🌆 COMBATE Evening Roundup | September 28, 2026

• Trump eyes new Iran talks this week, keeps strikes "always" on the table — "They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want," he told Axios, a day after rejecting Tehran's plan. Axios says a new indirect round could start Monday via Qatari shuttle diplomacy; a source close to Iran's negotiating team denied it.

• Araghchi: no reason to return to US diplomacy, ready for "doomsday war" — Citing US attacks mid-negotiation in 2025 and 2026, Iran's foreign minister said Tehran stands firm against any new aggression yet stays open to real diplomacy, offering to reopen Hormuz if Washington releases frozen assets and respects Iran's rights.

• Yemen fires new missile wave at Riyadh — Four explosions shook the Saudi capital and Yemeni sources reported a heavy strike deep into Saudi soil, met with Saudi silence. Yemen downed a Saudi Karial spy drone over Hajjah; Saudi jets flew 26 sorties in 24 hours — 1,085 attacks since the escalation began.

• US coalition hands all Iraq bases to local forces; Turkey to follow — Baghdad announced the transfer's completion, with a separate accord returning Turkish bases to the Iraqi army. A drone strike hit a separatist party HQ in Koysanjaq, Erbil, and the airport halted flights; Najaf reopens to Iranian jets on Wednesday.

• IRGC calls Hormuz its "hunting ground" as the strait sits empty — The Guard identified its latest catch as an Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish AUV; satellite images show no ships on the route — five transits last weekend versus 31 a week earlier. Ghalibaf: "either the oil market is stupid, or America is lying."

• Seized Iranian tankers sail for Texas — Bloomberg tracked the Tifani, Majestic X and Lenore across the Atlantic toward US forfeiture proceedings; trackers count six million barrels worth $600 million bound for America.

• Bessent: China cut Iran aid, two weeks of oil sales left — Only 15 million barrels remain on the water, with final deliveries to China within two weeks, he said. Al Mayadeen reported the Pentagon quietly added 37 troops to its wounded list from the Iran war.

• Trump hails Fairford arrests, cites "massive damage" plot — He said the five detainees were long watched; UK counter-terror police reportedly view an Iran link as the leading theory, alongside Russian sabotage.

• Vucic resigns as Serbian president — He quit seven months early ahead of October 25 parliamentary elections, pardoning 49 people on his final full day.

• Qassem: not one inch of Lebanon ceded — Marking two years since Nasrallah's killing, Hezbollah's leader offered talks on the arms question only after Israel leaves the south, saying seven rounds of direct talks produced "below zero."

📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260928-0000Z-09-28

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