British couple detained in Iran to face court on espionage charges

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the curbs, which include restrictions on daily activities such as grocery shopping, were aimed at “disrupting Iran's diplomatic performance” during the UN General Assembly.

He described them as “a blatant violation” of US obligations under the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement.

“The systematic harassment of Iranian diplomats has obstructed delegates from attending several multilateral events outside the so-called ‘permitted parameters’ this week alone,” Baghaei wrote on social media, calling the measures “a new low” in US hostility toward Iranians.

The US State Department said Monday that the restrictions were intended to prevent Iran’s delegation from “lavish shopping” in New York while ordinary Iranians face economic hardship, and to limit Tehran’s ability to “promote its terrorist agenda.”

It confined delegates to the area between UN headquarters and their hotel, with transit allowances for official meetings.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported separately that most of Pezeshkian’s media staff were denied visas, leaving only two aides -- his press chief and deputy -- to cover what it called a large number of events during the trip.

It noted that under the new rules, even the purchase of fountain pens is classified as a “luxury” requiring special permits.

The dispute comes as Pezeshkian prepare to address the 80th UNGA amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, the looming reimposition of UN “snapback” sanctions later this month, and the fallout from a 12-day war with Israel in June.

Danon said US and Israeli strikes in June delivered a major setback to Iran’s nuclear program and that it would take Tehran years to rebuild.

Asked whether Israel might carry out more attacks on Iran, Danon said it was unlikely.

“I don't think we're moving toward war, you know, Israel is a peaceful nation. And I think Iran should focus its energy supporting the Iranian people, not to spend billions on the proxies, on Hezbollah, on the Houthis.”

“They should support their own people in Iran. They deserve better than that,” he told Iran International at UN headquarters in New York,.

Still, he framed the strikes as a chance to rally the world to action, not the start of an open conflict.

Danon urged the international community to seize the moment not for escalation, but for pressure — through tougher sanctions and inspections.

“As of now, I see now is the time for the international community to step in and to apply more pressure,” he said.

He also voiced skepticism about Tehran’s alleged offer to Europeans to dilute its highly enriched uranium without intrusive verification.

His comments came hours after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei categorically rejected negotiations with Washington, dismissing President Donald Trump’s demand that Iran end all uranium enrichment as “dictation, not negotiation.”

In a televised speech, Khamenei said Iran would never bow to threats and vowed enrichment would continue, declaring that “a proud nation like the Iranian people will slap the mouth of the one who says this.”

In New York, Iran’s foreign minister met with his British, French, and German counterparts in last-ditch talks aimed at preventing the automatic reimposition of UN sanctions on September 28.

Diplomats warned that the chances of success remain slim, saying Tehran has yet to take the concrete steps needed to avert snapback. “The ball is in Iran’s court,” one European envoy said.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told The Times Tehran could resume enrichment “within weeks.”

But Danon said the strikes had bought valuable time — and that Israel’s priority now is to use that time to build international pressure on Tehran, not to move toward war.

Former deputy director Olli Heinonen told Iran International's podcast Eye for Iran that roughly 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent remains unaccounted for — enough material for several nuclear weapons if further refined.

Below are excerpts from Khamenei's televised speech:

"In the current situation, negotiating with the US government would, first and foremost, do nothing to help our national interests — it would bring us no benefit and would not avert any harm."

"Negotiations with the US under present conditions also entail serious harms for the country, some of which may even be irreparable."

"When we say it is not to our benefit, it is because the American side has already predetermined the outcome of negotiations. They have declared that the only talks they accept are those that end with Iran shutting down its nuclear activities and enrichment."

"That is not negotiation; that is dictation, it is imposition. To sit down and negotiate with a party that insists the result must necessarily be exactly what they want and say—is that negotiation?"

"They say: let us negotiate, and the result should be that Iran has no enrichment. And just days ago, one of their deputies declared that Iran must not have missiles either—not long-range, not medium-range, not even short-range. They are saying Iran must be left empty-handed, unable even to respond, if attacked, at an American base in Iraq or elsewhere."

"Such words are bigger than the mouth that utters them and are not worthy of attention. We have not and will not give in to pressure in enrichment or in any other matter."

Uranium enrichment

"Now this man, the American side, is insisting that Iran must have no enrichment at all. In the past, others said we should not have high-level enrichment, or that our enriched material should not be kept inside the country—things we did not accept. But now they are saying: no enrichment whatsoever, absolutely none at all. What does that mean?"

"Well, clearly, a proud nation like the Iranian people will slap the mouth of the one who says this and will not accept it. We will not submit to pressure in this matter (uranium enrichment) or in any other."

