War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres says it is “essential to stop any escalation” in the Middle East, as senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are due to hold talks in Iran, AFP reports.

“The risk to have the combination of an overwhelming military attack on Iran, and an overwhelming military attack by Iran on the countries of the Gulf, needs to be avoided at all costs,” he says in a press conference in Cairo, in response to a question about the possibility of an Iran deal and escalating threats from the United States.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has emphasised the need for a diplomatic solution to the Middle East war, warning that “sabre-rattling” may cause an uncontrollable situation in the region.

Commending Egypt’s efforts to create room for US-Iran dialogue, Guterres stresses the need for restraint and diplomacy.

“If the sabre-rattling we are witnessing now translates itself into a major mutual escalation, the situation in the region can get out of control,” he writes on X. “Navigational rights and freedoms in accordance with international law must be fully restored in and around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.”

Saudi Arabia, which, along with Turkiye and Pakistan, is set to hold talks with Iranian officials in Tehran, has stressed the importance of opening channels for negotiations, Reuters reports.

The Saudi foreign ministry says in a statement that the talks in Tehran aim to prevent escalation and pave the way for an agreement.

According to the statement, the visit “comes within the framework of the ongoing efforts of the states party to the Makkah Agreement for Joint Defence to de-escalate between the parties to the current crisis, encourage dialogue and diplomatic solutions, and support the mediation efforts being carried out by the State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”.

Iranian Army Deputy Chief for Executive Affairs Brigadier General Alireza Sheikh says that the country is ready to “respond to the enemy’s excessive demands”, in comments carried by state broadcaster Press TV.

“The Iranian nation is the father and mother of the bombs,” he is quoted as saying. “The enemy cannot achieve its goals against such a nation, because a civilisation cannot be destroyed by bombs.”

Sheikh highlights that the army is ready to respond to any threats against Iran, “with its finger on the trigger”.

An oil spill from a damaged tanker off the coast of the UAE has widened, satellite images showed, triggering more beach closures and raising environmental concerns, Reuters reports.

Images from the European Union’s Copernicus satellite observation network dated Oct 24, according to the report, show the oil spill has widened over the last few days and is reaching close to the shores of the northern Umm Al Quwain emirate, with dark layers of oil spreading at sea and along its coastline.

Iran has accused the US of lacking seriousness in negotiations, saying Washington has repeatedly confused diplomacy with imposing demands on Tehran, Anadolu reports.

“The American side is not serious about negotiations,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says during a news conference, as cited by the state-run IRNA news agency.

He accuses Washington of repeatedly making false claims, recalling that US President Donald Trump expressed support for negotiations shortly before the US military attacks on Iran in June 2025.

“What do you call this? Do you see any goodwill in this approach?” he asks.

Baqaei says Tehran has not received any new European proposal for negotiations beyond a political statement, criticising the UK, France and Germany for their positions during the conflict and accusing them of following Washington’s lead on restoring UN sanctions and failing to condemn military attacks.

European natural gas prices rose 3.3 per cent to exceed €97 ($108.8) per megawatt-hour for the first time since 2022 as the Middle East conflict continues to threaten supplies, Anadolu reports.

Intensifying conflict in the Middle East has sharply heightened concerns over winter energy supplies, particularly as liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows from the Persian Gulf — which previously accounted for nearly a fifth of global supply — remain down roughly 80pc year-on-year.

European gas futures traded at €97.15 per megawatt-hour as of 0820GMT, up 3.3pcfrom Friday’s close and hitting their highest level since December 2022.

Singapore and Saudi Aramco plan to store Saudi crude oil in the underground Jurong Rock Caverns starting in 2027 to boost energy security amid global supply disruptions, TRT World reports, citing Tan See Leng, Singapore’s minister for energy, trade and industry.

Tan said, according to the report, that the arrangement would enhance the resilience of the Saudi crude oil supply chain across Southeast Asia.

The minister noted the initiative would also contribute to the city-state’s energy security during supply emergencies.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will depart for Russia to attend a summit of gas-exporting countries in Moscow and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to TRT World.

Pezeshkian is scheduled to attend the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum on Tuesday, where he is expected to deliver a speech, the report said.

“The Iranian president may also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of other participating countries during his one-day visit,” it added.

Pakistan has condemned Houthi missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s Makkah and Madina regions, terming them a “grave violation” of the kingdom’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, these “reprehensible attacks constitute a grave violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and demonstrate a blatant disregard for the sanctity of Islam’s holiest sites and the safety of civilians”.

