War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on the financial district of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, that eyewitnesses said caused damage to a skyscraper belonging to oil giant Aramco, AFP reports.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of Allah Almighty, carried out four qualitative military operations, using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” the group said in an English-language statement, listing targets including the financial centre, Riyadh airport, Aramco oil storage tanks and the eastern Saudi city of Abqaiq.

Most Gulf stock markets ended lower as investors awaited indications on whether US President Donald Trump will order fresh attacks on Iran, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.8 per cent, weighed down by a 1.5pc fall for Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.3pc decline for Saudi National Bank , the country’s biggest lender by assets.

The kingdom’s Energy Ministry says debris from a foiled attack today hit an administrative office of Saudi Aramco in Riyadh, causing damage but no casualties.

Saudi Aramco shares were down 0.3pc.

Qatar’s index pared early losses to finish 0.5pc down.

An adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force says weapon supplies have been “secured for years to come,” Al Jazeera reports.

“The armed forces are at the ready and if the enemy makes a mistake, Iran’s response will be devastating and severe,” said IRGC Brigadier-General Ali Belali in a statement on Telegram.

“As senior commanders of the armed forces have pointed out, we have upgraded our capabilities in the post-Ramadan War period,” he said.

“The enemy today is old and worn out and does not have the ability to confront us militarily. But they are seeking to break our unity. As long as the people remain united, this very unity will be the key to our victory.”

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the Houthi group’s “cowardly” missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera reports.

The Gulf state offered its “strong condemnation and denunciation of the continued terrorist attacks” carried out by Yemen’s Houthis, it said in a statement.

The strikes constitute a “dangerous escalation” and a direct threat to the lives of civilians.

Kuwait supports “all measures” Saudi Arabia takes to “safeguard its sovereignty and preserve its security and stability”, the statement said, adding the kingdom is “an integral part” of the security of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

UKMTO also reports that a tanker has caught fire off the coast of Oman’s Khasab.

The fire was reported by military authorities and resulted in the evacuation of the crew, it said.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) says a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.

“All crew are safe and accounted for and there is no reported environmental impact at this time,” it adds.

The IRGC says it is continuously monitoring the activities and launch points of the US Central Command’s Task Force Scorpion Strike, and is ready to respond to any renewed aggression, Iran’s Mehr news agency reports.

The IRGC said that the Iranian intelligence forces are tracking the unit’s operations.

Three oil tankers have caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the Revolutionary Guards say in a statement according to AFP.

“Since the early hours of this morning, three non-compliant tankers have exploded and caught fire while they were sailing in the illegal channel in the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC said in a statement.

The Guards did not specify the names or nationality of the tankers.

Israel is not finished with Iran, its defence minister has said, as he also warned Hezbollah to hold fire in any resumption of war, AFP reports.

Defence Minister Israel Katz renewed charges that Iran — attacked twice since last year in major Israeli-US bombing campaigns — is pursuing nuclear weapons, a claim that Tehran denies.

“With regard to Iran, the mission is still not complete. Iran is trying to renew its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons — alongside other grave efforts that place the State of Israel in real danger,” Katz said.

The Republican wipeout in the elections last week was a direct result of the US failure to defeat Iran, says Sardar Shekarchi, spokesperson for Iran’s Armed Forces, Al Jazeera reports.

President Trump’s setback reflects more than a domestic political shift but “a greater reality: the failure of the US to break Iran’s will”, Iranian media quotes Shekarchi as saying.

The United States has fallen victim to “strategic attrition” and “defeats” on the battlefield that have shaken “the foundations of the White House’s power”.

“This strategic defeat proves that global power dynamics do not always favour hegemonic powers,” Shekarchi says.

The US cannot achieve its goals of blockading Iran’s economy and shutting its trade routes because Tehran has made preparations and communicates closely with neighbours, a Revolutionary Guards spokesperson has been quoted as saying, Reuters reports.

Hossein Mohebbi was reacting to the US military’s Task Force Iron Gate, launched to help crack down on Tehran’s movement of advanced weapons and other sanctioned material over its land borders and through the Caspian Sea.

