BIG: Saudi Arabia asked China to privately pressure Iran into restraining the Houthis after their seizure of Yemen's Red Sea coast and Bab al-Mandeb.

Three Iranian sources say Beijing passed the message to Tehran — going beyond its public calls for restraint.

Iran's response: regional stability depends on ending the US-Israeli war against us first.

China issued no threats and didn't leverage its economic power over Tehran.

Source: Reuters

Mike Pence:

I looked at Trump as I got up from our meeting and I said, "Mr. President, I want you to know. I’m praying for you."

And he looked at me and he said, "Don’t bother."

Mike Pence on Trump:

President Trump was not just my president, he was my friend.

We forged a close working relationship over those years. Truly did. I mean, some people think we’re a little bit different.

I told people actually, if you think about it, other than a whole lot of zeros, Donald Trump and I had a lot in common.

Claims that Xi Jinping fainted or had a stroke at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi turned out to be fake.

India's MEA issued an official "Fake Alert", calling the posts "malicious."

The rumors originated from a Chinese exile opposition figure and spread after Xi skipped a gala dinner and a video showed Modi pausing during remarks (later explained as Xi signaling about a lost earpiece translation feed, not a medical issue).

Xi attended both days, met Modi bilaterally, departed on schedule, and returned to Beijing.

South Africa's Ramaphosa separately confirmed resting on medical advice after returning, but didn't link it to the summit.

Polish PM Donald Tusk:

You know what kind of borders we have, so Poland’s presence is necessary.

I would sometimes prefer that Poland did not have to be present so much in these decisions.

But in politics, you do not choose the time and place.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language we speak, no one is going to dictate our culture or with whom we can strike agreements internationally.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Canada is not in a position nor seeking to become a full member of the European Union.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Our alliance with the EU is a positive process. That’s my response to Trump. It’s a positive thing.

A stronger, more resilient, more sovereign Canada will be a more effective partner with the United States. And the same would go for the European Union.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee claims that Hamas “cut the heads off of babies” and “put other babies in an oven while they were alive.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee:

If something similar to October 7 had happened in America, scaled up to our population, it would have been the equivalent of 40,000 American citizens being murdered in a single day.

It would have also meant 10,000 people being taken hostage, starved, raped, beaten, abused, and kept in the dark in tunnels for up to two years.

General Motors has entered the missile supply chain, producing components for Lockheed Martin’s Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors as the U.S. seeks to replenish depleted weapons stocks.

GM delivered its first batch of missile-housing components in August.

Source: WSJ

Saudi civil defense confirmed a Houthi drone was intercepted over Taif, but falling debris killed one Yemeni resident and injured a Saudi woman and a Pakistani resident (critical condition).

Several buildings and vehicles were also damaged.

Satellite imagery shows Houthis have dug roughly 20 km of trenches in the mountains around Bab al-Mandab between Sept 8-16.

Time-lapse comparisons clearly show new earthworks appearing across the hillsides.

The trenches serve a dual purpose: defending against any Saudi-backed counteroffensive to retake the coast, and providing observation posts overlooking the shipping channel.

Houthi Leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi:

We are facing an ongoing aggression and an unjust siege. We are in the 12th year, and the Saudi enemy continues to carry it out with U.S. oversight and Zionist support.

During the period of de-escalation, the Saudi regime did not seriously move toward peace. Instead, it used this period to tighten its measures and build military formations.

We are in a position of necessary defense. We were not the ones who started the aggression against Saudi Arabia.

Houthi Leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi:

The escalation began with the Saudi enemy’s bombing of Sanaa airport. Saudi Arabia has been the initiator of aggression at every stage without any legitimate justification.

The aggression that began in 2015 was an unjust attack against our people, and the aggressors continued this hostile campaign.

The Saudi enemy targeted everything in our country and showed no respect for any sanctity.

It killed thousands of children, women and civilians, and attacked homes, markets, hospitals, schools and mosques.

Houthi Leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi:

The siege remains one of the main problems with the Saudi enemy, which insists on closing airports and imposing unjust restrictions on imported goods.

The Saudi enemy continues the siege and continues to pressure our people.

The false propaganda and terrible accusations were an essential part of the Saudi aggression against our people, aimed at distorting their image.

Houthi Leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi:

The Saudi accusations against our people of targeting Mecca are a major, ugly and extremely shameful lie.

Some countries mourn the holy sites while they are the ones abandoning the sanctities of Muslims and failing the Islamic nation.

Their relations with the Saudi regime are based on material interests and petrodollars.

Houthi Leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi to Saudi Arabia:

What have you actually done for the Palestinian cause? You have provided trillions of dollars from which weapons were supplied to the Israeli enemy.

You provided oil, while its aircraft moved with the fuel you supplied to kill the Palestinian people.

The real threat to the holy sites is the Jewish Zionist enemy, which is clear about its plans.

Yet you try to shift the focus toward those who are more sincere and devoted in defending this nation and its sanctities.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call ahead of an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Trump on September 24.

Wang said China and the U.S. should prepare for “the next stage of high-level interactions in the spirit of equality, respect and reciprocity,” while calling for stronger communication, cooperation and management of differences.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon:

Israel reached significant agreements with Morocco to enhance diplomatic ties by establishing embassies in both countries to facilitate economic cooperation and mutual investment and to expand direct flights between our countries.

The Jewish people have deep historical roots in Morocco. As our nations grow closer together, these achievements will benefit both countries.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon:

If someone should be arrested, it is Mayor Mamdani for actually collaborating with the enemies of the United States.