War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Saudi Arabia said it was facing a new barrage of incoming fire and that Riyadh airport would remain shut for now, days after Saturday’s deadly missile strike on a departure terminal that was claimed by Yemen’s Houthis, Reuters reports.

Incoming drones and missiles were reported by the Saudi-led coalition backing government forces in Yemen, though there was no immediate news of whether they were intercepted.

Saudi authorities have extended the suspension of operations at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport following a series of deadly Houthi attacks, AFP reports.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation has “announced the extension of the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport” in a statement, adding that the extension is necessary to “complete the necessary procedures to verify the safety of the facilities and their operational readiness”.

The authority has not specified when operations will resume.

Bahraini national carrier Gulf Air has cancelled its flights to and from Riyadh from October 12 to October 17, amid renewed attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.

Affected travellers were instructed to contact the airline’s Global Contact Centre for assistance with rebooking.

Pilgrims wrapped in white garments queued for a document check at Riyadh’s international airport when a powerful explosion brought chunks of the ceiling down on their heads, footage released by Saudi authorities shows, according to AFP.

Gate workers can be seen diving under their desks as passengers scramble away from the direction of the blast, in dramatic security camera footage released by the Saudi media ministry, showing the moment of the deadly strike on Saturday that killed 13 people and wounded hundreds.

Smoke and debris cloud the images, leaving only a sudden fire visible, while some blurry figures appear too shocked to flee.

Saudi authorities have warned of potential legal consequences against witnesses speaking out about strikes and have restricted media from accessing attack sites to independently report on them.

Saudi Arabia is looking to expand its pipeline crude export capacity to around 10 million barrels per day (bpd) by repurposing a domestic gas pipeline and investing in its existing East-West network, Reuters reports citing the kingdom’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia could add up to 1.2 million barrels per day of oil export capacity within seven to eight weeks by temporarily converting a gas pipeline for crude shipments. Up to 3 million bpd could be added in total with further investment, Abdulaziz says at the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh.

The minister adds that he told Saudi Aramco it could use the pipeline for oil transport until May, after which it would need to be cleaned and returned to gas service ahead of the summer season.

He says upgrades to pumping stations on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and other infrastructure projects could help lift the kingdom’s capacity to divert shipments from its main maritime Gulf and Red Sea routes to around 10 million bpd over the next two to three years.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid says that intelligence available to him does not indicate that Israel will strike Iran before the country’s parliamentary elections on October 27, according to Anadolu.

He has accused the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using warnings about a possible war with Iran or an attack on Israel as part of his election campaign.

As opposition leader, Lapid receives security and military briefings from Netanyahu, particularly concerning major military operations or the possibility of war. Speaking to local radio station 103 FM, Lapid has criticised Netanyahu’s handling of security threats ahead of the elections.

“The prime minister can dominate the agenda by warning of an imminent terrorist attack or a war with Iran. Whether that is good for Israel is a question voters should ask themselves,” he says. “Based on the intelligence available to me, no war with Iran is expected before the elections.”

Oil prices have climbed to near two-week highs as attacks on Saudi Arabia overshadow possible further supplies to the market after US President Donald Trump hailed fresh Russian diesel exports and a Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire, Reuters reports.

Retracing earlier losses, Brent crude futures are up $1.24 or 1.2 per cent, to $106.19 a barrel as of 1124 GMT (4:24pm PKT), their highest since September 29.

US West Texas Intermediate crude is at $92.96 a barrel, up $1.11, or 1.2pc.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser has said that until the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, pressure across the energy chain will only intensify, Al Jazeera reports.

“Globally, the squeeze on crude oil is serious,” he has said during the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh, adding that the spike in refined fuel prices is making the challenge even worse.

Nasser says that commercial offshore inventories, the last available buffer, are currently “well below” 6 billion barrels. He has added that the vast majority of these are locked up.

It could take up to two years to refill inventories while meeting demand, he adds.

Mohsen Rezaei has accused the head of the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) of running oil smuggling operations in the Strait of Hormuz with the support of the UAE’s military, Al Jazeera reports.

“Over the past two or three months, on average, we have been striking five of these smuggling vessels every night,” Rezaei has told state-owned Press TV. “These are the very operations overseen by the commander of the US Central Command.”

He has claimed that “personnel from the UAE armed forces” were used and deployed “in support of these operations”.

He has also accused the US president of being involved, saying, “Trump has teamed up with a number of smugglers in these rocky coastal waters of Oman to carry out smuggling operations.”

There has been no response from the UAE or Centcom to these claims.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says Tehran is “deeply concerned about developments in the Arabian Peninsula” and has expressed its readiness to facilitate dialogue between the parties, Al Jazeera reports.

“We believe continued escalation will only benefit the Israeli regime, and we do not want hostilities to continue between two Muslim countries, especially as the region is already facing tensions caused by the United States and Israel,” he has said at a news briefing.

“We have consistently stressed that the people of Yemen have the right to live with dignity, free from pressure, sanctions and blockade. What they have endured over the past 10 to 12 years is unjustifiable under both Islamic principles and international law.”

