War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s defence ministry spokesperson says that the country’s weapons capacity has greatly increased since before the war began, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

“Iran’s capacity to produce weapons and defence equipment has increased 2.5 times compared with before the Ramadan war,” IRIB quoted the spokesperson as saying.

He added that the production of some weapons had risen more than threefold.

US Central Command (Centcom) refutes Iranian media’s claim that a US Navy MH-60R helicopter crashed in the Red Sea last night.

In a post on X, Centcom said, “Reports of a downed US Navy helicopter in the Red Sea are not true. All US military aircraft and personnel across the Middle East are safe and accounted for.”

More than 2.2 million children under five in Yemen are acutely malnourished, over half a million of them severely, the UN says, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera reports that France has pledged an additional €3 million ($3.36m) to support Yemen following the internal displacement of nearly 200,000 people, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Fighting across Yemen has killed more than 270 government troops and Iran-backed Houthi fighters over the past day, sources on both sides told AFP.

Fighting has intensified in Yemen since the internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, launched a counter-offensive aimed at recovering territory seized by Houthi fighters last month.

Government sources told AFP on condition of anonymity that 115 troops had died over the past 24 hours, and that dozens of others were wounded in fighting, and by Houthi missile and drone attacks.

The focus of the violence is on southwest Yemen, around the Bab al-Mandab strait that is crucial to global energy flows.

Mediator Qatar said the United States and Iran were still engaged in talks to end the Middle East war, despite an apparent deadlock seven months into the conflict, AFP reports.

The indirect negotiations take account of “the concerns of the various parties”, foreign ministry official Ibrahim Al-Hashmi told a regular press briefing.

“I can confirm that the talks are continuing and the exchange of messages between different parties are continuing via Qatar and its regional partners,” he said.

“As you know, the scale of this conflict and the magnitude of the price that the whole world is paying require us to put our best efforts to end this immediately through a negotiable solution on the negotiation table,” the official added.

Chinese independent refiners have stepped up purchases of crude from Iraq and Qatar for October and November delivery to replace dwindling Iranian supplies, as exports from other Gulf producers through the Strait of Hormuz recover, traders said, Reuters reports.

Strong demand for non-sanctioned Gulf crude from private refiners has helped support the market after supply disruptions linked to the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Chinese refiners bought at least 12 million barrels of Iraqi and Qatari crude from trading houses Mercuria, Totsa and Trafigura, according to three traders close to the deals. One estimated total purchases at 15 million to 20 million barrels.

India said 12 crew members on a Panama-flagged tanker had been injured in an attack while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, with those hurt receiving medical treatment in Oman, AFP reports.

“We condemn the attack earlier today on a Panama-flagged commercial vessel MT On Peace… it was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” New Delhi’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday lauded Pakistan’s “pivotal role” in mediating between the United States and Iran as he called on the parties to end the conflict and return to diplomacy.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, he said: “Pakistan’s spirit of engagement is front and centre on issues of international peace and security.

“I salute Pakistan’s leadership for helping to create the conditions for dialogue between the US and Iran and mediating that conflict. Your efforts helped deliver the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, the subsequent ceasefire and the framework for future negotiations. Every Pakistani should be proud of that pivotal role,” he said.

“And from Islamabad, I want to send a loud and clear message to all parties: end the conflict, return to diplomacy and restore navigational rights in accordance with international law. There will never be peace in the region until the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people is recognised, as Pakistan has long championed,” he said.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that oil pumped through the East-West Pipeline, which runs to the kingdom’s Red Sea export hub of Yanbu, reached 5.8 million barrels, Reuters reports.

Oil flows through the Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline have not been interrupted, a source told Reuters on Monday, following media reports of a recent disruption and amid hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis.

Saudi Arabia restarted operations at the East-West Pipeline, three sources briefed on the matter said, after drone attacks, which Saudi Arabia has blamed on Iraqi militias, forced the kingdom to shut the pipeline on September 11 and halted crude loadings at Yanbu.

The Iranian army has announced the accumulation of a massive stockpile of newly developed offensive and defensive weaponry, noting that the high-intensity production of advanced missiles and drones initiated during the recent war is continuing at an accelerated pace, IRNA reports.

Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, the spokesman for Iran’s army, reported the military’s enhanced readiness in an interview with Fars News Agency, signalling a significant leap in the country’s indigenous deterrence capabilities.

Addressing the army’s equipment readiness, General Akraminia confirmed that the domestic production of cutting-edge military hardware never ceased during the 40-day imposed war.

The average UK diesel price has hit a record high of close to 2 a litre (around $10 per US gallon) on the fallout from the US-Iran war, government data showed, AFP reports.

