War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Saudi Arabia plans to move ahead with a major investment conference in Riyadh despite Houthi attacks on the kingdom, offering on-site and virtual attendance as well as alternative air and land travel routes, diplomatic sources tell AFP.

The kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute hosts an annual forum dubbed “Davos in the desert”, which usually draws foreign leaders and business titans, and this year it is scheduled to be held in Riyadh from Oct 26 to 29.

Diplomatic sources say that to prevent cancellation, organisers reached out to embassies and foreign companies to explore “hybrid” participation options, allowing officials and business executives to attend either in person or virtually.

They have even discussed arrangements for participants to fly by private jet to Dhahran airport in eastern Saudi Arabia before travelling by road to Riyadh.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is not in favour of a preemptive strike against Iran before Israel’s October 27 election, but has warned Tehran and aligned groups against striking Israel.

“It is not convenient for us, it’s no good,” Netanyahu says in an interview on Israel’s Army Radio, when asked about the possibility of a preemptive strike and allegations by his political rivals that he was seeking a military confrontation ahead of the election.

“Even if Iran fires missiles at us, they will blame me,” Netanyahu adds, repeating his previous warnings to Iran, saying Israel will respond forcefully if attacked.

He has not elaborated on the possibility of a preemptive strike after the election, or on his recent discussions with the US about Iran.

A civilian has been injured by debris caused by the interception of a missile over Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Directorate of Civil Defence says.

In a statement on X, the agency says debris has caused “limited material damage” to a vehicle and a house in the Saudi capital.

A visiting senior United Nations official has reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to stability in Lebanon as the mandate of its peacekeeping force in the country is set to expire this year, AFP reports.

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix has met officials as well as representatives of countries contributing to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), which counts some 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries.

“I thanked them for their critical support to Unifil and reiterated the UN’s strong commitment to supporting peace and stability in Lebanon,” Lacroix says.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says two commercial vessels were hit by “unknown projectiles” in separate incidents in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, according to Al Jazeera.

In the first incident, a 50,000-tonne container ship was hit as it entered the strait. UKMTO says it suffered minor damage, reported no casualties, and continued its passage safely.

In the second incident, a 19,000-tonne container vessel was struck by an unknown projectile while exiting the waterway. It also sustained minor damage, with no injuries reported on board, and continued its journey, the agency adds.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says that Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are “totally unacceptable”.

Addressing a joint press conference with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, he says both sides also exchanged views on recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

“I underscored that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are totally unacceptable. My brother [Albusaidi] actually fully endorses this. Violations of international law pose a serious threat to regional peace and security,” he stresses.

“I reaffirmed Pakistan’s full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and our unwavering commitment to the kingdom’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security in accordance with the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement,” he adds.

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Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi says Iran has acquired “more advanced weapons” since the start of the war, Al Jazeera reports citing the country’s state media.

Although launching a new war against Iran would be “irrational” for the United States, the possibility remains very real, as the Trump administration needs a “win” prior to the midterm elections, Mohebbi is reported to have said.

He also warns that Iran is prepared to respond to any “renewed aggression” with greater force than before.

US Central Command (Centcom) has rejected claims by Iran that the Strait of Hormuz is under Tehran’s control, and that any approaching American warships would be sunk by Iran’s Navy.

“[The] IRGC’s navy commander has no navy. American forces and regional partners clearly control the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom says, adding that US forces helped shipping partners move 19 million barrels of crude oil through the waterway.

Three people have been injured after an unidentified drone struck a fishing boat off the coast of southern Iran, Anadolu reports citing local authorities.

The Hormozgan provincial administration says in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency that the fishing vessel was attacked off the coast of Sirik, while the source of the drone has not yet been identified.

The three injured fishermen have been taken ashore by a small boat, according to provincial authorities.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran suffered extensive damage in an attack on Tuesday, with a fire spreading across several floors, three people with direct knowledge of the matter tell Reuters.

Operations have continued normally, however, with employees working from home, according to two of the sources. A fourth says some functions have been shifted to global offices.

Aramco did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that the continuation of wars in the region has repeatedly exposed us to the environmental consequences of these conflicts, the Tehran Times reports

“The war launched by the United States in Iraq, the burning of oil wells, and fires that broke out across the region have all caused extensive environmental damage,” he said.

“Judging by US policies, this trend appears likely to continue.”

“The reality is that the environment is the silent victim of war.