"The other side has threatened that if you do not negotiate, such and such will happen—whether it be bombing or other threats, sometimes vague, sometimes explicit. That is a threat. Accepting such negotiations would signal that Iran is vulnerable to threats. It would mean that whenever we face a threat, we immediately become afraid, tremble, and submit. That is what it would mean."

"And if such susceptibility to threats were to emerge, it would never end. Today they say: if you enrich, we will do this. Tomorrow they will say: if you have missiles, we will do that. Then they will say: if you maintain ties with such-and-such a country, we will act; if you do not maintain ties with another, we will act. It will all be threats, and we would be forced to retreat at every step."

"No honorable nation accepts negotiations under threat, and no wise politician endorses it."

"Ten years ago, we signed an agreement with the Americans, under which they were supposed to lift sanctions and normalize Iran’s nuclear file at the IAEA. The other side may now say, 'in exchange, we will give you such-and-such a concession.' They are lying. Whatever they claim to offer as a concession is false."

“This is the highest number of recorded executions in more than 30 years,” IHR said in a statement. Iran executed at least 5,000 political prisoners in 1988, according to Amnesty International.

From Jan. 1 to Sept. 23, IHR said it had verified 1,000 executions, including 64 in the past week alone — an average of more than nine a day.

The group said the figures represented a minimum, as many cases went unreported.

“In recent months the Islamic Republic has begun a mass killing campaign in Iran’s prisons, the dimensions of which, in the absence of serious international reactions, are expanding every day,” IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement.

“The widespread, arbitrary executions of prisoners without due process and fair trial rights amount to crimes against humanity and must be placed at the top of the international community’s agenda.”

IHR said most executions were for drug-related and other non-lethal offences, which do not meet the “most serious crimes” threshold under international law.

According to its data, 50% were for drug charges, 43% for murder, 3% for security-related charges such as baghy (armed rebellion) and moharebeh (waging war against God), 3% for rape and 1% for espionage for Israel.

Only 11% of executions were announced by official sources, with none of the drug-related cases disclosed publicly, the group added.

The organization urged the UN Human Rights Council’s Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to investigate the executions, citing their “scale, systematic nature and political function to intimidate and create societal fear.”

At least 975 people were executed in Iran in 2024, a 17% increase from the previous year, making it one of the world’s leading users of the death penalty, according to rights monitors.

Foreign ministers of Iran, Britain, France and Germany – the so-called E3 – met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, joined by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, amid warnings that a 30-day “snapback” process to reimpose sanctions will expire on September 27.

In the meeting between Iranian and European top diplomats in New York, "some ideas and proposals for continuing diplomacy were raised, and it was decided that consultations with all involved parties would continue," according to Iran's Foreign Ministry.

"The course of discussions over the past month aimed at finding diplomatic solutions regarding Iran’s nuclear issue and preventing an escalation of tensions was reviewed in the meeting," according to the Foreign Ministry statement.

The E3 triggered the process on August 28, accusing Iran of failing to comply with a 2015 nuclear deal designed to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Tehran denies it seeks such arms, insisting its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

“Iran has been in contact with E3/EU officials and (the UN nuclear chief Rafael) Grossi since this morning at the UN Different ideas have been raised and discussed,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Another Iranian official said “everyone seems to be trying” to find a resolution.

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  Iranian lawmakers urge review of defense doctrine, call for nuclear weapons

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  Iran warns against sanctions 'confrontation' as IAEA cites difficult talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned European states to choose “cooperation or confrontation.”

Speaking on state TV, he said: “They have tested Iran repeatedly and know we do not respond to the language of pressure and threat ... I hope we can find a diplomatic solution in the coming days, otherwise Tehran will take appropriate measures.”

According to diplomats, the E3 have offered to delay reinstating sanctions for up to six months if Iran restores access for UN inspectors, addresses concerns over its stockpile of enriched uranium and agrees to talks with the United States.

But two European envoys said Iran’s leaders have yet to meet these conditions. “The ball is in Iran’s camp,” one diplomat said. “It is up to it to quickly take the concrete steps in the coming days to avert snapback. If not, then sanctions will be reimposed.”

Another diplomat added, “The minimum would be for Iranians to present the special report and allow some token visit of inspectors to some sites, but even then that probably won’t fly – and chances are the US would veto.”

If no extension is agreed, all pre-2015 UN sanctions will automatically return on September 28, compounding economic pressures from US and European measures already in place.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that Iran would “overcome” any reimposition of sanctions. According to an insider cited by Reuters, growing discontent over the economy was rattling Iran’s leadership, with little sign of answers.

In June, following US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Iran’s parliament passed a law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. A deal with the IAEA was reached on September 9 to resume some inspections, though diplomats say its scope remains limited.

“I am in New York to use these remaining days for diplomatic consultations that might lead to a solution,” Araghchi said. “If it is not found, we will continue our path.”