Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) reported a magnitude-5.3 earthquake at 08:41 local time on Sept 21. The epicenter was 34 km northeast of Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, at a depth of 10 km. No tsunami risk expected.

On the 20th, Iran's parliament speaker Ghalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until Iran’s conditions are met. He rejected a binary choice between war and talks, saying Iran must resist firmly and negotiate authoritatively when appropriate. Ghalibaf said Iran has conveyed its conditions via intermediaries and warned that unless those conditions are met, Iran’s legitimate rights are acknowledged and U.S. commitments are fulfilled, there will be no return to prior negotiations or reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Sept 20 — Qingdao Municipal Housing Provident Fund announced one-time withdrawals from provident fund accounts may be used for home renovations for households owning self-occupied property in the city. Withdrawal amounts are calculated at a renovation unit price of 1,500 yuan per sq m, capped at 200,000 yuan per household; each household may withdraw against only one self-occupied property. Qualified families purchasing a second property will be treated as first-home buyers for fund purposes. Loan quotas for new city residents and young borrowers will be calculated at 25 times their account balance.