War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Israeli army has carried out artillery shelling and a demolition in the village of Bani Haiyyan in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese media, with no casualties reported.

Qatar, the lead mediator in the US-Iran conflict, is seeking to persuade Tehran to allow UN nuclear weapons inspectors to visit Iran’s bombed nuclear sites, including those housing the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, The Guardian reports.

Iran would not be required to make any commitment that the stockpile would be removed from the country, with other options on the table, including reducing the uranium content by down-blending it.

Iran’s Armed Forces have control over the Strait of Hormuz, which will remain closed until the United States accepts Tehran’s conditions, Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia has said.

Speaking Friday evening at a ceremony in Pishva County, Tehran Province, honoring commanders and pilots killed in the June 5, 1963 uprising, he said Iran’s Army, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Law Enforcement Command were better prepared after direct confrontation with the United States and the Israeli regime.

He said public support had boosted military morale. Before the war, about 130 ships crossed the strait daily, carrying 20 percent of global oil, plus jet fuel and chemical fertilisers.

Egyptian FM Badr Abdelatty says that he has discussed with Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud the need to sustain joint efforts to prevent escalation, restore calm, and pursue the path of negotiations during a phone call, Al Jazeera reports.

Spokesperson for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi has reacted to remarks by the commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) about the transformation of multimillion-dollar American MQ drones into kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles.

In the latest episode of a podcast produced by CENTCOM, Brad Cooper said he would explain how the US military “turned our highly advanced multimillion-dollar MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones into kamikaze drones.”

Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted, destroyed Houthi cruise missile that targeted Riyadh region, Anadolu reports.

Iran’s air defence force has shot down two US MQ-9 drones over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state-run Press TV reports.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported earlier that local witnesses said two projectiles hit the Suza area of Qeshm Island.

Qatar’s Prime Minister said the country’s mediation efforts between the US and Iran were continuing to prevent the situation in the region from spiraling out of control, Al Jazeera TV reports.

The US administration remained willing to find a solution even after the midterm elections, signalling that Washington’s interest in reaching an agreement had not changed, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

Significant progress had been made and Al-Thani expressed confidence that a settlement could be reached.

Washington is offering a $20 million reward “and possible relocation” for information about Iran’s nuclear program, the US military said, as President Donald Trump reiterated Tehran wants to make a deal to end the war.

A State Department program, Rewards for Justice, “is offering a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran’s nuclear program, including its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community,” US Central Command said on X.

In its statement about the reward, the State Department said Iran’s “lack of compliance with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on safeguards obligations has led to the agency’s loss of ‘continuity of knowledge’ regarding Iran’s production and inventory of key components like centrifuges.

It gave no specific parameters on what information would yield a $20 million reward.

Iran’s military is “stronger” and more motivated than it was when the United States and Israel started the war in February, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, citing an army spokesman.

“Today, the Islamic Republic’s armed forces… having gained experience from direct confrontation with the United States and the Israeli regime, are on higher alert and are stronger than they were at the beginning of the war. They now possess greater motivation, commitment, and self-confidence,” Mohammad Akraminia said, according to the state news agency IRNA.

Qatar has refuted “false and misleading” reports quoting its prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, as saying that the US and Iran had failed to reach an agreement.

“His Excellency’s remarks have been deliberately distorted by those who benefit from continued war and instability in our region,” an official statement by Qatar’s media office said.

“Many of these claims are being spread by fake accounts trying to undermine diplomatic efforts and push for further escalation. This is deeply irresponsible.”

The statement noted that the Qatari PM said both sides were continuing to work towards a deal.

“Qatari mediators remain in close coordination with the United States and Iran to support ongoing negotiations.”

The United States has issued new Iran-related sanctions, a notice on the US Treasury Department’s website shows, according to Reuters.

US President Donald Trump told reporters his administration was talking to representatives from Tehran, adding “we are doing very well with Iran”, Reuters reports.

Iran’s ambassador to Germany has criticised European countries’ positions regarding the US and Israel’s aggression against Iran, urging them to take responsibility for their decisions, state-run IRNA reports.

“Europeans apparently have forgotten that by resorting to the snapback mechanism instead of diplomacy, they paved the way for aggression against Iran, the victimisation of innocent people, and the Strait of Hormuz crisis,” Majid Nili said on Friday.

“Israel and, in fact, the entire Middle East, WOULD NOT EXIST TODAY if I did not stop Iran from having a Nuclear Weapon,” US President Donald Trump has claimed on his Truth Social platform.

“Nobody wants to say that, but everybody knows it’s true!”

