War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman and Kuwait’s Defence Minister Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah have “reviewed the fraternal relations between our two countries in the defence field”, the Saudi minister says in a post on X.

In a phone call, the two “discussed the latest developments in the region, and reaffirmed our solidarity in the face of all challenges and threats to preserve our security and stability”, the Saudi minister says.

Former US president Barrack Obama has slammed President Donald Trump’s rationale for launching the war against Iran, saying Tehran did not have any nuclear weapons, Al Jazeera reports. He notes that the 2015 agreement his administration had signed with Tehran had curbed the country’s nuclear programme.

“I didn’t have to fire any missiles. I engaged in diplomacy.”

He has also criticised the war’s toll. “Our allies and bases have been attacked. Americans have been killed. Hundreds of Americans have been wounded. We have run down our stock of missiles, making us more vulnerable, and Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz,” he says.

Obama adds, “This is the reason why the price of oil is up.”

Trump has defended his decision to wage war against Iran, speaking at a campaign rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, Al Jazeera reports.

He says Iran still has missiles but “much less” of them, and claims its drone manufacturers are struggling because they “can’t get electricity anymore”.

Trump has also claimed “we didn’t start this war” and added that the conflict “should have been taken care of long before I came here”.

The US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28, even as Oman-brokered talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme were under way. It was the second time they had attacked Iran mid-negotiations. Last year, they bombed its nuclear facilities while talks were also ongoing.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis says it has intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the group at the kingdom’s eastern region, reports AFP.

“Air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the Eastern Province,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his US counterpart that as a member of the Makkah Joint Defence Alliance, Turkiye closely follow the developments in the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen, and strive for the resolution of the problem on the basis of diplomacy.

He conveyed this to US President Donald Trump in a phone call, a statement by Erdogan’s office said.

Iran’s Acting Oil Minister Hamid Bovard has said Iran’s energy diplomacy is advancing dynamically and with strong resolve, despite challenges stemming from the hostile actions of its adversaries.

Speaking to IRNA after accompanying President Pezeshkian to the 8th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Moscow, Bovard noted the prospect of attracting new Russian investment.

Referring to Pezeshkian’s meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at the Kremlin, as well as his own bilateral discussions with the Russian Energy Minister, Bovard described the interactions between the two sides as positive and constructive.

UN rights chief Volker Turk has expressed hope that a new Israeli government will “change course massively” and respect international law, as the country’s political future hangs in the balance after hard-fought elections, AFP reports.

“The message is: don’t continue the current course of warfare where you think you are above international law, because I think that’s what we have frankly seen in the current environment,” he tells reporters in New York.

“Israel has its obligations under international law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and they need to respect them, and I hope that the next government will do precisely that and change course massively,” the Austrian diplomat adds.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Tehran is in “close and ongoing contact with intermediaries” regarding the potential implementation of its seven-day plan regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“While our brave armed forces are fully prepared to defend the homeland, Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed,” Araghchi wrote on X.

“We remain in close and ongoing contact with intermediaries to review ideas that can ensure implementation of our 7-Day Plan in even less than a week,” he added.

Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman has discussed the latest regional developments during a phone call with his Malaysian counterpart, Mohamed Khaled bin Nordin, according to a post on social media.

“We reviewed the developments of the regional situation, and we condemned the sinful attacks launched by the terrorist Houthi militia against the kingdom and the Holy Places,” he writes on X.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says only Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump know if there will be a renewed military operation against Iran, according to Al Jazeera.

Speaking to Newsmax TV, Huckabee was asked whether political uncertainty in Israel could lead to striking Iran.

“I think the US and Israel will make the decision based on what’s best for the two countries,” he said. “President Trump will make it based on what’s best for America, and the [Israeli] Prime Minister will make that decision based on what’s best for Israel and its security.”

“Frankly, there are only two people on the planet who know if something is going to happen and, if so, when,” he said, referring to Trump and Netanyahu.

The Israeli army has instructed residents of the Deir Mimas municipality in southern Lebanon to open their windows, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanese national media.

The army warned of a massive explosion in the town’s vicinity.

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to face more constraints as Israel’s caretaker prime minister after the election, but experts say his government could still retain significant powers, including when it comes to waging war on Iran, Reuters reports.

If you look at the letter of the law, a caretaker government has the same authority, has the same powers as a regular government, said Guy Lurie, a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, adding, however, that a caretaker government has a duty of restraint and more limited discretion to act in some areas.

A caretaker government faces limitations when it comes to issues such as appointments, but has leeway to act in matters where there is a public interest, analysts say.

