Trump vows to attack Iran ‘very hard’ if Tehran behind Flydubai flight incident

US President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed to hit Iran “very hard” if Tehran was related to the Dubai-Tel Aviv Flydubai incident.

Asked by reporters if the US would consider retaliation against Iran if it was connected to the incident, he said. “They’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry.”

Trump’s comments followed an incident involving Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which was diverted and made an emergency landing in the Saudi city of Tabuk.

Flydubai said an “altercation occurred in the flight deck” and that crew members intervened to secure the plane before it was safely diverted.

The airline subsequently suspended flights to and from Israel while authorities investigated, saying the suspension would remain under review as more information became available.

In a post Thursday on his Truth Social, Trump also wrote, “I stated, numerous times, that it would take 4-6 weeks to get rid of THE IRAN NUCLEAR THREAT, and I did it in one night!”

“The rest of the time is just to make sure it stays that way,” he added.

Trump claims ‘annihilation of Iran’ possible, will create ‘peace’

US President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that the “annihilation of Iran” was possible, in response to a question about his earlier claims that the US would destroy the country.

“Yeah, I would do that. It’s possible,” Trump told Time magazine in an interview, while calling himself the “president of peace” in response to another question.

Asked during the interview how such a threat could fit with his description of himself as a “president of peace”, Trump replied: “Because by annihilating Iran, we’ve created peace in the world. With Iran, I don’t think you could ever have peace.”

He also stated that bombing Iran was “possible” after the midterms, without providing specific details.

“I can’t tell you that because look, you know, you’re asking, where are you going to bomb?” Trump added.

Rubio ordered Iranian delegation to leave US after talks stalled

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran’s delegation to the UN General Assembly, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to leave the country after diplomatic negotiations stalled, a US official confirmed to Anadolu on Wednesday.

The US mission to the UN informed Iran’s UN mission Monday evening on Rubio’s orders that Araghchi’s delegation had to leave New York “immediately,” according to the Axios news site, which first reported the story.

It reported, citing a US official, that the delegation “had overstayed their welcome,” adding: “The UN General Assembly was over, so it was time for them to go.”

The delegation boarded a flight from New York to Doha at 1.20 am local time on Tuesday, the US official said, according to Axios.

A second source was quoted as saying that Araghchi had already been scheduled to travel back to Tehran on Monday night.

According to the report, the White House had expected possible progress in talks with Iran on Monday morning, but by late afternoon, it became clear the negotiations had reached a stalemate.

Qatari mediators are continuing talks with both sides on a compromise proposal, the report cited regional sources as saying.

Iran, Russia hold talks on information security cooperation

A new round of consultations on the implementation of the bilateral agreement on international information security between Iran and Russia was held in Moscow, IRNA reported.

The delegations were led by the Director General for International Peace and Security at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Head of the Information Security Department at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting, representatives of the relevant agencies of both countries reviewed the current status of cooperation on the implementation of the agreement’s provisions and the established action plan.

Key areas of focus during this round of consultations included identifying and implementing cybersecurity projects; enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure and communication networks in both countries against attacks; combating cybercrime; training and upskilling personnel to handle cyber incidents; and fostering cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Iran claims capture of another US submarine drone in Strait of Hormuz

Iran said its forces had captured another “advanced smart” unmanned submarine belonging to the US Army in the Strait of Hormuz, TRT reported.

In a statement carried by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) official news outlet, Sepah News, the navy said the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), which it said was carrying out “espionage” activities in the Strait of Hormuz, was captured in a “coordinated and complex operation with intelligence dominance and electronic warfare”.

The IRGC identified the AUV as a “REMUS 600”, adding that it had been handed over to specialists for data recovery.

Iran says it receives US response to latest proposal as Washington pulls out of Iraq

Iran said on Wednesday it had received a US response to its latest proposal to resurrect the ​collapsed ceasefire in the Gulf, days after President Donald Trump said he had rejected it.

Iran’s allies were celebrating on Wednesday after Washington withdrew the last of its forces from neighbouring Iraq, ‌where 4,500 US troops died in the biggest US war of the century. More than 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in chaos unleashed after US forces toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Tehran views the pullout as a victory for its “axis of resistance” of allied armed groups, and a step towards its aim of driving US forces out of the region.

With the US-Israeli war against Iran now entering its eighth month, Iran put forward a proposal last week under which the United States would ​lift its blockade of Iranian ports, and Iran would reopen the disrupted Strait of Hormuz within seven days.

Trump said on Sunday he had rejected the proposal, although Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi ​said Tehran had not received a formal rejection. In a post on X on Wednesday, an Iranian government spokesperson said Araqchi had conveyed a US response ⁠to the Iranian government.

Iran says its plan aims to restore an interim agreement which collapsed weeks after it was signed by Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in June.

Last week, Qatari mediators shuttled between US ​and Iranian envoys in New York on the sidelines of a meeting of the United Nations, the first proximity talks between the warring sides since the ceasefire unravelled.

An official briefed on the talks, who is not ​Iranian and spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the Qataris had briefed Araqchi on the US response on Tuesday when Araqchi stopped off in Doha on his way home from New York. According to the official, the sides largely agree about the steps that are needed but still disagree about the order in which to take them.

Iran wants an eventual deal to grant it control over the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil shipping route, which runs past ​its coast.

Shipping through the strait has increased in recent weeks, with shippers charging high fees to brave the risk of attacks. But flows of crude oil, refined products and natural gas remain substantially disrupted. In ​the latest incidents, Britain’s UKMTO maritime security body reported on Wednesday that two ships had been hit by projectiles the previous day.