The average reached 199.52 pence a litre in the week to October 5, official figures showed, surpassing the previous record of 199.22 pence in July 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a key energy producer.

An explosion was heard in the Saudi capital Riyadh, residents told AFP, with the blast echoing in the northern parts of the city.

The incident comes after several blasts rattled the capital on Monday, as fighting with Yemen’s Houthis intensifies.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar meets United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in Islamabad, the Foreign Office says.

Dar highlights Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to promote dialogue and de-escalation, including its facilitation of the Islamabad talks between the US and Iran. He reaffirms Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue and diplomacy as the most effective means of resolving disputes, the FO says.

The UNSG appreciated Pakistan’s longstanding contribution to the UN, as well as its diplomatic efforts to promote dialogue, mediation, and de-escalation, it added.

Saudi Arabia’s civilian aviation authority said at least three people were wounded in attacks on Jazan and Najran airports near the Yemen border a day earlier, as fighting with Yemen’s Houthis intensifies, AFP reports.

“The attacks resulted in three minor injuries and material damage,” the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement posted online.

Late Monday, the Houthis said their forces targeted sites across southern Saudi Arabia including airports and military sites.

US President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that Iran should be allowed to “take out” California’s two largest cities while discussing war-related price increases, Anadolu reports.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, he argued that Americans should accept higher prices as a cost of maintaining national and global security.

“And again, remember, with the war, it’s just artificial,” he said.

“It’s a little bit high. It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.“

Trump then referred to the possibility of an Iranian attack on an American city.

Tehran has warned Bahrain and other regional states against allowing their territory or airspace to be used in attacks on Iran, stressing that it will respond if they allow such attacks again, IRNA reports.

Ali Karimi Magham, Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, made the remarks before the UN Third Committee, responding to statements by Bahrain’s representative. He said Bahrain was speaking about human rights while ignoring the circumstances surrounding events.

Karimi Magham said Bahrain was not a victim, arguing that it had provided its territory, bases and airspace for an illegal US war against Iran. A country that had made its territory available for an unlawful war against its neighbor, he said, could not express surprise at the consequences.

A US Navy helicopter issued a 7700 emergency squawk while flying over the Red Sea near Yanbu, Press Tv reports.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces redirected a commercial vessel in the Middle East on Monday, marking the 130th ship intercepted during the ongoing US naval blockade against Iran, Anadolu reports.

Since the operation resumed on July 14, US forces have redirected 130 commercial vessels and disabled three ships that refused to comply, CENTCOM said in a statement.

The UN welcomed the release of a staff member held by the Houthi group in Yemen while renewing calls for the immediate release of dozens of humanitarian personnel who remain in custody, Anadolu reports.

“The United Nations will continue to pursue every possible avenue to secure their immediate and safe release,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters, emphasising that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called for the release of all detained UN and humanitarian personnel.

The World Food Program (WFP) confirmed that the individual belongs to its agency, expressing relief that the worker has reunited with his family after being “arbitrarily detained.”

The United States has warned foreign financial institutions that if they conducted any business with Iran or its banking sector they could be sanctioned by Washington, AFP reports.

“Foreign financial institutions continuing to transact with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions could be targeted at any time without advance notification and should take immediate action to terminate such activity and relationships,” the US Treasury said in an “alert” statement.

The US Treasury has also announced a slew of new sanctions as part of that push, targeting Iran’s financial, cryptocurrency, rail, automotive and manufacturing sectors.

It has also taken action against two banks — one in the United Arab Emirates and another in Turkiye — over their alleged aid to the authorities in Tehran.

Oil prices have edged lower after crude exports from the Middle East increased and the Group of Seven nations pledged to boost supplies, though selling has been limited by ongoing disruption fears linked to the US war with Iran, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are down $1.20, or 1.17 per cent, at $101.05 a barrel by 1808 GMT (11:08pm PKT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude is down $1.16, or 1.27pc, at $89.95.

Boeing says it has been awarded a seven-year contract worth about $14.7 billion by Lockheed Martin to scale production and deliver PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) seekers, according to Reuters.

PAC-3 MSE is a hit-to-kill interceptor used within the Patriot air defence system to counter ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. The contract award enables Boeing to triple the production of PAC-3 MSE seekers, the missile’s guidance component that detects, tracks and helps intercept incoming targets.

Demand for the interceptor has surged as conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons stockpiles.

Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have discussed ways to provide support for Riyadh’s defence over the Yemen issue at an emergency meeting of a committee of the Makkah Defence Pact between the three nations, Reuters reports citing Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan.

“We also discussed what could be done to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue. Saudi Arabia has adopted a very constructive approach to resolving the issue,” Fidan tells reporters after the emergency meeting of the Pact’s strategic political and defence committee.