War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claims that the group has struck airports in Saudi Arabia’s Abha and Khamis Mushait areas.

“The first operation targeted Abha International Airport with a drone, and the strike was precise, leading to the disruption of air traffic at the airport,” he writes on X. “Meanwhile, the second operation targeted Khamis Mushait Airbase with a ballistic missile, and the strike was direct.”

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claims that the group has struck “[the] Saudi enemy’s mobilisations” in the Ras Al-Aara and Al-Mudharaba areas of Yemen.

In a post on X, Saree adds that the areas have been struck using “a number of ballistic missiles, and the strikes were precise … resulting in dozens of dead and wounded, including leaders”.

In a separate post, Saree further claims attacks on Saudi-led forces east of Al-Jawf Governorate with ballistic missiles, adding, “The strikes were direct, resulting in a large number of dead and wounded, as well as the destruction and burning of several vehicles.”

US President Donald Trump says that Iran is “not in a good negotiating position”, while denying that the conflict is a “war”.

“What’s a war? A war is fighting … When was the last time you saw us fighting with them?” he tells Fox News. “We go months and months; we talk. They’re not in a good negotiating position; their economy is cratering … they have 301 per cent inflation; they don’t have money.”

He adds that the war could go on if no agreement is made, but stresses that Iran wants “to make a deal really badly” and that there is a “very good chance” of a deal being struck.

“We’re dealing from total strength,“ Trump says.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said that a resumption of fighting with the United States would not benefit anyone, reiterating that his government had been granted fresh negotiating powers in exchanges with Washington, AFP reports.

During a cabinet meeting, Pezeshkian said “no one will benefit from this war”, adding that his government was trying to resolve the crisis “through dialogue” after the supreme leader granted it powers to discuss “issues that he had previously considered off-limits,” without elaborating.

Iran’s top military commander has outlined five conditions for establishing lasting security, according to Anadolu.

Major General Ali Abdollahi, Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces and commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, is quoted by state broadcaster IRIB as saying that Iran has emerged as a “fourth centre of global power” through its control of the Strait of Hormuz and its ability to determine the rules governing access to the waterway.

Abdollahi outlines five conditions that Tehran considers essential for establishing lasting security:

1. Ending wars on all fronts, particularly in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, while rejecting negotiations conducted under military threats
2. The complete lifting of sanctions against Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets
3. Compensation for damage caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran, as well as the 12-day war with Israel last year
4. Recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and the replacement of the US-led security framework with what Abdolahi describes as a “Hormuz mechanism”
5. Guarantees against renewed military attacks and the establishment of security arrangements led by countries in the region.

Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi has said that Tehran reserved the right to self-defence following US attacks on Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports, citing Iran’s ISNA news agency

“The Islamic Republic of Iran retains the right to legitimate self-defence until the military aggression has been completely and permanently brought to an end,” Gharibabadi said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it shot down two Lucas drones over the coastal area of Bandar Khamir, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reports.

Saudi oil giant Aramco announced a 34.6 per cent surge in third-quarter net profit, as the Middle East war keeps crude prices soaring while the kingdom’s energy infrastructure comes under regular attack, AFP reports.

Yemen’s Houthis have targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage facilities and refineries regularly since hostilities resumed in July, intensifying their strikes in recent weeks.

The firm said net profit hit 135.9 billion riyals ($36.2bn) in the third quarter, compared with around 101bn riyals in the same period a year earlier.

But Aramco’s boss warned that the conflict continued to weigh heavily on energy security.

In the second quarter, Aramco had reported a 44pc year-on-year increase in net profit to 122.6bn riyals.

Qatar has said it remained hopeful that a deal could be reached between the US and Iran as both sides review proposals put forward by mediators including Doha, according to AFP.

“Both parties remain committed to the negotiation process; as we mentioned, we are facilitating the real-time exchange of proposals between them,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters, while adding that both sides “are currently reviewing the ideas and proposals we have presented”.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says the US midterm elections will not affect Iran’s foreign policy strategy, Al Jazeera reports.

Tehran is neither waiting for the outcome nor shaping its policies around it, he said.

The Israeli military has said it had no involvement in reported US strikes on an Iranian island, despite PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent threats to resume war with Tehran, AFP reports.

Asked if Israel was involved in secret attacks reported by US media outlets on Qeshm Island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz, an Israeli military spokespeson told AFP, “No”.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted a drone in the region of Makkah, following repeated waves of attacks on the kingdom, AFP reports.

“Interception and destruction of a drone in the Makkah region,” Turki al-Malki, the coalition’s spokesman wrote on social media, without elaborating on the source of the attack.

Iran unveiled a massive billboard and banners pledging to kill US President Donald Trump across Tehran, bringing to a new level the official rhetoric displayed in the capital, AFP reports.

“We will kill Trump”, read the billboard towering over the busy Enghelab Square in Tehran, which depicted the US president behind bars with his head bowed, according to the report.

