War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has discussed Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, three Israeli officials say, as tensions flare between the US and Iran, Reuters reports.

The officials did not provide further details about the meeting, first reported by Axios. The Pentagon has declined to comment. The Israeli prime minister’s office has not immediately responded to a request for comment.

Hegseth said in a social media post that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.

Israel’s Army Radio has reported his meeting with Netanyahu took place at an air force base in Israel’s southern desert.

Investment in alternative logistics routes in the Gulf to mitigate the impact of the Iran war could make the Strait of Hormuz “redundant” in the next five years, HSBC Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery says, Reuters reports.

The conflict has highlighted the world’s heavy reliance on the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade previously passed.

It is forcing Gulf nations to channel resources towards the development of energy pipelines to ports, investments that Elhedery says will allow the region to weather the fallout from the conflict.

“We do see this region being able to recover and then continue growing. It will mean a lot of investment,” the bank CEO says during the HSBC Future Forum event in Dubai.

“Of course, we do wish and hope to see a resolution to the conflict… But Hormuz, probably in five years’ time, may become redundant,” he has added.

Qatar says negotiations between Iran and the US are continuing, with both sides engaging in diplomatic efforts despite growing tensions and fears of renewed fighting, Al Jazeera reports.

“On the negotiations of the JCPOA, they are ongoing, we are seeing engagement from both parties,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari says at the Global Security Forum in Doha.

“The fact that we’re not hearing about it is a good sign that we’re doing our job properly,” he says, stressing the importance of confidential negotiations.

He adds that Doha stands firmly behind Riyadh amid the widening conflict.

“Qatar is supporting our brothers in Saudi Arabia in defending their sovereignty against this attack,” he has said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that it intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

The Revolutionary Guard said the drone was downed early Tuesday while flying over the strategic waterway, the news agency reported.

It claimed that the aircraft was the 54th US MQ-9 drone it had destroyed, according to the agency.

The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said, as tensions flare between the US and Iran, Reuters reports citing Axios.

The person did not say what the two men discussed during the meeting, first reported by Axios. The Pentagon declined to comment. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hegseth said in a social media post that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.

Israel’s Army Radio reported his meeting with Netanyahu took place at an air force base in Israel’s southern desert.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen warned the Houthi group against using traditional boats to smuggle weapons, missiles and military equipment into the country, citing risks to civilians and regional security, Anadolu reports.

The coalition’s Joint Forces Command stressed in a statement that the practice threatened security in Yemen and beyond.

It urged boat owners not to cooperate with the Houthis in transporting weapons and military equipment to Yemen’s coast, warning that their lives and property could be put at risk.

The statement gave no details of specific smuggling operations or intercepted weapons shipments.

Oil prices advanced, with Brent hovering around a five-month high as traders priced in a geopolitical risk premium from Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and reports of vessel attacks in the Gulf.

Brent crude futures climbed 55 cents, or 0.50 per cent, to $110.10 a barrel, after rising as high as $110.70 a barrel in the previous session to their highest since May 20.

The US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) contract for November delivery, set to expire on Tuesday, was up 0.24pc to $103.91. The more-active December contract rose 39 cents, or 0.40pc, to $98.93.

“Oil prices remain well-supported … This suggests the market is pricing in a significant risk premium, given the situation’s volatility,” ING analysts said in a note.

“However, if flows continue uninhibited despite the geopolitical environment, the risk premium would likely erode slowly. Clearly, there are no signs of this yet.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Russia and Iran have “never” worked so closely, as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role in the Middle East war.

Araghchi hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Iran, in his first visit since the outbreak of the conflict.

“We covered everything from Europe to West Asia, including Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine and Yemen. Also focused on expansion of economic and nuclear cooperation,” Araghchi wrote on X.

“Never in our history have Iran and Russia worked as closely as now.” Lavrov said ahead of the visit that Moscow’s efforts “aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war”, with talks stalled between the United States and Iran.

Iran’s foreign ministry has summoned Germany’s ambassador to Tehran, accusing Berlin of levelling “baseless political allegations” against the Islamic republic, AFP reports.

The move to summon ambassador Axel Dittmann was in retaliation for Germany’s own decision to summon the Iranian ambassador over accusations that Tehran was involved in a plot to assassinate pro-Israel public figures.

“Levelling security-related accusations against Iran has long been a tactic employed by the Zionist regime and certain Western nations,” Iran’s foreign ministry said, in a statement carried by official news agency IRNA.

“Attempting to provide a judicial face to baseless political claims not only fails to lend any credibility to such allegations but also undermines the standing of the German judiciary itself,” the statement added.

Oil prices have fallen as markets weighed an executive order from US President Donald Trump that waived some sanctions and tariffs tied to Russian energy exports, while attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemen kept fears of Middle East supply disruptions in view, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.45 per cent, to $109.06 a barrel by 0010 GMT. The US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) contract for November delivery, set to expire on Tuesday, eased 0.33pc to $103.32. The more-active December contract was down 46 cents, or 0.47pc, at $98.08.

Brent rose as high as $110.70 per barrel in the previous session, its highest since May 20.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge, Reuters reports.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the meeting, but Hegseth said in a social media post that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.

The Pentagon declined comment, while Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China’s crude oil imports from top supplier Russia stood at 9.94 million metric tons in September, or 2.4m barrels per day (bpd), up 20 per cent from a year earlier but down 11pc from the previous month, customs data shows, Reuters reports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says “sustainable security in the region must be ensured based on mutual trust, participation of regional countries, and respect for the legitimate interests of all parties”, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran is “ready to resolve existing issues and challenges through dialogue, understanding, and regional mechanisms”, he tells Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, adding “It is the interventions and divisive policies of the United States that have led to differences in our region.”