Baqaei has told reporters that “the exchange of messages between Iran and the US through mediators is continuing” and called on Washington to lift its latest sanctions, Al Jazeera reports.

“Iran’s seven-point plan, presented on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, outlines its legitimate demands, including lifting the naval blockade, ending the war on all fronts and releasing frozen Iranian assets,” he says.

“These demands remain unchanged, and Iran sees no reason to compromise on its rights.

“Iran has reiterated that ending US interference and acts of aggression must be the priority. These positions have been conveyed through mediators, and Tehran is reviewing Washington’s latest points before sending its response.”

Yemeni government forces say they have carried out a series of air strikes on Houthi positions in Taiz province in the southwest, Al Jazeera reports.

A statement says the raids “targeted sites of the terrorist Houthi militia in the Al-Arsum and Al-Maraziqan areas and 60th Street north of Taiz”, adding that other raids “targeted Jabal al-Mun’im and Tabat al-Khalwa west of Taiz, and the Central Security Camp east of the city”.

Abolfazl Shekarchi, chief spokesman of the Iranian armed forces, has said the country will not allow the restoration of the US-Israeli regional order in West Asia, Al Jazeera cites IRIB.

“Regional nations have witnessed the ineffectiveness of this alleged US security umbrella firsthand. Now is the time for them to learn from this experience and avoid plunging into a deadly abyss by hitching their fate to the fraying rope of Trump and Netanyahu,” he has said.

“Washington is incapable of ensuring even its own security in the region, let alone guaranteeing the security of others,” Shekarchi has said.

“Persisting in reliance on the US’s purported security umbrella amounts to nothing less than accepting the heavy costs of a flawed calculation and decision,” he adds.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baqaei has accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of engaging in a “cognitive war against Iran and the world”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Distorting history to justify warmongering is dangerous and an injustice to Greek civilisation,” he has told reporters, referring to recent remarks made by Rubio about the history of Greece.

He adds that Rubio had inadvertently admitted that Iran has “endured for thousands of years”, adding that “the continuity of civilisation and culture is not achieved through military conquests”.

The Australian embassy in Riyadh has issued a new shelter in place order, calling for people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel, following a series of deadly attacks, AFP reports.

“Stay indoors, follow the advice of local authorities and avoid unnecessary travel,” reads a post by the embassy on an official social media account.

A Saudi broadcaster says the Saudi-led military coalition was responding to a missile and drone threat but did not specify where the projectiles were headed, AFP reports.

“Coalition: Dealing with a threat of drones and cruise missiles on the Kingdom currently underway,” read a post published online by state-backed broadcaster Al Ekhbariya.

Iran is still reviewing a US response to its proposal regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and will reply to Washington via intermediaries when the review is over, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says, Reuters reports.

Baghaei also told a press conference that Iran continues to exchange messages via intermediaries, without elaborating.

Iran has said it was “deeply concerned” by escalating attacks between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi Arabia, after 14 people died in strikes on Riyadh’s airport over the weekend, AFP reports.

“We are deeply concerned about the developments taking place in the Arabian Peninsula,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a weekly press conference, adding that Tehran was ready “to use our good offices to help facilitate dialogue between the parties”.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman warned that energy security could not be taken for granted amid the war in the Middle East, saying conditions were testing infrastructure and decision making.

“Energy security can’t be taken for granted,” the minister told a high-profile energy conference in Riyadh. “For Saudi Arabia, these circumstances have tested our infrastructure, our institutions, our people, and our resilience. They have also tested decisions made long before present crises, because resilience is built before crises begin.”

Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, has threatened to strike US data centres, AI facilities and cables in the Gulf if the war resumes, Al Jazeera reports citing state media.

The US has extremely expensive assests in the UAE and around the Strait of Hormuz, he said.

“We have not yet included these assests among our targets. But if war breaks out, many of these cables, data centres, AI facilities and numerous other sites will be destroyed,” he added.

About 60 per cent of scheduled flights at Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia are expected to be cancelled, data from aviation analytics firm Cirium showed, after attacks from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis killed over a dozen people over the weekend, Reuters reports.

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh cancelled 99.7pc of all scheduled flights on Sunday, according to Cirium.

China’s foreign ministry said that it condemns the attacks on Riyadh airport that killed and wounded people, Reuters reports.

China expresses “serious concern” about the escalation in the conflict, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing.

UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash has stressed a pressing need to revive joint Gulf action, particularly on aspects of security and defence, saying that targeting Saudi Arabia undermined the security of all Gulf states, Reuters reports.

Neglect of collective Gulf security had ‘emboldened others’ to overreach against regional states, he adds.

Oil prices have extended gains as the Middle East conflict escalated after Yemen’s Houthis stepped up strikes on Saudi Arabia while two tankers were attacked over the weekend, raising concerns about oil supply from the region, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures rose 76 cents, or 0.73 per cent, to $105.48 a barrel by 2304 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $92.44 a barrel, up 59 cents, or 0.64pc.