War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Israeli artillery fire targeted several areas of southern Lebanon this morning, including Mansouri, Majdal Zoun and Haddatha, Al Jazeera reports.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, says there is no evidence Iran has rebuilt nuclear sites damaged by US-Israeli strikes, but warns restricted access prevents verification, Al Jazeera reports.

THE fact that high officials from the Makkah defence pact partner states — Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye — were in Tehran on Monday made global headlines, and with good reason.

At a time when the clouds of war are once again hovering over the Gulf, the meeting sent a strong message that regional states with often competing agendas can come together and discuss their issues at the negotiating table. The event was also significant as the Makkah alliance has been seen as an alternative defence arrangement vis-à-vis Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’.

Pakistan was represented by the chief of defence forces, while significantly, Saudi Arabia sent its defence minister, a brother of the crown prince. This shows that Riyadh accorded the highest priority to the meeting. The official Iranian readout said the participants pledged to “continue the dialogue … for peace and security in the region.”

The event is also further proof of Pakistan’s constructive efforts in the diplomatic arena, as the meet-up was held after the CDF — who was in Tehran last week — suggested it.

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Faisal bin Farhan discussed efforts to contain the current regional crisis and prevent a wider escalation in a phone call on Tuesday, Egypt’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding that the ministers agreed to maintain close bilateral coordination, Reuters reports.

Egypt’s parliament authorised President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday to take “all necessary measures” to help Saudi Arabia defend itself, as fighting between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis intensified.

The US military has spent over $47 billion so far to prosecute the war in Iran, more than 25 per cent higher than the Defense Department’s estimate in July, according to Pentagon data obtained by Reuters.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its estimate, which has not been shared publicly.

The disclosure about the rising cost of the Iran war comes as Republicans wrestle with the political fallout of the unpopular conflict ahead of the November 3 election that will determine control of Congress for the next two years.

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Oil prices rose after an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, renewed concerns around the risks to supply in the Middle East stemming from the conflict with Iran and its proxies.

Brent crude futures rose $1.48, or 1.3 per cent, to $115.36 a barrel as of 0140 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.22 or 1.22pc to $101.12.

Prices were swinging back after dropping nearly $2 on Tuesday as talks in the Middle East helped ease supply worries.

That was despite data expected to show a rise in crude inventories in the US. Crude oil stockpiles rose by about 15,000 barrels in the week ended October 23, according to a poll of eight analysts by Reuters.

The Saudi-led coalition has said that air defences have intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards Taif.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, has said that US President Donald Trump’s “admission that he never believed in the Islamabad MoU and considered it a waste of time exposes the hollowness of their diplomatic commitments”.

“Washington’s contempt for diplomacy is once again laid bare,” Baqaei said in a post on X, adding that for Iran, this was nothing new.

“Washington has a long record of reneging on its commitments and treating international obligations as disposable whenever they become inconvenient.

“There is absolutely no justification for European states and other apologists for Washington to continue whitewashing US misconduct and shielding it from accountability. Broken commitments cannot be excused, international law cannot be applied selectively, and no amount of political spin can absolve Washington of accountability,” he said.

Trump had said during a recent rally in Mississippi, ““We did a little ceasefire, which I never liked very much. I considered it sort of a waste of time. But you know, you like to listen to professionals.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to form a new government after close elections, has said he could work with US President Donald Trump to eliminate the “existential threat” posed by Iran, reports AFP.

“Israel has a unique opportunity with our partner President Trump to forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran,” Netanyahu told reporters, after days of brandishing threats of a new bombing campaign against the cleric-run nation.

Iran’s Ambassador and Chargé d’Affaires to the United Nations Gholamhossein Darzi has criticised the silence of the Western members of the UN Security Council regarding crimes committed by the US and Israel against Iran, state-run IRNA reports.

He wondered why the UNSC was concerned about the absence of nuclear inspectors in Iran, while Israel, “possessing approximately 200 nuclear warheads, remains outside the IAEA safeguards” and should be the “real cause for concern”.

“Israel possesses nuclear weapons, yet your concern is the absence of inspectors in Iran,” he said.

Oil futures have fallen by more than $2 a barrel as traders focus on Middle East peace talks, though prices remain near their highest in six months as the Houthi-Saudi Arabia conflict rages on and investors worry about the potential for more fighting in the US-Israeli war with Iran, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are down $2.09, or 1.8 per cent, at $113.72 a barrel as of 1744 GMT (10:44pm PKT). US West Texas Intermediate crude is down $1.93, or 1.9pc, at $99.83.

Yemen’s government has rejected the Houthis’ claim that the group had thwarted the army’s advance into the area of the Bab al-Mandab strait, Al Jazeera reports.

