War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says Tehran is finalising its response to US considerations on a proposal submitted by Iran during the UN General Assembly, state news agency IRNA reports.

However, he says Iran remains prepared for both diplomacy and military confrontation.

In an interview with Al Araby television, Gharibabadi says Tehran will continue participating in talks with Washington while maintaining its readiness to defend the country under any scenario.

According to Al Jazeera, Jordan and Libya have condemned last week’s Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has reiterated the country’s condemnation of attacks on Saudi Arabia in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Meanwhile, Libya has also affirmed its full solidarity with the kingdom, its leadership, government, and people, in the face of all that targets its security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, according to Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it struck a vessel attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.

Iran has, since the start of the war, frequently targeted vessels crossing the key waterway without its permission.

The IRGC Navy says in a statement published on the force’s news platform, Sepah News, that “a supertanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire”.

The ship targeted tried to sail through the area “by disabling its transponders” and “by ignoring warnings from the Guards’ Navy”, the statement adds.

Deputy Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Faramarz Bemani says the US has “made a wide retreat from Iran’s borders in the seas and has now moved the furthest away from Iran’s borders” compared to previous conflicts in the region, according to Al Jazeera.

“If they try to repeat a new miscalculation, the navy will respond in such a way that they will again move further away from our borders than before,” Bemani says in an interview with Iran’s state IRIB broadcaster, adding that the country has been busy producing new weapons, after having “examined and studied the enemy’s weaknesses”.

“In response to the new tactics the enemy is adopting, Iran is also adopting new tactics,” Bemani adds.

Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad Airways has announced it is cancelling all flights to and from Riyadh until next week due to “regional disruption”, AFP reports.

“All flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh have been cancelled until Monday, October 19,” a post on the airline’s official website reads, adding that several upcoming flights to Dammam and Jeddah this week are also cancelled.

Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport will remain closed until 2100 GMT (1am PKT) on October 17, Reuters reports citing a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman says the country has been tested but will mount a “serious” response after a string of attacks on Riyadh’s international airport by Yemen’s Houthis that left 18 people dead, AFP reports.

“The events of recent weeks are serious; our response must be equally serious,” he says.

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia has renewed its security alert for the third consecutive day following a series of Houthi attacks targeting airports in the kingdom, Anadolu reports.

The latest security alert cites additional attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and a targeted attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam in the country’s east a day prior.

The mission says US government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorisation to use King Khalid International Airport, as well as airports in Jeddah and Dammam.

It urges US citizens to exercise “extreme caution” when using major airports across Saudi Arabia and warns of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions.

Additionally, the embassy has advised travellers to check their flight status directly with airlines and airports and said private cars, trains and buses could provide alternatives to air travel.

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.