Read more here.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says a meeting in Tehran with senior officials from Pakistan, Turkiye, and Saudi Arabia could lay the groundwork for a regional security framework based on the interests and decisions of countries in the region, according to state broadcaster Press TV.

“From our perspective, the fact that regional countries are seeking to establish, or at least consider, regional security mechanisms based on their own interests and concerns is a welcome development,” he said.

Defence Minister Israel Katz says Israel will not attack Iran before the election, dismissing media reports of an “unprecedented confrontation” between PM Benjamin Netanyahu and military chief Eyal Zamir over Iran, Al Jazeera reports.

Indonesia supports Iran amid the ongoing war and calls for an end to hostilities, says Rolliansyah (Roy) Soemirat, Indonesian Ambassador to Iran, IRNA reports.

Speaking at a ceremony at the University of Tehran on Monday, Soemirat reaffirmed the Indonesian government and people’s support for Iran, expressing hope that the war would end soon and normal life and activities would resume.

The official added that recent developments in West Asia have once again demonstrated how fragile peace and stability are and how their consequences extend beyond the region.

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for two missile attacks targeting Saudi forces and weapons depots in the southern provinces of Aden and Lahij, according to a group spokesman, Anadolu reports.

In a statement posted on US social media platform X, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the attacks targeted military positions in the Salah al-Din area of Aden and the Al-Wahat area of Lahij.

Saree claimed that the group fired several ballistic missiles that accurately struck their targets, “resulting in dozens of dead and wounded … the destruction and incineration of a number of vehicles and weapons depots.”

Oil prices fell after surging last week to near six-month highs, amid hopes of easing hostilities between the US and Iran, although persistent attacks on key producer Saudi Arabia kept investors wary, according to Reuters.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were down $1.76, or 1.7 per cent, at $101.51 per barrel by 0744 GMT (12:44pm PKT). Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down $1.49, or 1.28pc, at $115.23.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the expansionist policies of the “Zionist regime”, developments in occupied Palestine and Lebanon, and the repercussions of US and Israeli aggression against Iran would be among the key topics discussed during the meeting, as senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye are set to travel to Tehran.

“Generally speaking, such a meeting cannot forget the consequences of US and Israeli regime’s aggression against Iran and its repercussions for the whole region. This is going to be a topic of top priority on the agenda,” he said.

Iran’s foreign ministry has said the outcome of the Israeli elections in which PM Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a tight race will make “no difference”, AFP reports.

“It makes no difference to us who, in these elections, takes the helm of a regime that has brought nothing but violence and massacres to our region,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing, a day ahead of the Israeli legislative polls.

The US-sanctioned tanker Reef arrived in Myanmar waters with some 113,000 barrels of fuel backed by sham paperwork.

Myanmar-based energy broker Dynamic Wave ordered the shipment, agreeing in a sales ​contract inked with Thailand’s Tawan-Oil Trading to supposedly take delivery of a similar amount of South African diesel. But the $15.8 million agreement, which Reuters viewed, was a charade: there was no such trade between South Africa and ‌Myanmar in 2025, according to data from the United Nations and Vortexa, a shipping and energy data provider.

In reality, Reef carried jet fuel from Iran to Myanmar, according to records of fuel shipments to Myanmar, as well as satellite images and analysis by SynMax Intelligence, which tracked the tanker’s journey from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas to Southeast Asia.

Read more here

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol says he does not expect energy markets to return in 2027 to where they were before the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February, Al Jazeera reports.

US military forces have helped Gulf countries export more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil since June, despite Iran’s efforts to control the critical waterway, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was prepared for “any scenario” but remained open to diplomacy, Al Jazeera reports.

He accused the United States and Israel of “using the entire region to carry out military aggression”.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen launched attacks on the capital, Sanaa, claiming to have destroyed two ballistic missile launchers used by the Houthi group, Anadolu reports.

Turki al-Maliki, the coalition’s spokesman, said one of the launchers had been used in a Houthi attack on the Saudi capital Riyadh in recent hours.

The Yemeni army said Sunday that its forces had “neutralised” around 218 Houthi fighters and field commanders in 753 operations over the past 24 hours, destroying or damaging 78 military vehicles and weapons.

The Houthi group claims it has attacked Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude oil pumping stations and Riyadh airport, but there is no immediate Saudi confirmation, reports Reuters.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said earlier it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in the capital Sanaa, including one used to fire a missile towards Riyadh that the coalition said it had intercepted.