Iran Proposes 7-Day Roadmap To End War Which Mimics June MoU

 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi has newly proposed to the US side a seven-day roadmap aimed at ending the war, while the top Iranian delegation is still in New York City engaged in deep diplomacy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Aragchi is said to be planning to stay through the weekend while waiting on a US response to the plan. So far it seems Tehran hasn't backed down from its core conditions, and its roadmap proposal is said to closely parallel the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by President Trump back in June, but which has since completely collapsed. The plan is new but is still being largely seen as just repackaged.

"Araghchi stressed that Iran was ready to begin putting the plan into effect as soon as Washington agreed to it," Al Jazeera reports.

Interestingly, also last night Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told journalists, "We don't want it to get to the midterm elections." He added: "We wish Americans to return to the MoU before the midterms." Here's where things stand in terms of Iran's position being represented in New York:

• Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz can reopen if certain conditions are met by the US and that it would be better to implement before the Midterms, according to a Sky reporter.
• IRGC spokesperson warned in the event of another attack, Iran's method of defence will change including geography of the confrontation, the type of equipment and weapons used, and targets in defensive operations in line with new conditions.

This contradicted Trump's words given to the UN General Assembly during his speech. He said "They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election."

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly had in follow-up to Trump's address said, "The President is courageously ensuring that such an evil country never possesses a nuclear weapon, which will make the entire world safer and more stable."

Iran has said it will not be 'bullied' - but Pezeshkian appears to be offering something on the nuclear front alongside this seven-day roadmap overture, or at least according to a future timeline assuming a ceasefire is agreed to.

He explained in a Fox interview that in accord the framework of international law, Iran could give eventually up highly enriched uranium. But he was also fundamentally using the moment to highlight who is not a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - Israel.

Pezeshkian further said it was up to the United States to choose when the war would end. "It's America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not," Pezeshkian said in response to a question by Fox's Bret Baier.

Tehran has meanwhile said it is ready to escalate, and even spread the war beyond the Persian Gulf region, into the Indian Ocean for example (where the UK-US have the Diego Garcia base).

Further UNGA Highlights

Recap of some of the highlights from the UN this week, via Middle East Eye:

• The US-Israeli war on Iran and the Israel-Palestine conflict continued to occupy prime positions on the fourth day of the UN General Assembly. Somali President Mohamed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said his country was "suffering" as a result of the US-Israeli war, which has driven up the price of energy and food. Meanwhile, European Union Council president said the EU supports efforts to “find a solution to the conflict". He added that "freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be preserved without conditions and without hindrance".

• Crown Prince of Kuwait Sabah Al Khaled condemned the "illegal Iranian aggression" in his address to the UN Security Council on Thursday. Kuwait was one of the Gulf states hardest hit by Iran in retaliation for the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic. Kuwait is home to tens of thousands of US troops and military bases. US facilities in Kuwait were attacked along with civilian sites like Kuwait airport and energy infrastructure.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a pugnacious speech at the United Nations General Assembly, attacking everyone from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the leaders of Western Europe, as he tried to counter Israel’s growing international isolation. 

• Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters took up positions around the UN headquarters before Netanyahu's arrival and continued protesting while he spoke inside. Support for Palestinian statehood and disappointment over the ongoing attacks on Gaza were repeatedly brought up during the event.

• Vice President of Yemen Abdullah Abdulkader al-Alimi-Bawzer condemned the Houthis in his address to the UN General Assembly and tried to rally the global community to help fight the group. He said the government of Yemen had supported a peace initiative backed by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Oman, while the Houthis rejected it and "instead escalated their actions in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb to serve an Iranian agenda".

via Associated Press

Overnight Developments Recap

via Newsquawk

• Iran Foreign Minister Araghchi said Iran presented a proposal to US through mediators this week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart negotiations towards a final deal, while it called for US to meet certain conditions within 7 days, according to CNN.
• Iranian President Pezeshkian said in Fox News interview that Iran does not want a nuclear bomb. They reached an agreement with the US President that was signed, and are still ready to move forward based on the same principles, adds it wasn't Iran that closed the Strait of Hormuz and it was open. They didn't seek war and that it was imposed on them, while they don't seek war but will defend themselves. They didn't start the war but will respond decisively.
• Iranian President Pezeshkian said Iran is ready for an agreement with the US and makes demands only within the framework of international law and could give up highly enriched uranium if it reaches an agreement with the US, according to TASS.
• Iran's President Pezeshkian said Tehran wants to revive its ceasefire memorandum of understanding with the US before the November midterm elections, saying Iran does not want talks delayed until after the vote. said:. Iran is open to inspections of its nuclear facilities and denies that Tehran is seeking to assassinate President Trump or his family.
• Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz can reopen if certain conditions are met by the US and that it would be better to implement before the Midterms, according to a Sky reporter.
• IRGC spokesperson warned in the event of another attack, Iran's method of defence will change including geography of the confrontation, the type of equipment and weapons used, and targets in defensive operations in line with new conditions.
• Iranian Brigadier General Sheikh said "we seek to expand our capabilities and reconsider our tactics and technologies", via Al Mayadeen.
• Sources say a return to the June 18 memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US is no longer sought by either side, with both seeking amendments to some clauses, further complicating negotiations, Al-Akhbar reported.
• Pakistan's Defence Minister said intensive efforts are underway to establish a mechanism for ending the conflict as quickly as possible and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to Tasnim.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-proposes-7-day-roadmap-end-war-which-mimics-june-mou

