War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir has arrived in Tehran, Iranian state television reported, according to AFP.

According to state television, CDF Munir arrived alongside “a delegation of officials from his country”.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards said that their naval mines halted two tankers attempting to travel the Strait of Hormuz via routes considered illegal by Tehran, AFP reports.

“Two violating oil tankers were set ablaze and halted due to the explosion of mines planted by the brave sailors of the IRGC Navy at an illegal crossing point in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz,” the Guards said in a statement published on their official Sepah News website.

Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir was expected in Tehran today, Iranian authorities say, according to AFP.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said talks with CDF Munir “relate to issues concerning the negotiations, but they are mainly focused on bilateral relations and strengthening interactions and cooperation”.

The visit comes as diplomatic efforts between Iran and the United States have stalled over issues including the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

Two tankers have been set ablaze and brought to a halt south of the Strait of Hormuz after hitting Iranian mines, the Revolutionary Guards’ Navy has said in a statement shared by state media on Tuesday, without saying when the tankers were hit.

The statement also says a US drone was downed by Iran on Monday night.

Speaking at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref says the international system is facing unprecedented challenges due to unilateral actions by some countries, IRNA reports.

He adds that the US and Israel have violated fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter, threatening regional and global peace and security.

Aref has stressed that attacks on civilian infrastructure, educational and medical facilities, economic installations, and peaceful nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency set a dangerous precedent for international security.

He notes that Iran has exercised its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, while emphasising that Tehran prefers peace to confrontation.

US special envoy Tom Barrack said that Washington is providing logistical support to Saudi Arabia, but a US ground intervention in the conflict involving Yemen’s Houthis “appears pointless,” Anadolu reports.

Speaking at the Global Security Forum in Doha, Qatar, Barrack, who serves as US ambassador to Türkiye and special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, said President Donald Trump supports Saudi Arabia logistically amid escalating hostilities between the kingdom and the Houthi group.

He also urged Middle Eastern countries to establish regional alliances rather than rely on Washington to resolve their problems.

Saudi forces intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at the kingdom’s capital, said a spokesman for the Riyadh-led coalition backing Yemen’s government, after authorities issued a danger warning and AFP journalists reported hearing blasts.

The kingdom “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh”.

The Saudi capital was shaken by two blasts, according to AFP journalists, after authorities issued an alert warning of potential danger.

“A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Riyadh City to alert for a potential danger,” the Saudi civil defence said in a statement on X.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has discussed Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, three Israeli officials say, as tensions flare between the US and Iran, Reuters reports.

The officials did not provide further details about the meeting, first reported by Axios. The Pentagon has declined to comment. The Israeli prime minister’s office has not immediately responded to a request for comment.

Hegseth said in a social media post that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.

Israel’s Army Radio has reported his meeting with Netanyahu took place at an air force base in Israel’s southern desert.

Investment in alternative logistics routes in the Gulf to mitigate the impact of the Iran war could make the Strait of Hormuz “redundant” in the next five years, HSBC Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery says, Reuters reports.

The conflict has highlighted the world’s heavy reliance on the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade previously passed.

It is forcing Gulf nations to channel resources towards the development of energy pipelines to ports, investments that Elhedery says will allow the region to weather the fallout from the conflict.

“We do see this region being able to recover and then continue growing. It will mean a lot of investment,” the bank CEO says during the HSBC Future Forum event in Dubai.

“Of course, we do wish and hope to see a resolution to the conflict… But Hormuz, probably in five years’ time, may become redundant,” he has added.

Qatar says negotiations between Iran and the US are continuing, with both sides engaging in diplomatic efforts despite growing tensions and fears of renewed fighting, Al Jazeera reports.

“On the negotiations of the JCPOA, they are ongoing, we are seeing engagement from both parties,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari says at the Global Security Forum in Doha.

“The fact that we’re not hearing about it is a good sign that we’re doing our job properly,” he says, stressing the importance of confidential negotiations.

He adds that Doha stands firmly behind Riyadh amid the widening conflict.

“Qatar is supporting our brothers in Saudi Arabia in defending their sovereignty against this attack,” he has said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that it intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

The Revolutionary Guard said the drone was downed early Tuesday while flying over the strategic waterway, the news agency reported.

It claimed that the aircraft was the 54th US MQ-9 drone it had destroyed, according to the agency.

The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said, as tensions flare between the US and Iran, Reuters reports citing Axios.

The person did not say what the two men discussed during the meeting, first reported by Axios. The Pentagon declined to comment. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hegseth said in a social media post that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.

Israel’s Army Radio reported his meeting with Netanyahu took place at an air force base in Israel’s southern desert.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen warned the Houthi group against using traditional boats to smuggle weapons, missiles and military equipment into the country, citing risks to civilians and regional security, Anadolu reports.

The coalition’s Joint Forces Command stressed in a statement that the practice threatened security in Yemen and beyond.

It urged boat owners not to cooperate with the Houthis in transporting weapons and military equipment to Yemen’s coast, warning that their lives and property could be put at risk.

