Iran officials double down on martial rhetoric after sharp Khamenei speech

Satellite images reviewed by AP show construction at missile sites in Parchin and Shahroud, where buildings housing mixers appear under repair.

“If they’re able to reacquire some key things like planetary mixers, then that infrastructure is still there and ready to get rolling again,” said Sam Lair of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Solid-fuel missiles are central to Iran’s deterrence strategy after Israeli strikes decimated much of its air defense.

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Iran operates solid-fuel missile production facilities at Khojir and Parchin, both near Tehran, as well as at Shahroud, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) northeast of the capital. All three sites were struck by Israel in October 2024, during earlier hostilities between the two countries.

Experts say the June strikes appeared designed to destroy buildings housing mixers, the machines essential for evenly combining missile fuel.

Iran had been producing more than 200 solid-fuel missiles a month before the war, according to AP.

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Iran fired more than 570 ballistic missiles during the conflict, depleting an estimated third of its arsenal, according to the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

Western officials believe Tehran could try to source mixers and propellant chemicals from China, which has previously supplied materials for Iran’s missile program. Beijing said it supports Iran’s sovereignty but voiced “deep concern” over rising regional tensions.

Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said last month the country was now focused on producing “military equipment with higher precision and greater operational capabilities.”

Border Police sappers neutralized the device, and troops swept the area, the army said.

A week earlier, security forces raided a site near Ramallah, seizing dozens of rockets and arresting three suspects after an attempted launch.

Defense officials said, “foreign elements, led by Iran,” were working to promote rocket fire from the West Bank, which could place cities in central and northern Israel within range.

Iran has not commented on the allegations.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were arrested during a motorcycle world tour and accused of spying -- allegations they deny. Their son, Joe Bennett, said the pair were enduring “survival conditions” and urged the UK government to act.

The BBC reported that the couple’s family said they were “in the dark” about the upcoming court appearance, with their son confirming they had only been told the pair were due in court on Saturday.

“The systematic harassment and violations must stop. They need real, tangible support for their court appearances and to ensure proper medical attention, regular family contact and the urgent securing of their release,” Bennett said in a statement.

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  British couple detained in Iran taken to court without notice, family says

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  Iranian authorities tortured British couple in prison, source says

Rights groups and a source familiar with the case have alleged the couple were held in solitary confinement, beaten and threatened with execution by Iranian intelligence agents seeking forced confessions.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was “deeply concerned” and continued to raise the case with Iranian authorities.

Britain has repeatedly rejected Tehran’s charges and pressed for the couple’s release. Western governments and rights organizations say Iran has a history of detaining foreign nationals as leverage in disputes, an accusation Tehran denies.

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.