In general, security issues are the clearest exception to this duty of restraint, said Or Asher, a researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Tachlith Institute, noting that Israel’s supreme court has previously held that a caretaker government must avoid far-reaching decisions unless they are justified by a pressing necessity.

Oil prices have climbed about two per cent as continued fighting in Yemen and an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia renew concerns about additional supply disruptions from the Middle East, Reuters reports.

Brent futures were up $1.81, or 1.6pc, to $115.69 per barrel at 1442 GMT (7:42pm PKT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.52, or 2.5pc, to $102.42.

Director of Al-Thawra Hospital in Yemen’s Taiz Abdulrahman al-Sabri tells Al Jazeera that the facility lacks essential supplies, including medicine, amid a tightening siege of the city.

“We are suffering greatly at the moment because of this blockade, as well as the failure to deliver essential supplies, including diesel fuel, medicines and other vital life-saving necessities,” al-Sabri.

He stresses that the hospital urgently needs diesel fuel to generate electricity and medicine and medical supplies for emergency care and surgeries, adding that 400 dialysis patients are especially vulnerable to the shortages.

Many Iranians are bracing for another potential round of attacks from the US and Israel, amid increasing suggestions of a new military campaign after Washington and Tel Aviv’s election cycles, Al Jazeera reports.

Tehran resident Sajad, 37, believes there will be renewed conflict regardless of the outcome of Israel’s elections.

“I haven’t followed the Israeli election very closely. But I think there will be more fighting whether Netanyahu wins or Eisenkot or someone else,” Sajad tells the broadcaster.

Canada’s central bank has raised its key interest rate to 2.5 per cent, its first hike since 2023, citing rising oil prices driven by the ongoing war, Reuters reports.

The Bank of Canada has maintained that the economy faces two competing pressures: growth is being hampered by President Donald Trump’s trade war, but inflation is rising due to the US conflict with Iran.

The bank said Wednesday that Canadian businesses are “adapting” to the changing trade relationship with the US, suggesting growth could be stronger than initially expected.

The World Bank warns that global commodity prices are set to increase by 23 per cent by the end of 2026, with energy prices at four-year highs due to the war on Iran and food prices driven up by global conflicts and El Nino, AFP reports.

“Commodity markets are being hit by several major shocks at once,” says the lender’s deputy chief economist Ayhan Kose in a statement, accompanying the release of the organization’s Commodity Markets Outlook report.

“Higher energy costs and trade disruptions are driving up prices across a broad range of commodities, threatening to worsen inflation, food insecurity, and economic growth.”

Food prices are expected to rise by 10 percent in 2026 and another seven percent next year, due to conflict-affected grain supply lines, the effects of an extreme El Nino phenomenon and high fuel and fertilizer prices.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has promised to fulfil a recent directive from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to end the current state of “neither war nor peace”, according to state news agency IRNA.

Chairing a cabinet meeting, Pezeshkian says the government will “pursue the realisation and fulfilment of the leader’s decree earnestly, and with all its capacity”.

Global commodity prices are set to surge 23 per cent in 2026, the World Bank said, citing rising energy prices and disruptions to cargo shipping during the Middle East war, grain shipment problems in the Black Sea and high demand for safe-haven assets such as gold, Reuters reports.

Oil, natural gas, food and metals prices all rose sharply this year as global shocks mounted, the World Bank said in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook.

It said the situation could worsen if the conflict in the Middle East ratcheted up and damage to Russian oil infrastructure continued.

Kuwait has summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest a statement by the Iranian embassy which it said amounted to interference in its internal affairs, Reuters reports citing the foreign ministry.

Earlier, the Iranian embassy in Kuwait rejected what it described as Kuwaiti allegations that Iranian nationals were involved in a plot to assassinate individuals and undermine the Gulf state’s security.

Kuwait rejected any interference in rulings issued by its courts and called on Iran to comply with international law and the UN Charter, particularly the principle of good-neighbourliness, the ministry says in a statement.

A missile has targeted Yemen’s Aden airport for the second time, a police official tells AFP, after the Houthi rebels called for the evacuation of the facility.

“A Houthi missile targeted the area under Saudi forces’ control inside the perimeter of Aden airport,” the Aden police official tells AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive topics.

Yemen’s Houthis claim that Saudi strikes on its territory have killed a dozen people, AFP reports.

Houthi broadcaster Al Masirah reports 14 dead “and 10 wounded, including women and children in a preliminary toll”, in attacks blamed on Saudi Arabia that hit a market and a petrol station in the northwestern Jawf province.