War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Major General Mohsen Rezaei has warned that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force is fully prepared to deliver “new surprises” on the battlefield in the event of another attack by the US-Israeli enemy, Press TV reports.

“The missile industry of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a distinguished symbol of faith, courage, and innovation, which has become one of Iran’s most important deterrence tools and one of the firm pillars safeguarding the independence and security of our dear Iran,” he said.

“Today, the IRGC Aerospace Force has placed the wise commands and directives of the commander-in-chief at the forefront of its actions,“ he added.

A vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile about 14 nautical miles northwest of the UAE state of Ras Al-Khaimah on Wednesday, causing a fire in its engine room, Reuters reports citing British maritime agencies, which have published reports today.

Firefighting efforts were under way and all crew had been evacuated, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) says.

Maritime security firm Ambrey says the vessel was struck at the stern while leaving the Strait of Hormuz, adding that no injuries or pollution have been reported.

In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump has said that his Vice President JD Vance should turn his focus on corruption within the US rather than pursuing a peace agreement with Iran.

“We don’t need a deal with Iran,” he writes, noting that those days have “long since passed”.

“We’ve got their money, hundreds of billions of dollars and we’ve got their Strait!” he adds, referring to the Strait of Hormuz.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the COP31 climate summit in Turkiye, with both leaders exchanging views on the latest regional developments.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), PM Shehbaz has highlighted the efforts of regional countries, including members of the Makkah Defence Alliance, to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.

Both leaders also “underscored the importance of adherence by all parties to their commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to ensure durable and lasting peace in the wider region”.

Belgian security services have identified possible links between Iranian-linked hacker groups and recent cyberattacks targeting refrigeration systems at supermarkets and retailers across the country, Anadolu reports citing Interior and Security Minister Bernard Quintin.

Speaking to Belgian news agency Belga, Quintin says authorities are examining indications that actors associated with Iran may have been involved in the incidents.

“In Belgium too, the security services speak of indications of possible links to known Iranian actors. The federal prosecutor’s office is investigating these indications further,” he explains. “We take these cyberattacks extremely seriously and are deploying all the resources needed to assess the threat.”

Israeli caretaker defence minister Israel Katz says the outgoing coalition does not need permission from the opposition to decide on fresh military operations, following calls to show restraint, AFP reports.

“We do not need approval from the opposition or any legal authority” for the army to carry out strikes in any of the arenas where it operates, Katz writes on X.

The leader of the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot, has called on caretaker prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint, warning that the use of force without a “direct and immediate threat” could have “disastrous consequences for Israeli democracy and for citizens’ trust”.

Oman’s National Emergency Management Committee has discussed the latest developments in handling the grounding of an oil tanker off Al Qibliyah Island and the progress of operations to deal with its cargo, Reuters reports.

The meeting has also reviewed emergency incidents in territorial waters off Oman’s Musandam Governorate, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz, and the monitoring of any environmental pollution.

US Vice President JD Vance is considering holding face-to-face talks with a senior Iranian security official as Washington seeks a way out of its war on Iran, Anadolu reports citing The Wall Street Journal, which cities US and Middle Eastern officials.

President Donald Trump has recently signalled to aides and foreign counterparts that he is open to Vance leading renewed negotiations with Tehran, giving the vice president authority to pursue diplomatic efforts, the report says.

The Journal reports that Vance sent a letter in October to Iran’s Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, requesting a meeting.

The move carries significant political risks for Vance, who could become the public face of negotiations if they fail to secure an agreement, the report said. A successful outcome, however, could strengthen his standing as the official who helped bring an end to an unpopular conflict.

Commander-in-Chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Ahmad Vahidi, says that no threats or sanctions will stop Iran from improving its missile and defence capabilities, state broadcaster Press TV reports.

“The enemy should know that the path of Martyr Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam is the one that cannot be halted by threats or sanctions. This path continues through blood and faith,” he said, referring to one of the key architects of Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

Two Iranian men have been found guilty of spying on dissident journalists in the UK on behalf of Iranian intelligence, a case police says reflects increasing activity by Iran in Britain, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia plans to hold the next edition of its flagship FII investment conference in October 2027, state television said, Reuters reports.

The Future Investment Initiative, dubbed “Davos in the Desert”, had been scheduled for October 26 to 29 in Riyadh this year but was postponed after repeated Houthi strikes on the Saudi capital’s airport killed more than a dozen people.

The conference, which was set to mark its 10th edition this year, has become a fixture on the calendar for some of the world’s leading financiers and executives.

