Sep 222026

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Monday, Sept. 21 that a new U.S. attack would change the weapons and the geography of the war, now in its seventh month.

The three options. Trump said Monday, Sept. 21 that he is in a "deciding mode" on Iran, naming three options: wiping the country out, letting it rot economically, or making a deal. Asked whether he would meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (President, Iran) at the UN General Assembly in New York this week, he said he would "probably" be open to it. Iran confirmed Pezeshkian will attend.

Tehran's warning. Hours earlier, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said a fresh American assault would prompt Iran to change both the weaponry and the geography of the war, which began Feb. 28 and is now near its seventh month.

The war's costs. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed to most traffic and Houthi forces have bombed an east-west oil pipeline, keeping fuel prices high. Oil fell Monday on the prospect of talks. ([TS]Brent was near $97 Monday; it hasn't closed above $100 since May, per market data.)

"My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up? They better behave."Donald Trump, to Fox News

Still open. What Tehran would want in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the sea lane most Gulf oil must pass through, has not been made public.

The suit names Trump, chief of staff Susie Wiles and two other advisers, and a hearing on the outlets' emergency request to block the ban is set for Wednesday, Sept. 23.

The suit. CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the Trump administration on Monday, Sept. 21 in federal district court in Washington, asking a judge to declare the administration's ban on their White House reporters unconstitutional and to order their access restored. The suit names four defendants: Trump, chief of staff Susie Wiles and two other top advisers. The complaint alleges First Amendment retaliation and viewpoint discrimination plus a Fifth Amendment due-process violation. The outlets are represented by Theodore Boutrous Jr. of Gibson Dunn.

The badges. Secret Service officers took the reporters' badges at the gate on Saturday, Sept. 19, a day after Trump announced the ban on Truth Social. MS NOW's Akayla Gardner said the officer told her only that her badge was disabled and that the decision was "above him."

The pool. Hours later the White House television pool — the five networks, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC, that take turns supplying live footage to everyone else — suspended its coverage. Trump was inaudible at a Monday press conference carried only on White House-supplied video with no usable audio, and C-SPAN skipped a helipad event for lack of a feed. CNN had been scheduled to run Monday's pool camera but was left off the rotation the White House published Sunday, Sept. 20.

“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer.”Donald Trump, on Truth Social ([TS]Same judge, Timothy Kelly, drew this case — and he gave CNN a TRO in three days last time.)

What next. Judge Timothy Kelly, who ruled for CNN's Jim Acosta in 2018, hears the emergency motion Wednesday, Sept. 23.

CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper brought strike options to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday, Sept. 19; Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had called Trump twice in one day ten days earlier (Sept. 9) asking for the strikes.

The decision. Trump spent the weekend of Sept. 19-21 weighing U.S. airstrikes on the Houthis, the armed movement that controls northern Yemen, and then said no, two U.S. officials told Axios. He agreed to hand the Saudis intelligence and targeting data. No American aircraft will fly.

The strait. The Houthis now hold both shores of the Bab al-Mandab, the 28-kilometer strait at the southern end of the Red Sea that every ship bound for the Suez Canal must pass. They have also widened their missile and drone attacks into Saudi Arabia, including the capital, Riyadh.

The war's civilian toll, per the UN:

• Displaced inside Yemen: more than 120,000
• Arrivals in Djibouti by boat: more than 3,000
• UN relief appeal for Yemen: about 20% funded, vs. 28.5% for last year's appeal

Where it stands. The Houthis told U.S. diplomats they will not close the strait or fire on American ships. The State Department told Americans across the Middle East on Saturday, Sept. 19, to raise their guard after the Riyadh attack. ([TS]They've held to that since the May 2025 truce, per Yemeni sources — the Saudi half of the pledge doesn't exist.)

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Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, was discharged from the hospital into ICE custody and driven about 130 miles to the Pearsall detention center, where DHS is investigating its own officer.

The shooting. Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man who has lived in the U.S. for two years, was shot once in the back during an ICE traffic stop in north Austin shortly before 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20, while making a DoorDash delivery. Emergency services were called at 12:56 p.m. Video posted online appears to show an ICE officer get out of his car and fire at Garcés Pérez's car three times. Officials described the wound as being to the torso; his lawyer says the round went in between his shoulder blades.

Where he is. He was released from the hospital into ICE custody and taken to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, roughly 130 miles southwest of Austin. DHS says he was in the country illegally under a final order of removal. His attorney's spokesperson says he entered through a parole program, is seeking asylum and has no criminal record. ([TS]DHS hasn't answered the Guardian on the stop itself, his condition, or where he's held.)

"Bullet still lodged in his back. No pain meds."attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, who says he is being questioned at Pearsall

Where it stands. Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of ICE's own department, is leading the inquiry with FBI help; Austin police were not part of the operation. Texas officers fired pepper balls at people who gathered at the scene and detained several of them. Rep. Greg Casar (Rep-D Texas) has asked DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE director David Venturella for a briefing and all body and dash camera footage by Sept. 28.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the backup line was found cut at a New Jersey construction site; ground stops later expanded to JFK and LaGuardia, and departure delays ran up to 150 minutes.

The circuit. A circuit that carries radar and communication data for the Philadelphia air traffic control facility blew Monday morning, Sept. 21. When the backup cut in, officials found the backup line severed at a New Jersey construction site.

The ground stop. With controllers short of working frequencies, the FAA's only lever was to stop traffic: a ground stop at Newark Liberty, Philadelphia International and Teterboro around 10 a.m., then an expansion to JFK and LaGuardia while Northeast airspace closed for at least 30 minutes to swap the circuit. The swap did not take, leaving Newark and Philadelphia halted into the afternoon with no estimated resumption time. Departure delays ran up to 150 minutes.

The fiber. Verizon, which owned the fiber, said construction contractors working beside an Amtrak rail line dug up and cut its cable and that "Verizon bears no responsibility for this incident."

The reopening. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the lines were repaired and Northeast flights were resuming shortly after 5 p.m., about seven hours after the first ground stop. ([TS]That's a liability position, not a finding — no agency has said who pays for 900-plus canceled flights.)

"FAA technology outage is affecting all airlines in the Northeast... Flights that had been destined for Newark have either been held at their departure airport or diverted to alternative airports."United Airlines

Still open. No one has said who cut the cable — Duffy blamed an Amtrak crew, Amtrak pointed to a New Jersey Transit contractor, NJ Transit said its crew severed a cable at 9:45 a.m. but suggested a Verizon crew may be at fault. No investigative agency has been named.