War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The US president says he has ruled out striking Iran today, Al Jazeera reports.

Asked whether the US strikes could resume as soon as today as he departed the White House for Michigan, Trump said: “Would I tell you that?

“The answer is no, there will not be a strike today.”

US President Donald Trump has said that he’s deciding between reaching an agreement with Tehran and taking action to “finish them off”, after suggesting on Friday that Washington “may do another little Epic Fury”, CBS News reports.

“Now, my question is, do I make a deal with them, or do I finish them off?” said Trump in an interview with Fox News’ ‘Sunday Morning Futures’.

He also claimed that the US now controls the Strait of Hormuz and criticised former president Barack Obama for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump withdrew from during his first term.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Iran and its allies might try to disrupt Tuesday’s Israeli elections, warning Tehran against any hostile acts.

“We have intelligence signs that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his office, noting the military was ready for both defensive and offensive operations.

“Don’t test us. You will suffer disproportionate blows.”

Flights have resumed at Riyadh’s international airport following a series of deadly attacks on the facility that saw it closed for two weeks, even as Houthis targeted the country with strikes, AFP reports.

King Khalid International Airport’s website showed several domestic and international flights scheduled today, including arrivals to the kingdom from Dubai, Paris and Cairo.

The renewed operations at the airport came as explosions rattled Riyadh earlier in the day, after a text message was sent to residents warning of a hostile threat targeting the city.

Saudi officials did not provide additional information when asked by AFP about the scope of the renewed operations at the airport.

But the tracking website Flightradar24 showed a small number of flights had departed, though the vast majority were cancelled.

The Israeli military has carried out another attack on southern Lebanon, the National News Agency reports according to Al Jazeera.

The air strike targeted the town of Baraachit in Nabatieh governorate’s Bint Jbeil district.

The 2027 Dakar Rally will be moved from Saudi Arabia “following recent developments in the region”, organisers say according to AFP, after repeated attacks on the kingdom by Yemen’s Houthis.

“Dakar 2027 will go ahead. The 2027 edition will take place in a different territory and will be organised by ASO,” which runs the Dakar along with Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC), a statement said. A new location will be announced in the coming days.

Pope ‌Leo XIV has called for an end to the violence in Yemen ⁠as ⁠he addressed the faithful from the window over St Peter’s Square, Al Jazeera reports.

He said he was particularly concerned about the humanitarian situation in the southwestern Yemeni city of Taiz, “where the population suffers due to ⁠the lack of food, water and medical assistance”.

“I’m making a heartfelt appeal for the hostilities to stop so that the people in Yemen and across the entire region can live in peace,” he said.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reports, citing OSINT military account BeamTracker, that an explosion has been reported in the Strait of Hormuz.

The explosion was caused by the launch of an anti-ship cruise missile, initial reports said.

Two people were injured by falling shrapnel after the interception of two ballistic missiles launched by Houthis in Saudi’s Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah, according to the Saudi Civil Defence.

Qatari mediators are in Tehran today as part of an effort to de-escalate regional tensions in coordination with the United States, an official briefed on the situation has told Reuters.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces re-election this week, is drawing criticism from economists and political rivals after suggesting Israel could use cryptocurrency to help shield its economy from potential international sanctions, Reuters reports.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 on Friday, Netanyahu said he was preparing for a scenario in which broader sanctions were imposed on Israel.

“There could be sanctions, and sanctions on banks so you need to set up a bypass economy,” Netanyahu said. “You know, there are currencies that can bypass (sanctions). We are also working on that.”

Asked whether he was referring to cryptocurrency, Netanyahu replied: “Very true, very true,” adding that blockchain technology was another possibility.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said the US is wrong to believe that “by using media pressure tactics or military threats” it can force Iran “to submit”, Al Jazeera reports.

“They fail to realise that the Iran of today is not the Iran of the humiliating Pahlavi era. Rather, it is an impregnable fortress of self-belief, defensive might and iron-clad resolve that will never permit any foreign power to dictate terms regarding the honour of this land,” he was quoted as saying.

“The Americans entered a quagmire due to their own miscalculations, and it is up to them to take the necessary steps to extricate themselves.”

