Tehran, Sep 27: The Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) denied in a statement that Iran would take military retaliatory action in response to the recent aviation restrictions imposed on the country, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The SNSC issued the statement in response to certain “misleading” interpretations and quotes from recent remarks by its Secretary Mohsen Rezaei regarding the air transport issue, which have given rise to questions and ambiguities.

It said the claim that Iran would resort to military retaliation in response to recent aviation restrictions was rejected, adding that negotiations with relevant countries were being pursued seriously to remove certain “illegal” aviation restrictions, Xinhua news agency reported.

The SNSC underlined that there were numerous non-military ways to retaliate against those complying with the restrictions, which could be applied to certain airports if necessary, while expressing hope that the situation would not reach that point.

Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world” from Wednesday, threatening to impose secondary sanctions on companies that provide them with aviation services.

He told broadcaster CNBC that when Iranian carriers land at an airport, “you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets, or you will be knocked out of the dollar system.”

In an interview with state-run IRIB TV on Wednesday hours after the US sanctions on Iranian airlines took effect, Rezaei called on countries, especially Iran’s neighbors, not to join the U.S. “adventurism” as it would soon be doomed to failure.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and is likely to resume bombing Tehran after the November midterm elections in the US.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had rejected the proposal, citing US officials familiar with the matter.

Trump, who has vowed that Iran will never acquire a nuclear bomb, was sceptical that Tehran would meet his demands and considers a renewed bombing campaign likely, according to the report.

He also posted an image on his Truth Social platform showing a map with the Strait of Hormuz circled and labelled “Trump Strait.”

Moscow, Sep 26: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that an escalation of tensions would not achieve the outcome sought by Kyiv and could only worsen the situation in Ukraine.

“They must understand that no provocative acts or escalation of tensions will deliver the outcome they seek. Such moves will only make the situation worse for them,” Putin said at a press briefing on Friday.

He said Russia’s military responses had prompted Kiev to seek ceasefire arrangements covering several areas, including attacks on energy facilities and airstrikes, Xinhua news agency reported.

Russia has begun responding to what he described as actions taken by Ukraine, including an alleged bid to impose a naval blockade and strikes on storage facilities and civilian infrastructure, he said, adding that, according to Russian assessments, Ukraine had damaged more than 100 vessels in the Black Sea.

Earlier this month, Moscow said that sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas exports will not revive relations with the United States or lead to peace with Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump signed the Russia sanctions bill into law. The legislation targets Russia’s energy and defence industries, as well as its “shadow fleet” of tankers.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has largely adapted to the sanctions and found ways to minimise their impact, adding that the country’s trading partners oppose such restrictions.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he President Trump had agreed to meet in New York, and said Ukraine was ready to take serious steps towards peace in coordination with the American team.

“We agreed to meet in New York, and this meeting could change a lot. There is diplomatic momentum,” Zelensky said in a post on X after speaking with Trump.

Washington, Sep 25: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping used military honours, conciliatory language and a lavish White House dinner to steady the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship. But their day in Washington produced a framework for managing rivalry, not a settlement of it.

The visit’s central achievement was political choreography.

Trump personally received Xi at Joint Base Andrews, an unusual courtesy for a visiting head of state. A red carpet, US service members and a flyover by two B-1 bombers gave the arrival both grandeur and an unmistakable display of American power.

The next morning brought another formal welcome at the White House. Trump called their relationship a “truly great friendship” built on “mutual respect and the vital interests of our people”.

He said their talks would cover security, technology and “superintelligence”.

Xi answered with the language of guardrails. He called for candid dialogue, greater government-to-government contact and regular military communication.

“China and the United States must hold the line of no conflict and no confrontation between us,” Xi said.

That sentence captured the summit better than its ceremonial excess.

Neither leader suggested that the competition over advanced computer chips, artificial intelligence, military power or influence in Asia had disappeared. Xi said competition should be “healthy” and “kept within bounds”. Trump stressed their common interests.

Trade supplied the clearest immediate result.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a tariff truce, due to expire in November, had been extended until January 10. The arrangement keeps some US tariffs suspended while China maintains supplies of rare-earth minerals needed by American manufacturers.

It buys time. It is not the larger economic bargain both governments say they want.

The Wall Street Journal reported before the meeting that semiconductor export controls, one of Washington’s strongest sources of leverage, were not on the agenda. Agriculture and lower-technology trade offered easier ground.

Artificial intelligence exposed the same pattern.

Xi said the two countries had “the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good” and ensure its development remained under human control. US officials have discussed an incident-notification channel, effectively an AI hotline.

No binding AI agreement or verification system was announced.

The gap between tone and substance was also visible on Taiwan, Iran and human rights. These are issues on which the two governments’ interests sharply diverge. Yet the public remarks offered no new formula on Taiwan, no clear Chinese commitment on Iran and no announced progress on detained Americans or political prisoners.

For Trump, the summit showcased his preference for leader-to-leader diplomacy. For Xi, the full honours demonstrated that Washington received China as an equal despite deep distrust.

The Washington Post described the airport reception as a rare gesture. The New York Times reported criticism that Trump was giving Xi unusually deferential treatment.

As the presidents met, Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan visited the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, extending the day’s carefully planned cultural diplomacy.

The state dinner completed the message. American technology executives filled the room. Trump presented Xi with a bald-eagle sculpture and toasted “a future of harmony, peace, and success”.

Xi said their talks had produced “common understanding on many issues”, but did not identify a major new agreement. He argued that China’s national rejuvenation and Trump’s effort to make America great again “can surely be mutually reinforcing”.

Trump and Xi restored ceremony, high-level contact and a vocabulary for coexistence. The rivalry remains. What changed was their joint effort to keep it from becoming uncontrollable.

India has a direct stake in that effort. New Delhi’s border dispute with Beijing, participation in the Quad and dependence on global technology, energy and mineral supply chains make the course of US-China relations important for its security and economy.

Trump and Xi had met seven times before the Washington summit, including encounters in Florida, Germany, Argentina, Japan, South Korea and Beijing. Xi’s latest trip was his second formal state visit to the United States and his first visit to Washington in more than a decade.