War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

More than 70 people have been killed over the past day by fighting in and around the western Yemeni province of Taiz, sources from both sides tell AFP, following days of clashes between the Houthi group and Yemeni government forces.

Sources from the internationally recognised government report that 34 government troops have been killed — 20 on the edge of Taiz province in neighbouring Lahj — while Houthi military sources claim 39 of their fighters have been killed in fighting across Taiz and in border areas with Lahj.

A committee of the Makkah Defence Pact between Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will hold talks in Riyadh on Monday, with Turkish ministers among those attending, Reuters reports citing the Turkish foreign ministry.

The development comes after the leader of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced the beginning of a major military operation against the Houthis earlier today, aimed at seizing the territory under their control.

“The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached in the Alliance’s institutionalisation efforts,” the Turkish statement says, adding that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and chief of the general staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu will attend the meeting of the pact’s strategic political and defence committee, along with officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright says President Donald Trump was “well aware” of the fact that energy prices would rise in the short term due to the Iran war.

“He knew it was going to elevate energy prices in the short run, he (Trump) said, ‘I’m going to take a hit there, but I’ve got to do the right thing,’“ Wright says. “He was well aware of the risk to energy flows that were coming out of the Persian Gulf region. He said, ‘The world cannot sustain a nuclear-armed Iran, and I’m not going to do it.’”

US Energy Secretary Christ Wright claims that increasing supplies are exiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“We’ve got increasing supplies coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, and they’ve continued to rise over the last months, over the last recent weeks,“ he tells CBS programme ‘Face the Nation’.

Asked if fuel prices will go down within the next four weeks, Wright replies in the affirmative.

“Diesel prices have been going down, gasoline prices have been going down. I expect that to continue,” he says.

Saudi authorities are earmarking a new instalment of 224 million Saudi riyals ($59.7m) to Yemen’s internationally recognised government, Al Jazeera reports citing the Saudi Press Agency.

“This will stimulate economic and social development towards a more sustainable path, and will positively impact purchasing power, ensure stable incomes for families, and revitalise commercial markets,” it adds, citing a statement.

Iranian airlines have resumed flights to Iraq’s Najaf after the United States granted Baghdad an exemption allowing sanctioned Iranian carriers to operate to the city, an AFP correspondent reports.

Najaf airport official Hussein Muhanna tells AFP that “flights between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran have resumed via Najaf International Airport.”

The first flight was operated by Caspian Airlines, with AFP’s correspondent at the airport reporting seeing the plane land at 5:15pm local time (7:15pm PKT).

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejects a US claim that Iranian diplomats attending the UN General Assembly were expelled from the US.

“All Iranian diplomats who attended UNGA, except one who departed earlier, left as scheduled,” Araghchi said in a post on X on Sunday.

He added, “Taking pride in fake diplomat ‘expulsion’ is inappropriate for the head of any diplomatic corps. It oozes of desperation and defeat, and is inconsistent with UN host nation obligations.”

The proposal Iran put forward at UN meetings in New York City, which was outlined by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has received a US response through intermediaries and is under discussion, Al Jazeera reports.

“These views are currently under review in Iran. If the Islamic Republic of Iran’s final response is prepared, the necessary steps will be taken through the appropriate channels,” it quotes Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as saying.

Yemen’s Houthis said they launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area, claiming the attacks caused major fires, in response to what they said were 50 Saudi-led coalition air and missile strikes in Yemen over the past 12 hours, Reuters reports.

Iran’s top leadership has not discussed the return of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to the country, Al Jazeera reports citing foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei.

The US proposal on ending the war is similar to previous ones, focusing on Iran’s nuclear file, whereas Tehran wants to first address the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Baqaei said.

The main problem holding up the peace process is the “volatility and fluctuation of the decision-making process” by the US, he said.

“This is reflected in their conflicting statements as well as their fluctuating demands. This is a problem faced not only by Iran but by all the countries dealing with the United States. These countries are openly complaining about the crisis.”

Israeli forces have attacked towns across southern Lebanon with artillery and air strikes, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The town of Mansouri is being hit with intermittent artillery shelling, launched from positions in occupied Lebanese territory south of the city of Tyre.

