was ready to resolve differences with its neighbours through dialogue and mutual respect, according to IRNA. .@drpezeshkian : Iran ready to resolve issues with neighbors through diplomacyhttps://t.co/og48KpsFZR pic.twitter.com/DjYepAS2Fe — IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) September 17, 2026 Pezeshkian made the remarks in a meeting with Bafel Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of Iraq, in Tehran on Wednesday. The president said external efforts to create divisions and conflict in the region should be addressed through greater cooperation and dialogue. He said Iran was prepared to resolve issues with neighbouring parties through mutual understanding and respect, while expecting all sides to observe good-neighbourly principles and avoid excessive demands and improper conduct. He added that mutual respect could help create a region marked by peace, development, progress and solidarity. IRGC spokesperson rejects US narrative of pilot rescue Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said that Washington’s story recently published in the US media about the rescue of an American pilot in Iran was “just fictional”, according to IRNA. According to IRNA, Mohebbi said the story, published earlier this week as part of a report in CBS News’s 60 Minutes program, was an attempt to manufacture an achievement from the aggression on Iran. IRGC spokesperson: US narrative of pilot rescue just fictionalhttps://t.co/MCZPHEK3Kf pic.twitter.com/IaJQcncvCE — IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) September 17, 2026 “No sound mind would accept their narrative because it is fictional and unacceptable,” he said. The Iranian general said the pilot had told an unbelievable story to CBS News about how he survived the crash after his F-15 jet was shot down by the Iranian military forces. “The American pilot claimed that he fell at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour and survived, while his parachute did not even open and he crashed into the heart of a mountain.” IRNA reported that he said the US government was fabricating achievements because it is under pressure both from its allies and domestic rivals and political factions about what it has really achieved from the costly military endeavour. “The US is embarrassing itself with these actions. These films (pilot interview) will definitely not only fail to bring any achievement… but will also become a source of ridicule,” he said. South Korean foreign minister leaves for crucial US visit amid Hormuz pressure South Korea's top diplomat, Cho Hyun, flew out for a three-day visit to Washington on Thursday for talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expected to focus on bilateral economic and security arrangements, North Korea, and the raging Middle East conflict, local media reported. Cho is scheduled to hold talks with Rubio on Friday, US time, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported, citing the country's Foreign Ministry. "We will have in-depth discussions on various pending issues between the two nations, as well as consultations on issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, regional affairs and the international situation," Cho told reporters before departing from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. The meeting comes as Seoul and Washington have differing positions on a slew of outstanding issues, notably South Korea's role in securing the near-closed Strait of Hormuz and its US-bound investment plans. US President Donald Trump has been pressuring Seoul to contribute to efforts to restore freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway. Squeezed by opposition at home and warnings from Iran, President Lee Jae Myung's government is weighing whether to deploy military assets to the region. "Our position remains that no decision has been made yet, and we are reviewing all relevant factors. In doing so, we will prioritise international cooperation while giving foremost consideration to the safety of our people and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz," Cho said. The two nations also have yet to finalise details of an agreement under which South Korea has pledged to invest $350 billion in the US in return for lower tariff rates. Houthis say Saudi strikes killed one, targeted telecom towers Saudi strikes in Yemen killed one person and targeted three telecommunications towers, according to AFP, citing Houthi media on Thursday. “Saudi enemy warplanes targeted three telecommunications towers” in the province of Taiz while one civilian was killed and another injured in strikes on the town of Abs, Almasirah television said. Number of ships transiting Strait of Hormuz falls to three on Wednesday, data shows Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz dwindled to just three ships on Wednesday, down from 12 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of about 17, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Thursday. The figures exclude any vessels that might have passed through the waterway with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection. Of the three vessels, an empty Supramax dry bulk ship entered the strait via the Iranian route, while an empty petroleum product tanker entered through a dark route, shipping data from Kpler showed at 0945 PKT. A Panamax tanker exited the waterway using a dark route, the data showed. Vessel traffic dropped this week as war in the Gulf intensified. Saudi Arabian warplanes pounded Yemen and Houthi fighters launched drones and missiles at Saudi cities. In the Red Sea, vessel crossings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait eased to 21 on Wednesday, compared with 24 vessels a day earlier. Trump hopes Iran war nearing end as Houthi-Saudi fighting escalates Trump said he hoped an end to the war against Iran was near, as the conflict, in its seventh month, escalated with Saudi aircraft ​pounding Yemen and Houthi fighters launching drones and missiles at Saudi cities. The Houthis' lightning advance in Yemen along the Red Sea and ‌their attacks on Saudi Arabia, along with attacks that damaged Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, have extended Tehran's reach in the war and heightened global oil-supply risks. As the war expands into a new theatre, the United States tightened its travel warning for Saudi Arabia, banning government employees from travelling within 20 miles (30 km) of the Yemen border. Still, just hours after reports of the Houthis and ​Saudi Arabia fighting, Trump told reporters on Wednesday evening: "Well, hopefully we are towards the end of the war." Trump says Iran wants deal, oil still elevated "They want to make a deal. We'll see how that works out," he said, referring to Iran, reiterating past comments. ⁠Trump also said he had heard from Iran "directly", without elaborating. Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war that began on February 28, when the US ​and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran struck Israel and US bases in Gulf states. The extension of the war into Yemen threatens to worsen the global energy-supply shortage caused by ​the war, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait carried about 20% of global oil and LNG before the conflict. Read more: Ministry finds LPG price exploitation Traders say a prolonged closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline could cut off as much as 4% of global oil supply. Saudi Arabia has not said when operations might resume. The price of Brent crude hovered around $108 a barrel on Wednesday, close to its ​highest levels since May. The politically sensitive average retail price of diesel fuel in the US hit another all-time high, above $6.30 a gallon for the first time. But oil ​prices fell in early Thursday trade as reports of Saudi Arabia offering extra crude cargoes through Oman reduced fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures dropped $1.24, or 1.2%, ‌to $104.59 a ⁠barrel by 0049 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were down $1.14, or 1.1%, at $101.29. The rise in oil and gas prices due to the US-Israeli war on Iran has become a major issue for Trump's Republican Party in the lead-up to November midterm elections.