The Foreign Office has said all 25 crew members on board Al Maida, a Qatari LNG carrier struck last week, remained safe in the incident.

FO Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan, responding to a query, said Pakistanis were among the crew of the vessel, which was hit while “transiting eastbound through the Persian Gulf in international waters”.

“The incident caused a small fire on board, but all crew members remained unharmed,” he said, adding that the vessel returned to Qatar.

“The concerned Pakistani authorities are coordinating with the relevant parties to establish further details of the incident,” he added, noting that although the incident had caused a small fire on the tanker, no one was harmed.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Saudi airstrikes killed 30 people at a market, while local authorities accused the group of carrying out the attack, AFP reports.

The Houthis said “several strikes” hit the market in an area under their control in Taiz province, the scene of fierce fighting since the group launched a major offensive in September.

“Saudi enemy aircraft targeted the market in Al-Waziya city with several strikes,” the Houthis’ health ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi said in remarks carried by their Saba news agency.

A health ministry statement said 30 people were killed and eight wounded, adding that rescue teams were searching for bodies under the rubble.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the strikes were fired from a plane that took off from the Saudi base of Khamis Mushait.

Houthis have established a body to issue permits for vessels transiting the Red Sea, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reports.

“Ship captains are required to declare that they have no ties to the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, or Saudi Arabia,” IRIB said on X.

Syria is aiding Riyadh with military advice and training as Saudi Arabia comes under attack by Yemen’s Houthis, and has sent a limited number of military personnel to the kingdom, Reuters reports citing two Syrian military sources and a senior US official.

The senior US official says advisers and training teams from Syria — where fighters became battle-hardened through years of war — were travelling to Saudi Arabia to help train Saudi and Yemeni units inside the kingdom to improve their combat effectiveness.

The two Syrian sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter, say scores of military personnel have gone from Syria to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. They add that advisory and training work is involved, but that their mandate could be broader.

In response to a request for comment, a senior Syrian diplomat says, “Any suggestion of military deployments at this stage is premature” and that Syria’s focus remains on internal security, protecting its borders and reconstruction.

They add that a Syrian-Saudi defence cooperation deal signed on Wednesday “specifically includes advisory support, training and exchange of expertise”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has discussed the latest developments and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions in separate phone calls with his Tunisian and Iraqi counterparts, according to state news agency IRNA.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim Saudi strikes on a vegetable market in Taiz Province on Friday killed 20 people, while local authorities accuse the group of being behind the attack, AFP reports.

“Saudi enemy aircraft targeted with several missiles the vegetable market in Al-Waziya city, resulting in the death of 20 citizens and the injury of 10 others,” Houthi health ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi says in remarks carried by the Saba news agency.

Local authorities, however, blame the strikes on the Houthis and say “military aircraft did not launch any aerial operations”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says regional countries sharing a common vision of peace can join the Makkah Defence Alliance, Anadolu reports.

Fidan has made the remarks in an article titled ‘The Role of Regional Ownership in Our Foreign Policy: the Makkah Defense Alliance’, written for the November issue of Anadolu’s monthly magazine, AA Briefing.

Fidan writes that Turkiye signed the agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia because they share its vision of “regional solutions to regional problems”, adding that the alliance aims to contribute to regional stability by strengthening deterrence.

He stresses that the global governance system is going through a turbulent period and that the Middle East is at the centre of global challenges.

“The Makkah Defence Alliance lies at the intersection of our strategic foreign policy priorities, which can be summarised as strengthening regional peace and stability, supporting development and prosperity, expanding the institutional framework of our foreign relations, and contributing to the transformation of the global system,” Fidan writes.

Iranian media, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, says Iranian air defences destroyed a US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

There has been no immediate confirmation from the United States.

Oil prices are set for a sharp weekly fall after the election losses of US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party raise hopes of a de-escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran and a stock market sell-off, though attacks on vessels in the Middle East continue to provide a floor to crude, Reuters reports.

In a whiplash see-saw session, Brent crude futures for January are up 26 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $98.55 a barrel, as of 1346 GMT (6:46pm PKT). US West Texas Intermediate futures have edged up by 57 cents, or 0.6pc, to $91.09.

One seafarer was killed in an explosion believed to have been caused by a missile attack on an oil products tanker in the Gulf on Thursday, Reuters reports citing the ship’s manager.

The tanker MT Velos was sailing unladen towards Bahrain when it was hit, Greek management firm Velos Tankers says in a statement.

“The company is greatly saddened to report the death of one of its seafarers, who was found fatally injured on board after having initially been reported missing in the aftermath of the explosion,” it adds.