Iranian state media said the foreign minister met US presidential envoy Witkoff during the UN General Assembly and conveyed "strict" conditions to the US. Iran said reopening the Strait of Hormuz would require the immediate lifting of any maritime blockade, immediate release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to all wars on "resistance" fronts.

Newsweek on Sept. 21 cited Ukrainian military statements saying Ukraine airdropped suicide ground robots into Russian rear areas in northern Donetsk. Ukraine’s Third Corps said on Telegram on Sept. 20 it executed a flanking maneuver and carried out what it called the world’s first ground-robot deployment, claiming the robots — flown by heavy strike UAVs more than 10 km into enemy rear — “blinded” Russian drones via air-defence and electronic-warfare measures. Third Corps commander Brig. Gen. Andriy Biletsky said his unit was the first to airdrop the systems. The Russian Defence Ministry had no immediate comment; Newsweek said it had contacted the ministry.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio, speaking on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, said he is concerned that vessels linked to the United States could be targeted.