War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Saudi airstrikes killed 30 people at a market, while local authorities accused the group of carrying out the attack, AFP reports.

The Houthis said “several strikes” hit the market in an area under their control in Taiz province, the scene of fierce fighting since the group launched a major offensive in September.

“Saudi enemy aircraft targeted the market in Al-Waziya city with several strikes,” the Houthis’ health ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi said in remarks carried by their Saba news agency.

A health ministry statement said 30 people were killed and eight wounded, adding that rescue teams were searching for bodies under the rubble.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the strikes were fired from a plane that took off from the Saudi base of Khamis Mushait.

Houthis have established a body to issue permits for vessels transiting the Red Sea, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reports.

“Ship captains are required to declare that they have no ties to the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, or Saudi Arabia,” IRIB said on X.

Syria is aiding Riyadh with military advice and training as Saudi Arabia comes under attack by Yemen’s Houthis, and has sent a limited number of military personnel to the kingdom, Reuters reports citing two Syrian military sources and a senior US official.

The senior US official says advisers and training teams from Syria — where fighters became battle-hardened through years of war — were travelling to Saudi Arabia to help train Saudi and Yemeni units inside the kingdom to improve their combat effectiveness.

The two Syrian sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter, say scores of military personnel have gone from Syria to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. They add that advisory and training work is involved, but that their mandate could be broader.

In response to a request for comment, a senior Syrian diplomat says, “Any suggestion of military deployments at this stage is premature” and that Syria’s focus remains on internal security, protecting its borders and reconstruction.

They add that a Syrian-Saudi defence cooperation deal signed on Wednesday “specifically includes advisory support, training and exchange of expertise”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has discussed the latest developments and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions in separate phone calls with his Tunisian and Iraqi counterparts, according to state news agency IRNA.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim Saudi strikes on a vegetable market in Taiz Province on Friday killed 20 people, while local authorities accuse the group of being behind the attack, AFP reports.

“Saudi enemy aircraft targeted with several missiles the vegetable market in Al-Waziya city, resulting in the death of 20 citizens and the injury of 10 others,” Houthi health ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi says in remarks carried by the Saba news agency.

Local authorities, however, blame the strikes on the Houthis and say “military aircraft did not launch any aerial operations”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says regional countries sharing a common vision of peace can join the Makkah Defence Alliance, Anadolu reports.

Fidan has made the remarks in an article titled ‘The Role of Regional Ownership in Our Foreign Policy: the Makkah Defense Alliance’, written for the November issue of Anadolu’s monthly magazine, AA Briefing.

Fidan writes that Turkiye signed the agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia because they share its vision of “regional solutions to regional problems”, adding that the alliance aims to contribute to regional stability by strengthening deterrence.

He stresses that the global governance system is going through a turbulent period and that the Middle East is at the centre of global challenges.

“The Makkah Defence Alliance lies at the intersection of our strategic foreign policy priorities, which can be summarised as strengthening regional peace and stability, supporting development and prosperity, expanding the institutional framework of our foreign relations, and contributing to the transformation of the global system,” Fidan writes.

Iranian media, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, says Iranian air defences destroyed a US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

There has been no immediate confirmation from the United States.

Oil prices are set for a sharp weekly fall after the election losses of US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party raise hopes of a de-escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran and a stock market sell-off, though attacks on vessels in the Middle East continue to provide a floor to crude, Reuters reports.

In a whiplash see-saw session, Brent crude futures for January are up 26 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $98.55 a barrel, as of 1346 GMT (6:46pm PKT). US West Texas Intermediate futures have edged up by 57 cents, or 0.6pc, to $91.09.

One seafarer was killed in an explosion believed to have been caused by a missile attack on an oil products tanker in the Gulf on Thursday, Reuters reports citing the ship’s manager.

The tanker MT Velos was sailing unladen towards Bahrain when it was hit, Greek management firm Velos Tankers says in a statement.

“The company is greatly saddened to report the death of one of its seafarers, who was found fatally injured on board after having initially been reported missing in the aftermath of the explosion,” it adds.

An Iranian lawmaker has warned that the country’s retaliatory missile strikes in the event of renewed US-Israeli aggression will reach Europe, pushing oil prices to new record highs, state broadcaster Press TV reports.

Hossein-Ali Haji Deligani warns that Iran’s response will not be limited or proportionate, but instead will be a “massive, amplified and strategic one” without geographical constraints.

“Any act of sabotage or military aggression by the United States and Israel would trigger an Iranian response, with missiles capable of reaching targets in Europe. Such an escalation could drive oil prices above $150 per barrel,” he adds.

