Rubio and Pezeshkian's parallel UNGA messages on Iran
Rubio warned of military options as Pezeshkian addressed the UN, while Iran outlined conditions for ending hostilities via Qatar.
Rubio and Pezeshkian's parallel UNGA messages on Iran — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a sharp message to Tehran on Wednesday, in parallel with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's address to the UN General Assembly. Rubio directly addressed the security situation in the Gulf, stating: "We understand that the Strait of Hormuz is a problem. We will continue to defend the strait and keep it open." [^1] The message was clear: the US has options, including military ones, as Pezeshkian was speaking at the UN. [^2] Pezeshkian, for his part, framed Iran as a victim, saying: "We are victims of terrorism, we only defended ourselves." [^5] Meanwhile, Iran outlined its conditions for ending hostilities with the United States, conveyed through Qatari mediators. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated the conditions include "a complete end to US aggression, the naval blockade, and sanctions, as well as the release of frozen Iranian assets." [^6] The US, however, is escalating sanctions on Iranian airlines, threatening to cut off from the dollar system any entity that provides them with fuel or landing services, though China and Russia refuse to cooperate. The diplomatic standoff extended to the UN stage, where French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke on Wednesday night, sparking a storm among Israeli officials. A French diplomatic source clarified that Macron's remarks were mistranslated, explaining that "le Hamas n'a jamais sévi en Cisjordanie" means "Hamas never ruled the West Bank." [^2] Macron later stated on Iran: "It's important that it doesn't obtain nuclear weapons, but war doesn't work." The parallel messages from Rubio, Pezeshkian, and Macron underscore a fundamental dilemma: Iran's conditions for ending hostilities are at odds with US military threats, and no clear diplomatic path has emerged. [^2] Change bloc meets as CEC disqualifies Ra'am and Cassif — Opposition leader Yair Lapid will host the leaders of the "change bloc" — Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Liberman, and Yair Golan — at his Tel Aviv home on Saturday night for talks on coordinating their moves ahead of the elections.[^1] The meeting comes as the bloc's