Pezeshkian says US military bases in the Middle East have no benefit and are “increasing tensions, intensifying disputes, and creating instability and insecurity”.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has criticised the US and Israel’s “unprovoked war” on the country during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tehran, Al Jazeera reports.

“The martyrdom of the Leader of the Revolution (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), commanders, scientists, students, and targeting our country’s infrastructure did not comply with any logic or legal or international standards, and these actions were taken while the Islamic Republic of Iran was on the path of dialogue and diplomatic engagement,” the IRNA news agency quotes him as saying.

Pezeshkian says Iran “does not accept a country that relies on power and means of pressure to impose its will and desires on other nations” and calls for a world based on mutual respect and constructivism, saying he believes Russia shares “common views and approaches with Iran in this regard”.

Brent crude futures are up slightly after attacks by the Houthis on a Yemeni military training camp and renewed attacks on Saudi energy, airport and military facilities, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are up 17 cents, or 0.15 per cent, to $110.03 a barrel as of 1708 GMT (10:08pm PKT), after falling more than $3 earlier in the session as investors booked profits following last week’s rally to a five-month high.

US West Texas Intermediate is up $1.68, or 1.66pc, to $103.09 a barrel in relatively thin trade ahead of the October 20 expiry of the front-month contract.

The Iranian navy claims that US forces attacked the Konarak naval base with “two light projectiles” early this morning, Al Jazeera reports.

Two Iranian soldiers were reportedly wounded in the strikes on the facility, located in a military complex in the country’s Sistan-Baluchistan province on the southeastern coast.

“The target of the American forces in the attack on the Iranian navy this morning was a 35mm cannon,” the navy claims.

Iran has summoned Germany’s ambassador to the foreign ministry over what it described as “baseless accusations”, Reuters reports citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Between 20 and 30 commercial aircraft have been destroyed during the US-Israeli war on Iran, the head of the country’s state-owned flag carrier says, Anadolu reports citing the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Taher Abdolhai, Chief Executive Officer of Iran Air, has said at a news conference that Iran needs approximately 1,000 passenger aircraft, but currently only has around 300.

Of those, between 130 and 140 aircraft were operational before the war, with 20 to 30 destroyed during the conflict, he adds.

Abdolhai also says between 70 and 80 aircraft were targeted during the war.

He claims Israeli attacks caused particularly severe damage to Iran Air aircraft, saying some planes belonging to other operators were struck by single missiles, while one of his carrier’s aircraft was completely destroyed.

The airline chief also says international sanctions and restrictions have gradually weakened Iran Air’s operations, reducing its operational fleet and limiting access to profitable routes. He cites difficulties obtaining spare parts, financial constraints and staffing challenges as major obstacles facing the airline.

More than 45 per cent of flight departures from Saudi Arabian airports have been cancelled since October 8, Reuters reports citing data from aviation analytics company Cirium.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have carried out several attacks against Saudi energy, airport and military targets, including an Aramco site in Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha airport, Reuters reports.

There was no immediate Saudi confirmation and Reuters could not immediately verify the claims.

Saudi Arabia has decided to postpone its flagship investment conference until next year, organisers confirm in a statement, Reuters reports.

The Future Investment Initiative, or FII, was planned for October 26 to 29, but will now take place in 2027 and a new date will be announced “very soon,” the organisers say.

Reuters reported earlier that the in-person event had been scrapped and organisers were weighing rescheduling.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country has stayed out of regional conflicts by resisting provocations and avoiding traps, crediting his government’s cautious and measured approach with helping the country navigate mounting instability across the region, Anadolu reports.

“We have kept our country away from the conflicts around us. We have not yielded to provocations. We have not fallen into traps or been drawn into provocations,” he says at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

“We have successfully managed all these difficult processes intelligently, patiently and with common sense.”

Major General Ali Abdollahi, the Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff, says that the US is “no longer the superpower it once claimed to be” since Iran remains united following Washington’s war on Tehran, state broadcaster Press TV reports.

“The US is no longer the superpower it once claimed to be; it has grown old,” he is quoted as saying. “[US President Donald] Trump tried everything but failed because the Iranian government and people remain united.”

He adds that no aggressor will be allowed to threaten Iran or violate its sovereignty.

Oil prices have slipped by more than $1 as investors take profits after prices climbed to multi-month highs last week, while keeping a close watch on conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and assessing the impact of US waivers on some sanctions and tariffs affecting Russian exports, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are down $1.72, or 1.6 per cent, to $108.14 a barrel as of 1427 GMT (7:27pm PKT), after settling at their highest since May 19 on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude is trading at $100.54 a barrel, down 87 cents, or 0.86pc, after ending last week at its highest since September 17.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has highlighted Pakistan’s mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, affirming that Islamabad “never gave up”.

Addressing the 8th Global Security Forum being held in Qatar’s capital, Doha, he notes, “The last few months have been very difficult for our region. The conflict involving Iran and the United States created serious risks not only for the Middle East, but for the entire world.”

He adds that at such a critical time, Pakistan chose the path of peace and made “every possible effort to reduce tensions”.

Naqvi, who has been involved in Islamabad’s peace efforts and has made several trips to Iran since the war began, says: “There were moments when the situation was extremely tense, but we never gave up.”

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