“The Iron Gate plan is merely a wordplay, the Americans cannot achieve their objectives of imposing severe economic pressure to cause economic collapse in Iran through this approach,” Mohebbi tells the semi-official Fars news agency.

Most Gulf stock markets start Sunday on the back foot as investors awaited indications on whether US President Donald Trump will order fresh attacks on Iran, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index drops one per cent, weighed down by a 0.6pc fall for Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.1pc decline for Saudi Arabian Mining Company.

Qatar’s index slides 1.3pc.

Saudi energy ministry says Aramco building in Riyadh has been attacked, Reuters cites State TV.

Ministry says debris fell on building causing limited material damage.

No casualties have been reported, it adds.

A tower in the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh was damaged by a projectile, said one witness and three people briefed on the matter, Reuters reports.

Saudi authorities did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

According to Iran’s state-run Press TV, an analytic report says the United States’ aggression against Iran is the least popular of seven major wars launched by Washington in the modern era.

Multiple witnesses have told AFP on Sunday that Riyadh’s financial district had been targeted and the area’s Aramco building had been damaged, after the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted missiles launched by the group.

“Aramco tower in KAFD has been targeted, that’s the sure thing,” said one witness, referring to the King Abdullah Financial District. Two other witnesses confirmed seeing damage to the building.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis has said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the rebel group towards Riyadh, after loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital, reports Reuters.

Saudi Civil Defence had issued an alert in the Riyadh region shortly before the booms, a Reuters witness said. Authorities later announced that the risk of danger had passed.

Later, the coalition said it intercepted and destroyed two cruise missiles in Riyadh and the southern region.

Multiple loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital Riyadh shortly after Civil Defence issued an early-warning alert of a potential threat, a Reuters witness said, as hostilities between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis persisted.

Saudi Civil Defence later said the danger had passed.

The United Arab Emirates National Guard says it has rescued 22 people, all of whom are Arab nationals, after a fire broke out on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.

Rescue operation followed a report from the ship’s crew that fire had broken out on board, the National Guard says in a post on X.

It adds, “Specialised teams immediately began responding to the report, located the tanker, reached it, and rescued all 22 crew members.

“They provided the necessary first aid before handing them over to the relevant authorities, with all of them in stable condition.”

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen says it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Yemeni Houthi group towards the Eastern region, Reuters reports.

We earlier reported that the US Centcom said an American military aircraft fired on ​and disabled a commercial vessel that ‌tried to break the US blockade of Iran.

Here’s are further details from the Centcom statement.

It said the incident took place on Nov 7 in the Gulf of Oman.

“This action followed the vessel’s civilian crew ignoring repeated warnings and making several attempts to breach the naval blockade against Iran. After Centcom forces ordered the crew to leave designated areas, a US military aircraft disabled the M/V Huda, a ship flying the flag of Saint Kitts, by firing precision munitions at its stern.

“The cargo vessel had stopped at a port in Iran and was preparing to leave the region’s waters.”

Mohsen Razzaqi, commander of Iran’s Northern Fleet and Fourth Naval Zone, says coordination and cooperation among the branches of the country’s armed forces are at “their highest level”, Al Jazeera reports.

He says Iran’s naval forces are defending its maritime borders around the clock, and that the consequences of any attack must be high enough to deter another assault.

“The cost of any aggression against Iran must be raised to such an extent that the enemy will no longer dare attack the country again,” Razzaqi has said, according to the IRNA news agency.

His remarks are the latest in a series of statements from Iranian officials and commanders signalling readiness to respond to any renewed US attack.

Saudi Arabia’s civil defence says that the danger has passed, shortly after issuing alerts warning of potential threats in several parts of the kingdom, including Dhahran, home to oil giant Saudi Aramco’s headquarters, reports Reuters.

The danger had also passed in Dammam, Abqaiq and Al-Ahsa governorate, the civil defence said.

Anees Alasbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi Ministry of Health, claims the death toll from airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition on the village of Al Shariyah has now risen to 33, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on X, he says at least 39 others were also wounded.

The village is located in the Bani Hashish district, east of Sanaa.

Alasbahi says several airstrikes on Saturday had targeted homes, roads, paramedics and civil defence teams.

There has been no comment from the Saudi-led coalition.