War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Around 40 people have been killed or injured in a Houthi ballistic missile attack on a military camp in Yemen’s eastern Shabwa province, Anadolu reports citing the province’s deputy governor.

They said around 40 people were killed or wounded when missiles struck the Al-Alam camp in the province’s Jardan district, local news outlet Yemen Monitor reports. The outlet also cited local sources as reporting at least 40 casualties in an initial toll, without providing a precise breakdown of those killed and injured.

The official adds that the camp housed new recruits undergoing training before joining the security forces.

A spokesperson for Yemen’s armed forces says the Houthis targeted Shabwa with three ballistic missiles, adding that the missiles struck a training centre for security and police personnel, accusing the group of deliberately killing Yemenis across the country’s provinces.

There has been no immediate comment from the Houthis on the reported attack.

Germany has summoned the Iranian ambassador after two men were jailed last week over what it called a “malicious” plot to assassinate pro-Israeli public figures on behalf of Tehran, AFP reports.

A Hamburg court last Thursday convicted a Danish national and an Afghan national for planning to target the president of Germany’s main group representing the Jewish community and the head of the German-Israeli society.

The foreign ministry says on X that the Iranian ambassador had been summoned, adding Tehran would not be allowed to “threaten our free society”.

“The malicious assassination attempts … will have legal consequences,” it says. “We do not tolerate attacks on Jewish life and on those who defend it — anywhere, and certainly not in Germany.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows that that Israel will not hesitate to strike its enemies at a moment’s notice, eight days before a tight election and following his warnings to Iran, AFP reports.

Netanyahu says he spoke to the commander of an unspecified base and saw Israel’s “capability to strike our enemies the moment it is required”.

“I say to our enemies: Do not test us — you will receive harsher blows than you have suffered to date,” he says in a video statement from the base.

Russia’s foreign minister has arrived in Tehran for his first visit since the outbreak of the Middle East war, AFP reports citing Russian news agencies, as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role.

Arriving from Bahrain, Sergei Lavrov is scheduled to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Qatar will soon announce ​a defence production hub, the minister of ‌state for defence affairs has told the Global Security Forum in Doha, Reuters reports.

Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani ⁠said: “We are partnering with a regional partner, ​in addition to other partners such as the United ​States, the United Kingdom, France, to make sure either we do local protection or we are investing in some of ​these companies.”

When asked about the threats faced ​by Qatar and the other Gulf countries from ballistic missiles, drones ‌and ⁠cyberattacks, Al Thani said: “Soon we are going to announce a new partnership that we will do with the regional partners to establish a new ​initiative towards building ​capability into ⁠these three elements and others.”

He did not elaborate.

The Pakistani military’s spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has called on the Muslim nations to unite amid the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

In an interview with Independent Arabia, he emphasised that there was no advantage “to these countries, any country, by vertically or horizontally escalating these conflicts”.

“We need to stop attacking each other,” he maintained, highlighting that Pakistan had been trying to convey the same to all parties since the US-Iran war erupted.

“Whether you expand it to Houthis, whether you expand it to other places, it doesn’t serve anything. It only serves those who are interested in chaos in the region.”

Read more here.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for supporting US policy toward Iran, saying he cannot shift the blame for France’s massive wave of protests to a war on Iran that he helped bring about.

In a post on X, Araghchi said Macron had “made his bed” by assuring US President Donald Trump that he welcomed atrocities against Iranians.

“Too late to blame the war his ilk helped cause,” he added.

At least 18 people were killed in an attack by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement on a Yemeni government military training camp in Yemen’s Shabwa province, four government and medical sources told Reuters.

The government sources said the attack, which targeted soldiers during a morning training, was carried out using three ballistic missiles.

Fighting between the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa and much of the north, has escalated in recent weeks, becoming another front in the wider regional conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

Yemen’s Ministry of Health announced in a statement that the number of victims of Saudi aggression against the country has risen to 536 martyrs and wounded, IRNA reports.

Hezbollah announces that it will provide financial support to families in Lebanon who lost their homes in the war with Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

Analysts say this is increasing pressure on the Lebanese gov’t, which has sought to counter the group’s influence.

Qatar is preparing to announce a new regional defence partnership aimed at strengthening its military capabilities, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani says, Al Jazeera reports.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said during an interview with Arab media that “the concern about escalation is always present because we are witnessing a recurring cycle of de-escalation and escalation, then de-escalation and escalation again,” explaining that Pakistan and its partners in the region continue to engage with the relevant parties to try to break this cycle.

He added, “We constantly emphasise to them that this cycle is not good, and it does not serve the interests of the region, nor the interests of the parties involved in the conflict itself,” stressing that Islamabad will continue its diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing tensions.