New York Audits Utility AI Use, Cites Risk In "Growing Dependency"

 By Robert Walton of UtilityDive

The New York Public Service Commission last week launched an inquiry into public utility use of artificial intelligence, noting that AI systems “create risk for organizations” but are also increasingly used to perform basic tasks.

The Sept. 17 order requires electric, gas and water utilities to respond within 60 days with “a written inventory report that describes all use cases of AI systems in their operations.”

Consolidated Edison, which serves New York City, said it uses AI for a range of uses, including customer service and system inspections. “As technology evolves, we will continue to evaluate opportunities,” a spokesperson said in an email to Utility Dive.

Public utilities are increasingly using AI systems for day-to-day operations, and New York regulators are concerned they are “susceptible to hallucinations, algorithmic biases, transparency issues, data privacy concerns, misconfiguration errors, cybersecurity attacks, and functional brittleness.”

“These potential risks may have negative consequences for the safety and reliability of New York’s critical infrastructure,” they said.

The PSC’s order directs utilities to file “a complete inventory” of all AI use cases in their operations and “disclose their policies, procedures, and protocols” around the burgeoning technology. The commission said it will “evaluate those procedures and protocols for adequacy and robustness against commonly accepted AI Governance frameworks.”

The commission’s order defines an “AI system” as a machine-based system that “can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.”

New York utilities are already utilizing AI systems in various ways, including model outage predictions and electric usage. National Grid has deployed a system known as GridCARE to help free up interconnection capacity for large-load customers, regulators pointed out. The New York Power Authority has used AI to analyze drone-captured data for enhanced vegetation management.

Con Edison told Utility Dive the utility is using AI “to improve customer service, proactively identify potential equipment issues before they affect customers or public safety, and to strengthen our inspection and mapping capabilities.”

But more broadly, regulators noted “the actual extent and scope of AI systems in New York utility operations remains unclear.”

“The rapid evolution of AI is a double-edged sword for utilities,” PSC Chair Rory Christian said in a statement. “While AI can be a powerful tool that can result in cost efficiencies and improved operations, it also presents serious risks that must be evaluated and addressed appropriately.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/new-york-audits-utility-ai-use-cites-risk-growing-dependency

Citizenship Is Not A Product: Rubio Hits Birth-Tourism Fixers After SCOTUS Blocked Broader Ban

 The United States is no longer pretending that a tourist visa plus a delivery room equals a legitimate path to American citizenship.

On September 23, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new visa-restriction policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act aimed at the people who actually run the business: owners and managers of commercial birth-tourism networks, visa "fixers" who coach applicants to lie, foreign medical providers who arrange the trips and allegedly tap Medicaid, and anyone else who knowingly enables the trade. Family members of those targets can be swept in as well.

In short, people selling packages to facilitate US entry are on notice (perhaps they should focus on EB-5s like the Kushners).These foreign commercial networks advertise U.S. citizenship as a package - collecting tens of thousands of dollars to coach clients on what to say at the consulate, book housing near hospitals, and deliver a passport-eligible infant. The State Department's position is that this is fraud against the immigration system, not "tourism."

With six weeks until midterms, Rubio's announcement follows of President Trump's August 6 Executive Order 14419, Ending Birth Tourism - aimed at those entering on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on U.S. soil - or helping someone else do it - and directed State and Homeland Security to deny visas, revoke them, bar re-entry, and act against facilitators. Days after Trump's EO, a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force was assembled. About a month ago, officials said more than 750 visas tied to suspected birth-tourism activity had been revoked, with more coming. Meanwhile, embassy investigations earlier in the year claimed to have dismantled networks in West Africa (100-plus cases with fraudulent documents and fixers), Europe (400-plus suspected cases since 2024 tied to at least six companies), and North Africa (100-plus visa revocations).