The statement gave no details of specific smuggling operations or intercepted weapons shipments.

Oil prices advanced, with Brent hovering around a five-month high as traders priced in a geopolitical risk premium from Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and reports of vessel attacks in the Gulf.

Brent crude futures climbed 55 cents, or 0.50 per cent, to $110.10 a barrel, after rising as high as $110.70 a barrel in the previous session to their highest since May 20.

The US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) contract for November delivery, set to expire on Tuesday, was up 0.24pc to $103.91. The more-active December contract rose 39 cents, or 0.40pc, to $98.93.

“Oil prices remain well-supported … This suggests the market is pricing in a significant risk premium, given the situation’s volatility,” ING analysts said in a note.

“However, if flows continue uninhibited despite the geopolitical environment, the risk premium would likely erode slowly. Clearly, there are no signs of this yet.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Russia and Iran have “never” worked so closely, as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role in the Middle East war.

Araghchi hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Iran, in his first visit since the outbreak of the conflict.

“We covered everything from Europe to West Asia, including Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine and Yemen. Also focused on expansion of economic and nuclear cooperation,” Araghchi wrote on X.

“Never in our history have Iran and Russia worked as closely as now.” Lavrov said ahead of the visit that Moscow’s efforts “aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war”, with talks stalled between the United States and Iran.

Iran’s foreign ministry has summoned Germany’s ambassador to Tehran, accusing Berlin of levelling “baseless political allegations” against the Islamic republic, AFP reports.

The move to summon ambassador Axel Dittmann was in retaliation for Germany’s own decision to summon the Iranian ambassador over accusations that Tehran was involved in a plot to assassinate pro-Israel public figures.

“Levelling security-related accusations against Iran has long been a tactic employed by the Zionist regime and certain Western nations,” Iran’s foreign ministry said, in a statement carried by official news agency IRNA.

“Attempting to provide a judicial face to baseless political claims not only fails to lend any credibility to such allegations but also undermines the standing of the German judiciary itself,” the statement added.

Oil prices have fallen as markets weighed an executive order from US President Donald Trump that waived some sanctions and tariffs tied to Russian energy exports, while attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemen kept fears of Middle East supply disruptions in view, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.45 per cent, to $109.06 a barrel by 0010 GMT. The US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) contract for November delivery, set to expire on Tuesday, eased 0.33pc to $103.32. The more-active December contract was down 46 cents, or 0.47pc, at $98.08.

Brent rose as high as $110.70 per barrel in the previous session, its highest since May 20.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge, Reuters reports.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the meeting, but Hegseth said in a social media post that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.

The Pentagon declined comment, while Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China’s crude oil imports from top supplier Russia stood at 9.94 million metric tons in September, or 2.4m barrels per day (bpd), up 20 per cent from a year earlier but down 11pc from the previous month, customs data shows, Reuters reports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says “sustainable security in the region must be ensured based on mutual trust, participation of regional countries, and respect for the legitimate interests of all parties”, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran is “ready to resolve existing issues and challenges through dialogue, understanding, and regional mechanisms”, he tells Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, adding “It is the interventions and divisive policies of the United States that have led to differences in our region.”

Pezeshkian says US military bases in the Middle East have no benefit and are “increasing tensions, intensifying disputes, and creating instability and insecurity”.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has criticised the US and Israel’s “unprovoked war” on the country during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tehran, Al Jazeera reports.

“The martyrdom of the Leader of the Revolution (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), commanders, scientists, students, and targeting our country’s infrastructure did not comply with any logic or legal or international standards, and these actions were taken while the Islamic Republic of Iran was on the path of dialogue and diplomatic engagement,” the IRNA news agency quotes him as saying.

Pezeshkian says Iran “does not accept a country that relies on power and means of pressure to impose its will and desires on other nations” and calls for a world based on mutual respect and constructivism, saying he believes Russia shares “common views and approaches with Iran in this regard”.

Brent crude futures are up slightly after attacks by the Houthis on a Yemeni military training camp and renewed attacks on Saudi energy, airport and military facilities, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are up 17 cents, or 0.15 per cent, to $110.03 a barrel as of 1708 GMT (10:08pm PKT), after falling more than $3 earlier in the session as investors booked profits following last week’s rally to a five-month high.

US West Texas Intermediate is up $1.68, or 1.66pc, to $103.09 a barrel in relatively thin trade ahead of the October 20 expiry of the front-month contract.

The Iranian navy claims that US forces attacked the Konarak naval base with “two light projectiles” early this morning, Al Jazeera reports.

Two Iranian soldiers were reportedly wounded in the strikes on the facility, located in a military complex in the country’s Sistan-Baluchistan province on the southeastern coast.

“The target of the American forces in the attack on the Iranian navy this morning was a 35mm cannon,” the navy claims.

Iran has summoned Germany’s ambassador to the foreign ministry over what it described as “baseless accusations”, Reuters reports citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.