The agency also reported that Israel carried out a bombing in Barashit in the Bint Jbeil district. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the attacks.

Earlier, Al Jazeera also reported that an Israeli air strike targeted the Wadi al-Hujair area, while another aerial attack hit the outskirts of the town of Kfar Tebnit in the Nabatieh district.

The Saudi-backed head of Yemen’s presidential council, Rashad al-Alimi, has announced the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory held by Houthis and restore state authority across the country, Reuters reports.

Two Israeli soldiers have been “critically injured” in southern Lebanon, according to Iran’s state-run broadcaster IRIB.

The injuries were due to a security incident, IRIB said on X, without providing further details.

According to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV, an adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Aerospace Force says the country’s supply chain for the manufacture of weapons and missiles remains fully intact.

Brigadier General Ali Balali says Iran has no concerns in any sector required for its defence production and that all facilities and components required for missile production are manufactured domestically and also exportable.

The adviser emphasises that Iran has also drawn on its experience to make advances in air defence, drone production and the space sector, but notes that the US has copied Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, demonstrating that Washington “had been unable to develop a similar platform despite its extensive research centres and think tanks”.

“We can continue the fight for as long as necessary,” Balali says.

Yemen’s Houthis have cut a vital supply route linking Taiz with Aden — the interim capital of the internationally recognised government — according to four security sources cited by AFP.

“We were informed that the Houthis had taken control of the al-Safiya area, where they cut the main road and took control of the police station,” a police source in the area told AFP.

Three sources with the Yemeni military confirmed Houthi control over the area and supply route, with the group effectively encircling Taiz city.

An Israeli air strike has targeted the Wadi al-Hujair area in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports. Another aerial attack hit the outskirts of the town of Kfar Tebnit in the Nabatieh district.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Iran will upgrade the range of its missiles following the war with the US as American forces are now positioned as much as 1,000 km (621 miles) away from the Iranian coast, Reuters reports, citing army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia’s interview with Fars news agency.

“During this war, we concluded that we absolutely must increase the range of our missiles, and we have now moved in that direction,” he said.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf has said the country is “present on the military battlefield with full force and will surprise the enemy, while also using diplomacy to establish our superiority,” according to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.

A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, causing damage to its engine room, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. UKMTO did not specify when the incident occurred.

The crew was safe and no environmental impact had been reported at the time the notice was issued, UKMTO added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that there is no military solution to his country’s conflict with the United States, with talks on ending the war apparently at an impasse, AFP reports.

“If our enemies again choose the path of military confrontation, our response will be stronger than before, and we will defend ourselves with even more force,” Araghchi said at a gathering of foreign ambassadors. “There is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions.”

The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until seven Iranian conditions set out in a June interim agreement with the US are met, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said, Reuters cites Nournews.

The statement comes a few days after Tehran received Washington’s reply to its diplomatic proposal.

“The Americans, who say something different in the media, have recently put forward proposals through a mediator. But they must understand that the period of dragging out the process and dictating one-sided demands is over,” Qalibaf was quoted as saying.

“The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely clear and firm, and the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until our seven conditions, based on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, are met.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf says Strait of Hormuz won’t reopen until Iran’s conditions are met, Reuters cites Nournews.

Ghalibaf adds, US can no longer “stall for time”.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has dismissed Houthi claims of an attack on the Saudi capital as “misleading”, Al Jazeera reports.

Major-General Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the coalition, has told the Asharq Al-Awsat news outlet that the Houthis were “attempting to divert attention from the scale of the losses and the growing public anger against them”.

“What the Houthis are facing in Taiz, and the human losses suffered by the group’s members at the hands of the heroes of the Yemeni armed forces and the Popular Resistance on all fronts drive them to seek illusory victories,” he has added.

The US aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush has arrived off Thailand’s resort island of Phuket with about 4,800 personnel aboard for a rest-and-recreation break after months of supporting US operations in the Middle East, reports Reuters.

The Nimitz-class carrier had been operating in the Arabian Sea during the conflict with Iran, according to multiple media reports.

The carrier will anchor offshore, while crew members are expected to come ashore through Phuket Deep Sea Port and spend time on the popular southern resort island from October 4 to 9, local media reported.