Yemen’s Houthis have said that Saudi strikes killed 17 civilians over two days this week, as they fight a Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognised government, AFP reports.

The Houthi health ministry said in a statement that most of the people killed were children, “which shows that Saudi aircraft are targeting homes, residential neighbourhoods and markets”.

The UN’s relief chief warned that Yemen’s civilians are bearing the cost of an escalating conflict, with nearly 300,000 people displaced since August.

“Yemen’s civilians are paying a brutal price for this escalating conflict,” said Tom Fletcher.

Fletcher said roads are closed and supplies are running out in the besieged city of Taiz, home to around 1 million people, where water production has halved and food prices have soared by at least 50 per cent. Hospitals are running out of fuel and medicines, he added.

He said he spoke with Yemen’s Foreign Minister Afrah Abdulaziz Al-Zouba about the crisis, adding that humanitarian partners have reached nearly 260,000 displaced people, but “needs are outpacing our response.”

Oil prices rose more than $1, as an Iranian official said a deal to the end the war was far off, while the United States struck Iran’s Qeshm Island, fuelling concerns over the escalation of hostilities and risks to energy supplies, Reuters reports.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.6, or 1.66 per cent, at $98.06 a barrel while Brent crude futures rose $1.84, or 1.76pc, to $106.61 a barrel by 0744 GMT.

Both benchmarks had dropped more than 7pc on Monday as talks between Iranian and Qatar officials lifted hopes for an end to the US-Israeli war with Iran that were soon dashed.

The 2027 Asian Cup football tournament in Saudi Arabia will be postponed from January to December due to “exceptional circumstances” in the region, the continent’s governing body said, Reuters reports.

A number of sports events in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or postponed in recent weeks following Houthi attacks on the country.

The Asian Cup was originally scheduled to take place from January 7 to February 5 next year.

The new dates for the continental showpiece are December 23, 2027, to January 21, 2028.

“The organising committee for AFC Asian Cup approved to reschedule the flagship national team tournament in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region,” the Asian Football Confederation said in a statement.

German airline giant Lufthansa said it expects its 2026 fuel costs to be two billion euros ($2.24 billion) higher than last year as the Iran war keeps global energy prices elevated, Reuters reports.

Releasing third quarter results, the group predicted its fuel bill across the full year will come in at 9.3 billion euros.

That is 600 million higher than it had anticipated just a few months ago, as the US war against Iran drags on.

The group, which also operates carriers including Swiss, Brussels and Eurowings, also slightly downgraded its forecast for core profit to a range of between 1.7 and 2.0 billion euros for 2026.

Previously it predicted a range of between 1.7 and 2.2 billion euros.

Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said that the ball was in Washington’s court to “prevent war,” AFP reports.

“The countries of the region should know that, just as the Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready for battle with its finger on the trigger, it has also given the American side a powerful and rational response,” he said in a televised speech. “The ball is now in America’s court to prevent war”.

Talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia are ongoing as Tehran aims to reach new regional security arrangements for countries in the region without foreign military involvement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said on X.

Last week, top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran, the first high-level contact between Iran and the three nations since August. The US-Israeli war on Iran started in late February and since then, fighting has spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Riyadh said the visit was intended to open negotiating channels to “prevent the return of military escalation,” as fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis had intensified in recent weeks.

Saudi oil giant Aramco announced a 34.6 per cent surge in third-quarter net profit, as the Middle East war keeps crude prices soaring while the kingdom’s energy infrastructure comes under regular attack, Reuters reports.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage facilities and refineries regularly since hostilities resumed in July, intensifying their strikes in recent weeks.

The kingdom has also had to contend with the Houthis and Iran hampering traffic in the straits of Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz, complicating exports.

Yet Aramco – the cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s economy and one of the world’s most valuable companies – saw its profits soar during the third quarter thanks in large part to stubbornly high oil prices.

US Vice President JD Vance says Washington has made progress in indirect peace talks with Iran, while Tehran insists the US must lift its naval blockade before an agreement can be reached, Al Jazeera reports.

AS the threat of renewed US-Israeli strikes on Iran lingers, a parallel diplomatic process — facilitated by Qatar and Pakistan — is attempting to avert a devastating return to hostilities.

Iranian negotiators were in Doha on Sunday to take part in indirect talks aimed at working out a deal, even as speculation of fresh attacks on Iran, following today’s midterm polls in America, continued.

US President Donald Trump has not helped matters by toying with the idea of new attacks. The ice was broken late last month when US Vice-President J.D. Vance wrote a letter to Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei.

Mr Vance reportedly prefers a diplomatic solution. Earlier, he had led his country’s delegation during April’s historic talks in Islamabad. The letter has been well received in Tehran, with Gen Rezaei calling its tone “positive”.

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The reports of US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island have come after President Donald Trump signalled progress in talks with Iran to avoid a return to war.

A deal with Tehran “could happen,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, according to AFP.

“Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible,” he said.