Brief Notes

Sporadic Protests Mark Third Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death: Sporadic protests erupted in Tehran, Karaj, and Arak, among other cities in Iran, with people wearing black in mourning and chanting, “Death to the dictator!” In one incident in Tehran, plainclothes security forces attacked protesters. New U.S. Sanctions on Islamic Republic Financial Facilitators: Today, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned two Iranian nationals and over a dozen UAE- and Hong Kong-based individuals and entities for their roles in coordinating funds transfers from the sale of Islamic Republic oil that benefits the IRGC Quds Force. According to Treasury’s press release on the designations, Iranian nationals Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand purchased over $100 million in cryptocurrency on behalf of the regime in Iran, with Alivand also working with a Hezbollah-linked money changer. Separately, the U.S. revoked the Chabahar Port–Afghanistan sanctions waiver, effective September 29, 2025, ending an exemption granted since 2018, prior to the Taliban’s takeover, in order to facilitate Afghan trade and reconstruction projects. 100+ Mossad Agents Deployed Inside Iran During War: Israel’s Channel 13 reported that the Mossad had over 100 “foreign agents,” described as non-Israelis, deployed inside Iran at the start of the 12-Day War, in what it described as the agency’s largest-ever operation. According to the report, these operatives were trained to place and operate missile systems, smuggled into Iran, to strike the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems.

Islamic Republic Files Draft IAEA Resolution

Today, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei announced that the Islamic Republic, joined by China, Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Belarus, had submitted a draft resolution on the “Prohibition of all forms of attack and threats of attack against nuclear sites and facilities under IAEA safeguards.” In an X post, Baghaei said the measure “defends the integrity of the NPT” and “reconfirms all countries enjoy the ‘inalienable right to develop nuclear energy…’ and are ‘entitled to effective guarantees against any attack…’” He ended his post by writing that the international community must prevent the “normalization of lawlessness.” Yesterday, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, told the IAEA that the Islamic Republic “would not give in to pressure” or relinquish its rights under the NPT.

Tehran’s Quest for an Islamic NATO

Speaking to the press after the Arab League–Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Doha yesterday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said, “Islamic countries realized that the main danger to the region is Israel, despite the fact that [Israel] has tried to present Iran and Hezbollah as the threat.” Pezeshkian also told reporters that the talks in Qatar could mark the beginning of a path toward “unity and regional security” as well as greater economic, cultural, and political cooperation among Muslim states. In his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman on the sidelines of the summit, Pezeshkian said Saudi Arabia could play an “important role on the path of the unity of Islamic countries,” adding that if Muslim nations were united, Israel “would not dare to attack and commit acts of aggression against any Muslim country.” In talks with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, he similarly called for strengthening unity among Muslim states as “the most effective way to counter the repetition and continuation of the Zionist regime’s crimes.” Pezeshkian also urged the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between Tehran and Cairo “as soon as possible.” Separately, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani met with Bin Salman and the Saudi Defense Minister in Riyadh. The IRGC-linked Tasnim News reported this meeting as an effort towards the “development of economic cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Monarchy of Saudi Arabia.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the Qatar summit’s “good and strong communique,” but the Foreign Ministry rejected its references to a two-state solution, reiterating Tehran’s position that the conflict should be resolved only through “a referendum of the original inhabitants” of the territory. This stance mirrored the Islamic Republic’s opposition to the New York Declaration overwhelmingly adopted by the UN General Assembly on September 12, which called for the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state. Today, Araghchi opened the Second National Conference of Iran and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Tehran, stressing that the organization’s “Vision 2035” must be “realistic, scientific, operational, and measurable” to ensure prosperity in the next decade. He framed the push within a broader critique of global politics, accusing Israel, backed by major powers, of “unprecedented, blatant, and brazen violations” of international law, and warned that the rise of “unbridled unilateralism” has made the international order more fragile. He added that the Islamic Republic has been a victim of both U.S. “oppressive unilateralism” and the “dangerous adventures of the Zionist regime,” and called for stronger cooperation among developing countries in multilateral forums, describing it as a necessity rather than a choice.

On the Radar

Regarding third-country attempts at mediation in an effort to bring Tehran and Washington to the negotiating table, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today said, “Many countries are trying to play a positive role and help us find a solution. For us, the issue isn’t the mediator. What matters is the other side’s will to accept an agreement based on mutual interests, without threats.”
The State Department today published a readout of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, reading: “The Secretary and Foreign Minister reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring Iran never develops or acquires a nuclear weapon.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that U.S. President Donald Trump has invited him to the White House for a visit on September 29, three days after his planned speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. He added that he has held several “good” conversations with Trump since Israel’s strike in Qatar. The meeting is set for one day after the end of the E3-triggered 30-day window to prevent the implementation of UN snapback measures against the Islamic Republic.
Today, two police officers were killed and another was injured in an armed attack on their vehicle in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Local police described the incident as a “terrorist attack” by unidentified gunmen. Although no group has claimed responsibility, the attack follows a surge in assaults on security forces by Sunni militant groups such as Jaish al-Adl in the province.
The IRGC-linked Tasnim News reported that one person was killed in a shooting incident at the Qalqala gold mine in Iran’s Kurdistan Province. According to the provincial chief justice, the violence broke out on September 15 when residents of the village clashed with security guards at the mine. Four people were shot during the confrontation, and one later died of their injuries.
On September 12, Turkmenistan’s leader, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, presided over the official opening of a new border guard complex in Serakhs, in the southern Ahal region near the Iranian border. Arriving by helicopter from Ashgabat, Berdimuhamedov inspected the facilities and cut the ceremonial ribbon. The complex, built for Turkmenistan’s State Border Service, includes an administrative building, barracks, a canteen, a 300-seat cultural center, a medical unit, a parade ground, and a sports area, as well as four apartment blocks housing 144 families.
The Islamic Republic Trade Minister, Seyyed Mohammad Atabak, met with the Taliban Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul. Baradar’s office said the meeting included “comprehensive discussions about trade, transit, investment, Iran’s Chabahar port, as well as the activities and greater effectiveness of the joint economic committee between the two countries.” The Islamic Republic’s embassy in Kabul confirmed the talks, noting that both sides agreed to follow up on existing economic and trade agreements and stressed the expansion of cooperation in industry, mining, and trade.