The government confirmed that the operation to reclaim the strait is ongoing, with losses already inflicted on Houthi soldiers and equipment.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the Middle East can solve its problems without the involvement of the United States, AFP reports.

“I believe we are capable of resolving our problems in the region without relying on the United States,” Pezeshkian said at a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow.

Qatar has called for a new regional security framework underpinned by respect for state sovereignty, in the wake of a quadrilateral meeting between Iran and the three signatories of the Makkah pact, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.

In a statement, the director of the Qatari foreign ministry’s Media and Communication Department, Ibrahim Al Hashemi, calls for the framework while urging Iran to demonstrate its commitment to regional stability through concrete actions.

“The State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were working alongside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Mecca Defence Alliance to de-escalate tensions and help bring an end to the region’s current state of heightened tension,” Hashemi is quoted as saying.

“The State of Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states had repeatedly expressed their readiness to establish a regional security framework,” he says, adding that it is now up to Tehran to uphold the proposed principles and demonstrate good faith.

Saudi Arabia has lifted an emergency warning in the southern city of Abha, after authorities announced that the danger had passed, Anadolu reports.

The country’s National Early Warning Platform had earlier issued an alert warning residents of potential danger and urging them to follow safety instructions, not specifying the nature of the threat or provide further details.

In a subsequent alert, authorities confirm that the danger has passed in Abha, but have urged residents to continue following civil defence instructions and to strictly avoid gatherings and filming.

Residents have also been advised to contact emergency services if necessary.

Nearly 100 fighters have been killed in renewed clashes between Yemen’s government forces and the Houthis in the country’s southwest, military sources from both sides tell AFP.

At least 63 Houthi fighters and 34 pro-government combatants have died, mostly near the Bab al-Mandab strait, they add.

Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has met in Tehran with Houthi ambassador Ibrahim Mohammed al-Dailami to discuss the latest developments in Yemen, Al Jazeera reports citing Iranian state television.

According to the broadcaster, Rezaei says that the recent quadrilateral meeting hosted by Tehran between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia aimed to establish security arrangements among the region’s own states and secure the withdrawal of foreign forces, additionally addressing the interference of external powers in regional countries’ internal affairs.

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has urged Iran to provide the agency with the information and access needed to verify its previously declared nuclear material, including 440 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium, Anadolu reports.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says the agency continues to engage with Tehran, “seeking avenues to encourage it to clarify all remaining safeguards issues”.

“One area of particular concern is Iran’s previously declared nuclear material, which includes 440kg of high enriched uranium,” he adds, noting that the issues “have now been outstanding for more than five years”.

He recalls that the agency had to withdraw all its inspectors from Iran by the end of June 2025 for safety reasons after military attacks began.

“Inspectors have been available to return for many months now,” he says.

Saudi Arabia’s Directorate for Civil Defence says that debris from two ballistic missiles intercepted over Riyadh has damaged a building, a construction project and a vehicle.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree says that the group managed “to target Abha International Airport with a drone, and the strike was precise, leading to the disruption of air traffic at the airport”, according to a statement on X.

Oil futures have fallen as attention turns to Middle East peace talks, though prices remain near multi-month highs as the Houthis continue to attack Saudi Arabia and the potential for fresh US-Israeli attacks hangs over the market, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are down $1.00, or 0.86 per cent, at $114.81 a barrel as of 1311 GMT (6:11pm PKT). US West Texas Intermediate crude is down 78 cents, or 0.77pc, at $100.98.

Several social media users, including pro-Houthi accounts based on their past posts, have been sharing an image since yesterday, allegedly showing the Saudi defence minister kissing the hand of the Iranian president amid a meeting.

However, the image is old and edited using AI.

A reverse image search of the viral photo yielded an Arab News report from July 3 this year, covering the funeral procession of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The viral image depicts the Saudi official kissing the Iranian president’s hand, whereas the original image shows him simply shaking hands with the president.

Investigating the image also found several visual discrepancies, such as deformities around the Saudi official’s fingers and hand as he kisses the Iranian president’s hand.

AI-detection tool Hive Detect reported a 99 per cent likelihood of AI generation, while DeepAI and TruthScan also indicated a 90pc likelihood that the image was edited using AI.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have attacked the Saudi defence ministry in Riyadh, according to the group’s spokesperson.

“Our armed forces targeted the Saudi enemy’s Ministry of Defence in the capital, Riyadh, with a ballistic missile, and the strike was direct,” he writes on X.

Saudi Arabia has yet to issue confirmation.

US Central Command (Centcom) has rejected claims by Iran’s navy that American warships have “abandoned” the Strait of Hormuz and moved “hundreds of ‘kilometres’ away”.

“US forces deployed to the Middle East remain present and vigilant in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, as demonstrated by the Centcom commander this weekend,” the military says in a statement posted on X. “US forces and regional partners control the international waterway — clearly not Iran.”