“Nature, a neutral party in any conflict, may suffer the greatest damage, with consequences that can persist for decades.”

On the US-Israeli war on Iran, Araghchi said that the extensive damage was inflicted on the environment, people’s living conditions, and public health.

Oil prices edged higher after an attack on the headquarters of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, while Iranian officials told Reuters they were deploying new tactics to target ships, seeking to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures were up 14 cents to $105.83 a barrel at 0938 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 57 cents to $94.71. Both contracts had climbed more than $1 in early trade, with WTI hitting a more than two-week high at $95.41 a barrel.

A decade after Republican Donald Trump peeled away working-class and union voters who had long been a cornerstone of Democratic support in Ohio, Democrats and labor leaders see an opening to win back some of them in the November 3 US elections, Reuters reports.

Now midway through his second term, the president’s magic appears to be losing at least some of its luster with blue-collar men and women as rising prices, the Iran war and concerns about his rhetoric prompt some voters to reconsider their support.

A container ship sank in waters south of the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a naval mine and catching fire, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said in a statement shared by state media, Reuters reports.

The ship carrying more than 2,500 containers had attempted to transit what the Guards described as an unauthorised and dangerous route, the statement said, warning local vessels and fishermen to take care.

Hospitals across Yemen are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in war casualties as intensified fighting along multiple front lines strains its already fragile health system, the Red Cross said, Reuters reports.

Front-line hospitals in areas including Marib, Taiz and Yemen’s Red Sea coast were seeing unprecedented numbers of weapon-wounded patients, with some facilities admitting more than 700 casualties in a single week, according to the humanitarian agency.

More than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes since fighting in the country began in recent weeks, sparked by renewed fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, according to the United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration.

Powerful explosions rattled the Saudi capital, hours after a Houthi strike hit a building in the area housing energy giant Aramco’s operations centre, in a fresh escalation of the war between the kingdom and the Yemeni group, AFP reports.

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia unleashed salvos against the Houthi stronghold in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, while the Houthis fired back at sites across the kingdom, which is the world’s top crude oil exporter.

Constrained diesel supplies could persist well into next year as large counter-seasonal stock drawdowns have combined with restricted production ahead of peak winter demand, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil market report.

Diesel refining margins, the fuel’s premium to underlying crude oil , soared to record highs of almost $95 per barrel in September, as reduced refining capacity due to attacks linked to the Iran war slashed production.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted a missile fired by the group towards Riyadh, where explosions were earlier reported by AFP journalists.

“Interception and destruction of a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh,” coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki wrote.

Saudi authorities have issued an alert warning for a possible aerial threat in Riyadh, followed by a second message saying the threat had passed, amid a sharp escalation in hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, Reuters reports.

Three fishermen have been injured after a fishing boat was struck in an incident involving an unidentified drone near Sirik in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province, the provincial governor’s office says, Reuters cites Tasnim news agency.

Tasnim cites local sources as saying a fishing boat was hit in what they described as an attack by a US drone, although Iranian authorities have not officially confirmed the circumstances of the incident or who was responsible.

Loud explosions were heard in the Saudi capital Riyadh, AFP journalists in the city reported, as Yemen’s Houthis step up attacks in an escalating war.

Messages were received on phones in Riyadh warning people of an “aerial threat” and urging them to take shelter. The alert was lifted a few minutes later.

Oil prices climbed after two vessels were struck in the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian officials told Reuters they were deploying new tactics to target ships, as Tehran seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections.

Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $106.03 a barrel by 0630 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 28 cents, or 0.3pc, to $94.42 a barrel.

Both contracts had climbed more than $1 in early trade.

US President Donald Trump signalled further action against Iran during a campaign rally in the state of Alaska, Anadolu reports.

“Wait till you see what we do to Iran. We’re going to do a number. We sort of had it. You know we’ve had it,” Trump told supporters in Wasilla, where he was campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“They’re just waiting. They’re waiting,” he said.

“We’ve had it, but you know it doesn’t matter. The big thing is they were not going to have a nuclear weapon,” he added.

A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the United States never dares to carry out a land invasion of Iran, Press Tv reports.

Even the most senior officials in Washington know that such a scenario would lead to devastating consequences for the US military, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi said.

Naqdi, who serves as a high-profile advisor to the IRGC chief commander, made the comments on Tuesday in response to speculations that the US would deploy troops to Iran months after its joint aerial aggression with Israel against the country failed for good.