The master of a tanker crossing the Strait of Hormuz has reported an explosion at the vessel’s port-side waterline, 16 nautical miles east of Oman’s Khasab, Reuters reports citing the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.

The tanker remains under its own power and is continuing its voyage, UKMTO said, adding that all crew are safe and accounted for.

Ali-Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to the Iranian supreme leader, says that Iran has emerged as one of the main architects of the regional order, in the wake of elections in the US and Israel, according to state news agency IRNA.

In a post on X, Velayati says Iran must be recognised as a “bridge connecting the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Sea of Oman”.

“Any energy or transit corridor that tries to bypass us will either become too expensive or unstable,” he writes.

Velayati underlines that the crises in Gaza, the Red Sea, Lebanon and Iraq demonstrate that regional security is indivisible.

“Either collective security is achieved, or everyone will experience collective insecurity,” he adds.

Iran is not satisfied with “paper commitments” and must see practical US steps before the launch of any new diplomatic efforts, Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy head of Iran’s top security body, tells Iranian state television, Reuters reports.

Iran has sent the United States a nuclear proposal via Qatar to be discussed only after Washington meets its seven demands, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, adding that Washington was reviewing the proposal.

China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell in the third quarter of the year at the fastest rate since the Covid-19 pandemic, a think tank has said, attributing the drop to impacts from the Middle East war, AFP reports.

The massive Asian economy’s emissions fell by 3.1 per cent between July and September, according to analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) published by Carbon Brief.

Overall oil use fell by 4pc year-on-year while transport oil consumption decreased by 9pc, the CREA report said, citing official figures and commercial data.

“It’s clear there is going to be some kind of a rebound in oil consumption once, or if, prices come down,” CREA co-founder and lead analyst Lauri Myllyvirta told AFP.

Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has said the US “derailed” all four rounds of negotiations over the past year and a half by “reneging” on its commitments, according to state-run Press TV.

“Iran has every right not to rely on US promises on paper before entering a new phase of diplomacy,” he added.

Saudi-led coalition says it has intercepted a drone in the Makkah region, AFP reports.

Senior adviser to Iran’s Leader Ali Akbar Velayati, speaking on regional security, said: “Either collective security will be achieved, or everyone will experience collective insecurity,” state media reports.

Oil prices were set for a sharp weekly fall after the midterm election losses of US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party raised hopes of a de-escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran, though attacks on vessels in the Middle East continue to provide a floor for the market, Reuters reports.

After early gains in a see-saw session on Friday, Brent crude futures for January were down 74 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $97.55 a barrel by 0826 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures dipped 73 cents, or 0.8pc, to $89.79.

Iran’s army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia says that Iran would target all assets of the “American enemy without regard to any geographical restrictions” if it is attacked again, Al Jazeera reports.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, has emphasized that Washington’s continued threats against Iranian nuclear sites reflect its growing desperation, IRNA reports.

Speaking with Russia Today (RT) on Thursday, Eslami said, “The fact that the US president constantly threatens to attack Kuh-e Kolang, and has previously threatened other locations in various ways, is a clear sign of their desperation.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Eslami criticized International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, saying he has become an “obedient agent” of Iran’s adversaries by providing them with information about the country’s nuclear programme.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by state media Friday that two oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, a day after Tehran claimed five other tankers had similar fates, AFP reports.

Since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28, Tehran has sought to limit traffic through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

The United States has in response imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and escorted tankers through the strait.

US Central Command said last month that it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Hormuz since the summer and has recently said that all mines have been cleared from the waterway.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump to discuss Qatar’s mediation efforts towards a comprehensive agreement to end the regional crisis, a Qatari statement said, Reuters reports.

Iran has submitted a nuclear proposal to Washington through Qatar, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, saying the United States was reviewing it but discussions would depend on Washington first meeting Tehran’s seven demands.

Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan on Thursday condemned an attempt by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group to target Saudi Arabia’s Madina region with a ballistic missile, reaffirming full solidarity with Riyadh.

The Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed the missile while also downing a Houthi drone over the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

In a statement, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry described the attempt as “a blatant provocation of Muslims, a reckless disregard for civilian lives,” a violation of Saudi sovereignty and a breach of international law.

The ministry reaffirmed Qatar’s full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its support for all legitimate measures taken by the kingdom to safeguard its sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and interests.

The UAE’s Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed received a phone call from Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi, the Gulf country says.

They discussed the latest developments in the region, the UAE’s foreign ministry said, adding that bin Zayed emphasised the importance of de-escalation and advancing diplomatic efforts to enhance regional security and stability.

US President Donald Trump says the US may have to “destroy” the rest of Iran and that rebuilding will take 25 years, adding that people will “know soon enough” if he acts, Al Jazeera reports.