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has held a phone call with Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Al Jazeera reports.

Al Thani discussed diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and “promote security and stability” in the region.

Fidan highlighted efforts to reach “a solution that ensures freedom of maritime navigation” and an agreement on “sustainable peace in the region”.

The Saudi Civil Defence agency has lifted potential danger alerts issued for the regions of Taif and Jazan via mobile phones at 12:53pm (09:53 GMT or 2:53pm PKT), Al Jazeera reports.

“The danger has passed. … For your safety please continue to follow the instructions at civil defence and avoid gatherings and photography at all costs,” it said in a statement.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has called for a campaign to cut gas consumption by at least 10 per cent, with officials anticipating shortages as winter approaches, AFP reports.

Winter in Iran often sees temperatures drop below freezing, especially in the country’s north.

“To get through the approaching winter, a nationwide effort is essential … to reduce gas consumption by at least 10pc,” said Ghalibaf in a video carried by Iranian media.

Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf says Iran is prepared to meet any violation of its territorial integrity with a response beyond its enemy’s imagination, asserting that the country will not be intimidated by threats of all-out war or assassination, Press TV reports.

“We will not be intimidated, and we are ready to deliver a response beyond the enemy’s imagination to any violation of the territorial integrity of our great Iran,” the top legislator said while addressing the opening of a parliamentary session.

“Threats of an all-out war or assassination will not force the Iranian nation to back down from its rights and interests,” he added.

Ghalibaf argued that it was the United States that bogged itself down in a quagmire through its miscalculations and unprovoked war against Iran, and now it is the Americans who have to take the necessary steps to extricate themselves.

“Until the Americans change their behaviour, abandon their bullying and rapacious ways, and make tangible, concrete, and genuine amends in practice for their violated commitments, none of their claims will carry even the slightest credibility for the Islamic Republic,” he stated. “Iran has nothing new to say.”

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has said that it intercepted 10 ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards the kingdom’s southern region, AFP reports.

“Interception and destruction of 10 ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region,” Turki Al-Malki said in a post on X.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis has intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile launched by the Houthis towards Saudi’s Khamis Mushait, according to the spokesperson for the coalition, Turki al-Maliki.

Houthi forces are advancing on Jabal Sabr, the strategic mountain overlooking Taiz, Al Jazeera’s correspondent on the ground reports.

Houthi fighters have besieged the city and cut off the main road to Aden, which serves as the interim capital of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

The UN has warned that “time is running out” to deliver aid to the 800,000 people trapped inside the city.

Most Gulf bourses fall in early trade on Sunday, with investors unsettled by intensifying clashes between Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index has declined 1.1 per cent, weighed down by a 1.2pc fall for oil behemoth Saudi Aramco .

In Qatar, the index has eased 0.3pc, with Qatar National Bank — the Gulf’s biggest lender — losing 1.1pc.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that “foreign players” should not be in the region as they are only “seeking security of the Israeli regime”, state-run Press TV reports.

According to the report, Araghchi said Israeli regime seeks to weaken regional countries. “Any security plan originating from within region itself is welcomed,” he added.

A US LUCAS drone was shot down over Bandar Abbas by the Iranian army’s air defence systems, state-run Press TV reports.

Iran’s armed forces attacked bases belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in Iraq’s Kurdistan region using drones, a media outlet in Tehran reported, according to AFP.

“As part of a drone operation carried out by the Revolutionary Guards’ ground forces, the headquarters of the terrorist and separatist group Komala, located in the Balisan region, was targeted last night,” AFP reports, citing the Mehr news agency.

At least 40 Iranian sailors from US-sanctioned oil tankers anchored just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters have sought urgent medical treatment on the island, officials said, according to AFP.

The merchant sailors were brought ashore through the port of Galle, 115 kilometres (72 miles) south of the capital Colombo, over the weekend, officials said.

Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry confirmed that it had coordinated the ship-to-shore transfer of Iranian sailors in need of urgent care.

“We have coordinated the transfer and carried out our humanitarian obligations,” ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo told AFP. “The costs were borne by the Iranian embassy.”