Organisers now plan to hold the event from October 25 to 28 next year, state television announced.

Oil prices moved slightly lower after recovering from earlier losses, as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Russia offset pressure from rising crude output, Reuters reports.

Brent futures were down 37 cents or 0.4 per cent at $92.39 a barrel at 0946 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 37 cents or 0.43pc to $86.16; both contracts fell more than $1 per barrel in early Asian trading. They were also headed for a weekly fall.

“Market players are vacillating between tentative truces in Ukraine and the Middle East and the ongoing atrocities against energy infrastructure and ships,” said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Associates.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said diplomacy should resume “without further delay” to end the US-Iran war after talks with his Iranian counterpart, AFP reports.

Erdogan met Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of UN climate conference in the Turkish province of Antalya, his office said.

During their discussion, Erdogan underscored “the importance of getting to the negotiating table without further delay” and said Turkiye would continue to support efforts aimed at securing peace.

Most Gulf stock markets opened lower as rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis weighed on investor sentiment, although, signs of easing friction between Iran and the United States helped limit downside pressure, according to Reuters.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index .TASI eased 0.2 per cent, with Al Rajhi Bank losing 0.7pc and the country’s biggest lender by assets, Saudi National Bank, down 0.6pc.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted a drone in the Riyadh region and another in Saudi Arabia’s east, amid a surge in attacks by the group, reports AFP.

The coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis, also said Wednesday night that it had destroyed two ballistic missiles targeting western Saudi Arabia.

Two oil supertankers were disabled by massive explosions after they ignored warnings against using an “unauthorised route” in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday night, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei has warned that military bases involved in any renewed US attack on Iran, including those in Europe, would be targets for retaliation, Al Jazeera reports.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates’ Ras Al Khaimah emirate say they have reopened several beaches following closures prompted by an oil spill from a tanker damaged in a suspected attack in the Gulf last month, reports Reuters.

The current ‘no war, no peace’ situation in the US-Iran conflict is unsustainable. While the immediate fear of a new US-Israeli strike on Iran — and a greater regional conflagration — may have passed, thanks mainly to the drubbing the Republicans received in the American midterm elections, the Gulf will not return to normal unless there is stable long-term peace.

True to form, President Donald Trump has been oscillating between claiming that more attacks are not needed and issuing new threats. After talking to the Qatari prime minister, he said that the US would maintain the “status quo” vis-à-vis Iran, while his secretary of state has asserted that economic pressure on Tehran will continue. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, has slammed America’s “diplomacy through threats”.

The fact is that the US and Israel have failed to subdue Iran on the battlefield, and while the economic sanctions are hurting the Iranians, there are few signs that the pressure will make them yield to America. If anything, the feeling in Tehran is that if Iran is made to endure economic pain, the entire region, and in fact the wider international community, will feel it as well, as the over eight-month blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has shown.

Read more here.

Oil prices drop more than $1 as hopes for progress in peace talks over the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine wars pressure the market, Reuters reports.

Brent futures have lost $1.14, or 1.2 per cent, to $91.62 a barrel by 0141 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures have fallen $1.04, or 1.2pc, to $85.49. Brent rose about 1.4pc and WTI 0.6pc on Wednesday after hitting two-month lows the previous day.

“Markets are falling on expectations that behind-the-scenes efforts are underway to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and that it is unlikely the Iran war will escalate ahead of the US-China summit next week,” says Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities.

“However, given the uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, the markets are unlikely to suffer a significant collapse,” Kikukawa says.

Saudi Arabia says debris from two ballistic missiles intercepted by its air defences fell in the Makkah region on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

Saudi state television identified the locations as Sabuhah village, about 35 km (22 miles) northeast of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, and Wadi al-Maghmas, about 21 km east of the mosque.

The missiles were launched towards the region and intercepted and destroyed, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said in a statement.

“This hostile targeting of civilian objects constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reflects the dangerous hostile approach pursued by the Houthi militia,” Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said early on Thursday.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed an attack on an oil pumping station in Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu area.

The group’s spokesperson, Yahya Saree, says the facility was attacked by drones and the “operation achieved its objective”.

In his statement, he also denies claims by Saudi Arabia that the group attacked the Makkah region, writing, “The Saudi enemy’s claim that a drone was intercepted over Makkah is yet another fabrication and a continuation of its moral decline. No one in this world still believes these slanders and lies.”

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claims that the group launched a successful attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport with cruise missiles, according to a post on X.