Here's How The Sausage Is Made

Pregnant women - disproportionately from China, Russia, Nigeria, Turkey, and a handful of other countries - fly in on B-1/B-2 visitor visas, stay in "maternity hotels" or rented houses, deliver, obtain a birth certificate and Social Security number, and leave. The child is treated as a U.S. citizen, and when 21 years later, that child can petition for parents. Neat trick.

It's not just the poors either - packages have been marketed for $20,000 to $100,000: housing, nannies, shopping trips, coaching on how to answer consular questions, and sometimes advice on how to keep hospital bills off the books or shift them onto public programs. In 2019, federal prosecutors in Southern California took down operations charging Chinese clients six figures. This month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a Houston-area postpartum center had agreed to close after the state alleged it facilitated more than 1,000 births to Chinese nationals. Gov. Greg Abbott had already ordered state agencies to hunt licensed providers participating in the schemes. The 2020 Trump-era consular rule already advised officers they could deny visas if they believed the primary purpose of travel was to obtain citizenship for a child.

The H-1B pipeline is getting the same treatment: a wage-weighted lottery cut FY2027 registrations 38%, even as the courts have blocked Trump's $100,000 fee.

How Many Are We Talking About?

The conservative Center for Immigration Studies, using older Census-to-vital-records comparisons, has estimated 20,000 to 26,000 tourist births a year. CIS research director Steven Camarota told Congress this month that if those rates held, 200,000 to 300,000 children were born to birth tourists over the last decade. CDC data show fewer than 10,000 births in 2024 to mothers listing a foreign address - a figure almost everyone agrees undercounts women who use a U.S. hotel or rental as their "residence."

Globally - Jus soli in its American form is an outlier among developed states. Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, and much of Europe require a citizen or permanent-resident parent. The United States and Canada remain the G7 holdouts. A Conservative amendment to Bill C-3 that would have required at least one citizen or permanent-resident parent was voted down in October 2025; Canadian citizenship still attaches automatically to nearly anyone born on Canadian soil, diplomats excepted. The United States spent decades treating a plane ticket and a due date as sufficient allegiance.

Supreme Pivot

After the Supreme Court struck down Trump's broader day-one attempt to withhold birthright citizenship from children of illegal aliens and temporary visa holders, the White House went in a different direction - going after visa fraud, commercial facilitation, and the use of nonimmigrant categories for a permanent benefit.

Here's their angle:

1. Integrity of citizenship. A passport is not supposed to be a concierge product.
2. Taxpayers foot the bill for their medical care to a disputed extent.
3. Security and chain migration. A U.S.-citizen child creates a future immigrant-petition pipeline - with officials singling out China and Russia as high-volume sources. Whether one accepts the "hundreds of thousands" rhetoric from some administration figures or the lower CIS range, the screening problem is the same: the parent was never vetted as a future American.

So - in about three seconds, advocacy groups will call it racial profiling of Chinese and Russian applicants. Hospitals that marketed "birth packages" will lawyer up. Fixers will move advertising off open WeChat groups and into quieter channels, and pregnant women will keep trying to make it onto US soil. The order also contemplates denial of entry and removal for prior participants.

Legislation is already in the hopper - including a Ban Birth Tourism Act that would make seeking admission as a B visa holder for birth tourism an explicit ground of inadmissibility. The administration is not waiting for Congress.

American citizenship shouldn't have loopholes. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/citizenship-not-product-rubio-hits-birth-tourism-fixers-after-scotus-blocked-broader-ban

Nektar Gets $90 Million Jury Award in Breach Suit Vs Eli Lilly

 Nektar Therapeutics said it has won a $90 million verdict in its lawsuit against Eli Lilly related to the development of its proposed autoimmune drug Rezpegaldesleukin, or rezpeg.

Nektar said a California jury found that Eli Lilly breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in a 2017 licensing agreement and awarded the San Francisco company $90 million in damages, plus interest to be determined by the court.

Eli Lilly representatives couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Nektar and Eli Lilly in 2017 agreed to work together to develop rezpeg for various autoimmune diseases.

Nektar sued Eli Lilly in 2023, alleging the Indianapolis drugmaker undermined rezpeg's prospects after Eli Lilly shelled out more than $1 billion in 2020 to buy Dermira, which was developing its own autoimmune drug, lebrikizumab.

Eli Lilly won Food and Drug Administration approval for lebrikizumab, marketed as Ebglyss, in 2024.

Nektar said the jury's verdict remains subject to post-trial proceedings, and that any resulting judgment may be subject to appeal.

Nektar is still developing rezpeg, its lead program, and launched a phase 3 study of the drug in atopic dermatitis in July.

https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202609252949/nektar-gets-90-million-jury-award-in-breach-suit-vs-eli-lilly

Iraq’s Najaf airport halts all flights to and from Iran

 

Iraq’s Najaf International Airport suspended all flights to and from Iran from 2 a.m. local time Friday until further notice, airport management announced.