Qatar has maintained open channels of communication with Iran despite attacks on its territory and differences over the regional conflict, says deputy PM Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Al Jazeera reports.

Dubai Investments plans to float a 20 per cent stake in subsidiary DIP Holding, the owner of the Dubai Investments Park real estate business, in the first initial public offering in the United Arab Emirates this year and one of only a few in the Gulf amid the Iran war, Reuters reports.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due to arrive in Iran today in his first visit since the outbreak of the Middle East war, as Russia seeks to play a mediating role, AFP reports.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has confirmed the trip, saying in a statement that the two sides will discuss “regional and international developments”.

Lavrov, who is scheduled to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has said Moscow’s efforts are “aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war”, with talks stalled between Tehran and Washington.

The visit comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in early October that Moscow was prepared to contribute to mediation efforts.

Several US embassies in the Middle East have issued identical security alerts for American citizens in the region, citing potential threats from Iran or the Houthis in Yemen, Al Jazeera reports.

“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world, including US businesses and other institutions,” the advisory says.

It has warned Americans to “be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions” and “exercise heightened vigilance due to the complex security environment”.

Referring to ongoing Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, the advisory says the conflict could “escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area”. The advisory covers 12 Middle East countries, including the Gulf Arab states, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Yemen and Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has attended the 52nd session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers’ meeting in Baghdad, the first to be hosted in the Iraqi capital since 1981, Al Jazeera reports.

“Under Iraq’s leadership and experienced SG, we expect active OIC role in addressing Islamic world’s challenges and resolving differences,” Araghchi has said in a post on X.

US Senator Dave McCormick has praised Trump for his approach to the war on Iran, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Iranian regime has the blood of Americans on its hands, and there is no doubt that it was racing to a nuclear bomb,” the Pennsylvania Republican writes on X.

“[Trump] made the difficult and courageous decision to confront that threat,” he says.

“Iran’s leaders now face a choice: abandon their nuclear ambitions or face continued economic and military pressure,” McCormick adds.

Oil prices slipped from a five-month high as investors took profits after US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs on Russia that may lead to more Russian fuel exports.

Brent crude futures fell $1.98, or 1.80 per cent, to $107.88 a barrel after settling at its highest since May 19 on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $100.25 a barrel, down $1.16, or 1.14pc, after closing at its highest since September 17 on Friday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said an oil tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a mine, the latest such incident since Tehran tightened its grip on the waterway, AFP reports.

“An oil tanker, which was in violation, struck a naval mine south of the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in an explosion and a fire in its engine room,” Iranian state media quoted the Guards as saying.

The tanker was travelling in the strait’s “unauthorised southern route” and had disabled its positioning and navigation systems, the statement said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his close relationship with US President Donald Trump will help them “eliminate the Iranian threat” if he wins the tight election race, shortly after the US leader endorsed him, reports AFP.

In a video released by his Likud party, Netanyahu called on voters to heed Trump’s words, assuring them “we have crushed Iran” and adding that their partnership “will continue in order to eliminate the Iranian threat over the next two years, or even sooner”.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has criticised French President Emmanuel Macron over his response to unrest in France, recalling that the president prescribed “peaceful assembly without fear of punishment” during protests in Iran but was unwilling to do the same at home.

“We have not forgotten how, prior to the aggression against Iran, you messaged the US president: ‘We can do great things on Iran,’” Baqaei said on X.

“It soon became clear that your version of ‘great things’ meant aligning with a campaign of aggression and atrocities that eventually engulfed the region and the world.”

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf warns regional governments, funds and firms against providing resources to AI or data companies “aiding invasions or killing children”, announcing that a body to oversee data in the region, the “Persian Gulf Data Authority”, is soon to be established.

“No finance, equity, land and energy. Assist them and face our enforcement,” he said in a post on X.

Hossein Taeb, the head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary organisation, says the US has accepted defeat in the military confrontation with Iran after miscalculating the country’s resilience, state-run IRNA reports.

Speaking at a meeting in Tehran, Taeb said the US and Israel had expected Iran to capitulate within days or weeks, but it had stood firm. Instead, the US and Israel had faced limitations in ammunition supplies and air defence capabilities and were forced to shift their strategy.

He described the conflict as a contest of endurance, stressing that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had also imposed significant costs on the US and global economies.

The Saudi directorate of civil defence says that an enemy projectile has injured six people in Najran, a few hours after issuing an alert that the “danger had passed” in the city.

“An enemy projectile fell in Najran city, resulting in injuries to six citizens,” it said on X, adding that the projectile also caused material damage to three houses and three vehicles.