Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran has drawn up seven conditions and passed them to the United States through Pakistan and Qatar, telling Iranian state media, "Until our conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened, and we will not negotiate," The National reported Friday. Sources close to the Iranian delegation told The National that New York contacts this week were position-sharing, not negotiations, and that Tehran offered no concessions from its public demands. Separately, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani read a joint U.N. statement backed by about 80 countries demanding the urgent reopening of the strait; The National said Europe and Washington are drafting a Security Council text to back an international maritime mission, which Iran opposes. Al Jazeera reported Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s seven-day reopen offer still hinges on a ceasefire including Lebanon, lifting the U.S. naval blockade and oil sanctions, and related steps before nuclear talks resume.
A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld the Defense Department’s designation of AI firm Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, rejecting the company’s claim that the ban on its Claude models was arbitrary, unauthorized and unconstitutional, CNBC and the Washington Examiner reported. Judge Gregory Katsas, joined by Judge Neomi Rao — both Trump appointees — wrote that the Department had "ample support" for concluding that continued integration of Claude into Defense systems presented a covered national-security risk; Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson dissented. The designation, issued in March after talks collapsed over Pentagon demands for unfettered lawful use versus Anthropic’s refusal to allow fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance, blocks military and defense-contractor use of Claude. A San Francisco federal judge previously found a parallel designation unlawful; Anthropic said it is considering further review, including possible Supreme Court review.
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Friday that President Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping during White House talks that any Chinese help for Iran — direct or indirect, including intelligence, parts or military equipment — is "totally unacceptable," Iran International reported, citing Perdue’s CNBC interview. Asked on Fox News’ "America’s Newsroom" whether that meant Beijing would stop assisting Iran, Perdue said, "We’ve seen movement … on that already. That’s what the commitment is. They assured us yesterday that they aren’t doing that," Mediaite reported from the Fox segment. The Washington Examiner likewise reported Perdue’s claim that Xi assured Trump China would cease aid to Iran. Perdue also told CNBC Washington had seen Beijing "pull some things down," while saying there is "no direct evidence" China helped keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, though he still suspects indirect support.
As Xi Jinping wrapped his Washington state visit Friday, he thanked President Trump through a translator for hospitality "down to the highest order of perfection," and Trump told reporters the leaders had made "great strides, very positive for both countries," Fox News reported. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Xi and Madame Peng had left D.C. after a meeting of "Friendship, Strength, and Success," and confirmed further meetings in November in China and at the G20 in December in Miami, the Washington Examiner reported. Separately, the New York Post reported that a military chorus at Thursday’s state dinner played "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Misérables — a song China restricted online after Hong Kong pro-democracy activists adopted it in 2019.
Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., a progressive "Squad" member, is advancing the Reimagining Safety Act, which would dismantle DHS as currently structured, abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, and create a "Department of Community Safety," while preserving agencies such as TSA, FEMA, CISA and the Coast Guard, Fox News reported Friday. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News Digital, "Radical leftists are calling to defund the police and abolish DHS. It’s NEVER going to happen," and a DHS spokesperson said sanctuary politicians’ rhetoric is "contributing to a more than 1,300% increase in assaults" against officers. Ramirez replied that Americans have "a new reason to dismantle DHS" every day and accused the department of fearmongering.
The Supreme Court docket for DHS v. D.V.D., No. 26A406, still shows Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Sept. 24 order directing respondents to answer the government’s stay application by 4 p.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 28, with no further order entered as of Friday afternoon. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the justices Thursday to restore third-country removals, calling them "an essential tool to remove certain aliens, including some of the worst criminal aliens," SCOTUSblog reported. Separately, Friday’s 6-3 SAVE stay (Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson dissenting) remains the Court’s major election-integrity action of the day; The Federalist summarized the majority’s finding that challengers’ claims "likely lack merit."
Verified facts only. Every item is supported by the reporting or official records it links to.
Every source linked. Wire services, conservative and mainstream outlets, and primary documents such as whitehouse.gov releases, Supreme Court opinions and court filings.
Analysis labeled. We are a conservative outlet. Our point of view appears only in the What This Means (Conservative Analysis) box under each story, never mixed into the facts.
Corrections in the open. Mistakes are fixed quickly and noted publicly.
