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Putin Ally Holds Talks in Iran as Middle East Teeters on Brink of Wider War

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
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Putin Ally Holds Talks in Iran as Middle East Teeters on Brink of Wider War

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (AFP)

A senior ally of President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian leaders including the president and top security officials as Iran weighs its response to the killing of a Hamas leader.

Russia has condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, in Iran last week and called on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war.

Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council, was shown by Russia's Zvezda television station meeting Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander who serves as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

Shoigu, who was Russia's defense minister before being moved to the security council in May, will also meet President Masoud Pezeshkian, Zvezda said.

"In Tehran, the secretary of the Russian Security Council is scheduled to meet with the president, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the head of the General Staff," according to Zvezda TV.

Though Putin has yet to comment in public on the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East, senior Russian officials have said that those behind the killing of Haniyeh were seeking to scuttle any hope of peace in the Middle East and to draw the United States into military action.

Iran has blamed Israel and said it will "punish" it; Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility. Iran backs Hamas, which is at war with Israel in Gaza, and also the Lebanese group Hezbollah whose senior military commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut last week.

Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran since the start of its war with Ukraine and has said it is preparing to sign a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with Tehran.

Reuters reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. The United States said in June that Russia appeared to be deepening its defense cooperation with Iran and had received hundreds of one-way attack drones that it was using to strike Ukraine, something Moscow denies.

Russia said last Friday that it joined Iran in condemning the assassination of the Hamas leader and pointing out "the extremely dangerous consequences of such actions". 

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World

Trump Says Iran Wants a Deal

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with travel executives in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with travel executives in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Says Iran Wants a Deal

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with travel executives in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 2, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with travel executives in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 2, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran wanted to reach a deal with Washington, signaling a possible diplomatic opening as fighting across the Middle East widened and threatened global oil supplies.

"The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the USA will choose to engage - The concept of which we are open to," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He made his comments came after Gulf Arab states postponed a planned meeting with Iran and as the Houthis have made rapid advances in Yemen, including the capture of Mayyun Island at the mouth of the Red Sea on Friday.

Crude oil prices rose more than 4% on Monday when the market reopened after the weekend's developments, before paring some gains during US morning trade.

The politically sensitive average retail price of diesel in the United States hit a new all-time high above $6.23 a gallon.

Oman had been due to host a meeting on Monday with Iran and Gulf states to discuss ⁠negotiations aimed at reopening Hormuz, the world's most important oil shipping lane, largely closed since the US and ‌Israel attacked Iran at the end of February.

But Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi ‌announced overnight that the meeting had been postponed.

Iran meanwhile published a list of 77 ships ‌it said had violated its operating protocols in Hormuz and warned they could face fines, detention or confiscation on future transits.

US Energy Secretary ‌Chris Wright said on Monday the average number of ships crossing the strait covertly with US support was increasing. But independent monitors have suggested oil flows could have dropped off this month since fighting intensified again after a quiet August.

Trump, who attended a golf tournament at one of his resorts in Ireland, said over the weekend he expected the Iran war to end shortly after November's US midterm elections, after which oil prices would "drop like a rock".

World

Trump Says US Has Tools to Keep AI Safe, Concerns Part of ‘Sick Conspiracy’

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on Air Force One from Shannon, Ireland to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on Air Force One from Shannon, Ireland to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP)
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Trump Says US Has Tools to Keep AI Safe, Concerns Part of ‘Sick Conspiracy’

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on Air Force One from Shannon, Ireland to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on Air Force One from Shannon, Ireland to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP)

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US already has guardrails in place to regulate and prosecute AI companies, appearing to play down concerns expressed by industry leaders over the weekend about misuse of artificial intelligence.

"The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the USA has that, in spades!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that China would benefit from the doubt being cast on artificial intelligence development.

"We already ‌have tremendous CRIMINAL ‌and REGULATORY power over these companies! There is ‌a ⁠SICK conspiracy going ⁠on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China."

Alarm about the potential harm from AI grew last week when Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said he had resigned, and that the "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

AI-related stocks ⁠fell sharply worldwide on Monday after leaders of some ‌of the industry's largest companies called ‌for slowing the pace of the technology's development.

US Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia ‌Democrat and a leader on technology legislation, spoke with Anthropic ‌CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about the AI safety concerns over the weekend, his spokesperson told Reuters.

On Saturday, Amodei outlined a three-step framework intended to pace development and create more time to manage its ‌risks. The proposal was immediately endorsed by several other executives at major AI companies, including Elon Musk, ⁠who runs xAI, ⁠and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Trump said the tools intended to keep AI safe had already been used on Amodei.

"The Trump Administration has stopped AI 'people' from doing bad, or potentially bad, 'things,' like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a 'perfect little angel' — and we will continue to do so," Trump said.

The Republican president has resisted stirring concerns about artificial intelligence and has largely embraced AI companies in his second term.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Washington. Reuters previously reported that the two countries were planning a separate meeting in mid-September to discuss the risks of AI, led by lower-level government officials.

World

Trump Says Ukraine, Russia Agree Not to Hit Energy Targets

A rescuer works at a site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine September 13, 2026. (Reuters)
A rescuer works at a site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine September 13, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Says Ukraine, Russia Agree Not to Hit Energy Targets

A rescuer works at a site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine September 13, 2026. (Reuters)
A rescuer works at a site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine September 13, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump said Monday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy facilities, a day after he chastised Kyiv for hitting Russian oil refineries.

"Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!" Trump said on his Truth Social network.

"The World's Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran."

There was no immediate confirmation from Kyiv or Moscow of any deal.

Trump's claim comes as oil prices continue to soar in the seventh month of the Iran war, raising American fuel costs and inflation just weeks before crunch US midterm elections.

The US leader has insisted that the Iran war will finish immediately after the midterms and gas prices will drop, but has in the meantime apparently found a new target to blame for the cost at the pump.

Trump had lashed out at Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky during a trip to Ireland on Sunday, saying he had to do "one thing" and "stop knocking out diesel fuel" refineries in Russia due to growing shortages.

"Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he's causing a shortage of diesel," Trump said, again insisting the Russia-Ukraine war -- not the US-Israel conflict with Iran -- was to blame.

Trump added he had spoken to Ukraine's leader about the country's stepped-up attacks on such sites over recent months.

"There are plenty of other targets. Don't hit diesel fuel because that's hurting. That's hurting the world. We don't want him to hit diesel fuel... He's hitting diesel refineries."

Ukraine has hit numerous Russian oil refineries far from its border with Russia, while Moscow has also intensified its long-range attacks in recent months, leading to a jump in civilian deaths.

Kyiv has been firing record numbers of drones at Russia, while Moscow has been launching all-time high missile attacks.

Trump said last week he had a "great conversation" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, insisting that Putin wanted to make a deal to end Moscow's war on Ukraine.

Putin "is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice," Trump told reporters on Wednesday.

Zelensky said last week he would be willing to meet Putin at the G20 summit at Trump's own Doral resort in Miami in December, but the Kremlin immediately ruled it out.