The airport said the suspension followed official instructions from the relevant authorities. It directed airlines and flight operations bodies to halt activities related to the affected services and said it would notify carriers of any instructions allowing flights to resume.

Airport director Hussein al-Muhanna had earlier said services between Najaf and Iran were operating normally while management awaited official orders.

The suspension follows an announcement by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization that Baghdad airport had stopped accepting flights operated by Iranian airlines.

Najaf is one of Shia Islam’s holiest cities, home to the shrine of Shiite Imam Ali and a major center of religious learning. For many Iranian pilgrims, it is also a gateway to nearby Karbala, where third Shiite Imam, Hussein, is buried. The suspension disrupts a key pilgrimage route and travel between Iran and Iraq’s Shia religious centers.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202609257284

Iranian MP turns on Iraqi government over flight suspensions

 Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian called Iraq’s government an American “puppet” and warned of a response from Iraqis after Iranian flights to Baghdad and Najaf were suspended.

“The free and proud people of Iraq will certainly respond,” said Nabavian, a member of parliament’s National Security Committee. He did not specify what form that response would take.

He also demanded that Iraq’s Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite political groups whose members include close partners of Tehran, accept responsibility for choosing a prime minister he described as a US “puppet.”

Najaf airport suspended all flights to and from Iran from early Friday until further notice. Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization had earlier announced that Baghdad airport had stopped accepting Iranian airlines’ flights. Iraq's Erbil and Sulaimaniya airports also suspended Iranian flights on Friday.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202609251838

Saudi Arabia, UAE urge Trump to maintain pressure on Iran - WSJ

 Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are urging Washington to maintain sanctions and its naval blockade of Iran, complicating efforts to restart peace talks as attacks threaten their oil exports, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Mediators including Qatar are seeking talks in Oman as early as next week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin winding down the war, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he expected the two sides to meet again soon.

While Persian Gulf countries generally oppose further US military escalation, Saudi Arabia and the UAE want Washington to withhold concessions on sanctions and the blockade.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently told US officials the blockade should remain until Iran is compelled to sign a new agreement, people familiar with the discussions told the Journal.

• 

  US-Iran talks focused on phased deal to reopen Hormuz

The position marks a shift from the summer, when Saudi Arabia and other Arab states pressed for negotiations and were prepared to consider an agreement recognizing some Iranian influence over Hormuz.

Iranian attacks on Saudi ships and Tehran’s encouragement of Houthi efforts to restrict the alternative export route through the Red Sea have since weakened confidence in Iran’s willingness to reach a deal, the report said.

UAE officials have similarly lowered expectations for negotiations, arguing that renewed violence and attacks on shipping show Tehran is in no hurry to return to diplomacy. They said Persian Gulf states should not accept permanent Iranian control of Hormuz.

• 

  From Hormuz to Indian Ocean: Iran threatens to redraw the map of the war

Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran specialist at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Journal that renewed Houthi threats, following months of disruption in Hormuz, were pushing regional governments toward compliance with US sanctions.

Oman and Qatar favor a different approach, arguing that a phased reopening of Hormuz and an end to attacks on Persian Gulf countries offer the only viable path out of a war that has already inflicted substantial regional damage.

Qatar has pursued mediation around the UN General Assembly. Iran’s foreign minister visited Doha on Sunday to discuss proposals including a seven-day pause in fighting that could lead to an end to Iranian attacks on shipping in exchange for Washington lifting its blockade.

But US officials have repeatedly told Qatar that Trump has no intention of lifting the maritime embargo, according to the report.

A White House official said sanctions and the blockade had strengthened Washington’s position. “While President Trump is open to talking with Iran under the right circumstances, he has no need to negotiate with the Iranians,” the official said.

Talks also face resistance inside Iran. Tehran fears Washington could use negotiations to delay action until after the US midterm elections before resuming attacks, while hardliners have adopted a more confrontational tone as economic pressure intensifies, the Journal reported.

Arab mediators said Iranian diplomats had offered proposals and acknowledged the worsening economic crisis, but the Revolutionary Guards had rejected new negotiating formulas and expressed readiness for a prolonged war.

The Guards, which dominate Iran’s power structure, want terms closer to the preliminary June agreement: relief from oil sanctions, access to frozen assets and recognition of an Iranian role in administering Hormuz in exchange for reopening the waterway.

Washington has told mediators it will not return to that agreement, believing sustained economic pressure will force Tehran to accept terms more favorable to the United States and its Persian Gulf partners.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202609251983