War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has emphasised the need for dialogue to maintain regional stability in a conversation with the president of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, according to state media.

IRNA reports that the two exchanged views on the current regional and international developments on the sidelines of COP31 in Antalya.

President Donald Trump’s administration is set to extend a waiver to a US law in the coming days, allowing some foreign-flagged ships to transport oil and other commodities between US ports, Reuters reports citing four industry sources.

The waiver is one of the tools the administration has used to try to lower diesel and gasoline prices, which have been driven higher by the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

The extension will require individual voyages to undergo case-by-case review rather than allowing foreign ships to receive blanket exemptions from the Jones Act, two sources say.

The waiver may come as early as Thursday, one of the sources says.

A White House official says no decision has yet been made on the extension of the Jones Act waiver, adding that any announcements will be made by Trump or his administration.

Yemen’s Houthis have claimed two attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, while also denying targeting Makkah.

In a post on X, the group’s spokesperson, Yahya Saree, says a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline was hit by a drone, while an oil facility in Yanbu was targeted by a missile.

“The criminal Saudi enemy’s claims that two missiles were intercepted over Makkah are a grave falsehood,” Saree adds.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has warned countries that any “direct or indirect involvement in acts of aggression or in inhumane economic terrorism against Iran” will be regarded as a “hostile and unlawful act amounting to participation in the US aggression against Iran”.

Such acts include the deployment of naval forces, military and logistical support equipment, and personnel.

“Invoking seemingly legitimate pretexts such as ‘protecting freedom of navigation’ or ‘countering piracy’ does not alter the unlawful and hostile nature of such actions,” Baqaei said on X.

“Our message is unequivocal: No bilateral agreement or commitment with the United States can constitute legitimate grounds for violating a state’s obligations under international law or for participating in the US-Israeli military aggression against Iran.”

He further warned that any state that would participate in such unlawful aggressions, in “whatever form”, would bear “full responsibility for the resulting repercussions”.

The Iranian military says two “offending” oil tankers, which were travelling through a “prohibited” route in the Strait of Hormuz, have hit sea mines and caught fire, state news agency IRNA reports.

Saudi Arabia is pressing the EU to designate Yemen’s Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation, but has yet to overcome European concerns that this could undermine a future peace process, Reuters reports citing six European officials.

The officials say that European countries worry listing the Houthis as a terrorist group would close off the limited channels they maintain with the group and potentially undermine any European involvement in a future peace process in Yemen.

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.