Pakistan hosts the first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran in 47 years in April; the talks end without a breakthrough, but also without a breakdown
US, Iran hold high-level talks in Switzerland on June 20 after signingpreliminary agreement to end the war; hold talks in Doha on July 1, with mediators citing “positive progress”
US launches strikes on Iran on July 8 in response to attacks on ships in Hormuz, Tehran retaliates as strait heats up again
Yemen’s civil war flares up after Saudi-backed government attacks Sanaa airport
The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, says that while Tehran backs the Houthi-led “resistance”, it is not responsible for Houthi actions in Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab Strait, Al Jazeera reports.
“The Houthis are not an Iranian military unit, and decisions concerning Yemeni territory are made by the Yemenis themselves,” Rezaei tells US news publication DropSite.
“Regarding [the] Bab al-Mandab, you should not automatically assume that what Iran does in Hormuz will be repeated there in exactly the same way. These are two different straits, two different political situations and two different actors.”
Rezaei adds that there is no joint Iranian-Yemeni decision to completely close the Bab al-Mandeb to commercial shipping, noting that the Houthis don’t need “Iranian instructions to understand the strategic importance” of the waterway.
“Anyone planning for a prolonged regional war should understand that stability in Hormuz, the Red Sea, and Bab al-Mandab cannot be separated indefinitely from the region’s overall security situation,” he adds.
Pilgrims (zaireen) have been instructed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony to either use Iranian carriers or verify “every Iran-Iraq air sector before departure” when travelling between Iran and Iraq for their pilgrimage.
In a notice, the ministry says it received guidance from the Foreign Office and urges travellers to “use Iranian airlines or plan onward travel between Tehran/Mashad and Najaf” and “verify every Iran-Iraq air sector before departure”.
Zaireen group organisers have been instructed to “avoid relying on unconfirmed Iranian connections and to maintain alternative land routes or air arrangements, sufficient contingency funds and accommodation plans in case of cancellations”.
Oil prices have climbed about three per cent to a five-month high after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoke concerns of further disruption to energy supplies from the key exporting region, Reuters reports.
Brent futures rose $3.51, or 3.2pc, to $112.33 a barrel at 1705 GMT (10:05pm PKT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.14, or 2.2pc, to $99.29.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has posted a video on X that he claims contains evidence that Washington’s economic campaign against Iran is working, Al Jazeera reports.
The video purportedly shows satellite imagery of Kharg Island before and after Bessent announced “Operation Economic Outcast” — Washington’s economic campaign against Tehran — two months ago.
At the beginning of the video, several oil tankers can be seen near the island. But after the introduction of additional US sanctions on Iran, no tankers are observed nearby.
“Kharg Island is now nothing more than a monument to the one thing the Iranian regime can still produce: failure,” Bessent writes. “‘Operation Economic Outcast’ is cutting off the regime’s oil lifeline, denying it resources to fund terrorism, nuclear procurement, and the lavish lifestyles of the IRGC elite.”
Anti-American displays are a common sight on the streets of the Iranian capital, but authorities have gone a step further with their latest effort — a life-size jail cell with an actor playing US President Donald Trump languishing inside.
The 3D art installation is proving a hit with locals, who have been stopping to take selfies as well as hurl abuse at Trump, who is accused by Tehran of war crimes during the Middle East war.
A prison cell is suspended several stories high in Tajrish Square in an upscale neighbourhood of north Tehran. Inside is an actor dressed in a dark suit and red tie and wearing a prosthetic mask to look like the US president, as he paces around the cell or clutches its bars.
A screen set up nearby shows messages denouncing US “war crimes”.
Some locals are having fun with the installation, with one passerby jokingly telling Trump, “Don’t worry, we’ll pay your bail and get you out!”
Others have used it as a target for their anger, with one teenager shouting, “Trump, this time we’re going to kill you!”
Tehran’s municipal authorities, which are behind the campaign, say they want to remind the capital’s residents of Iran’s demands for justice.
Pedestrians take pictures of an Iranian actor wearing a mask depicting US President Donald Trump as he poses inside a mock prison cell installed onto a street billboard at Tajrish Square in Tehran, Iran on October 21, 2026. — AFP
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has had a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with both sides discussing strategic ties and regional developments, according to the Qatari foreign ministry.
The pair “exchanged views on the latest regional developments, particularly ongoing diplomatic efforts and joint coordination to de-escalate tensions and enhance security and stability in the region”, a statement reads.
“During the conversation, the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs reaffirmed Qatar’s support for all diplomatic efforts and initiatives aimed at reaching a solution that guarantees freedom of maritime navigation and paves the way for a comprehensive agreement that achieves lasting peace in the region,” it adds.
Major General Amir Hatami, Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian armed forces, says Tehran is ready for any form of asymmetric warfare and has “reached a significant level of maturity” in developing drones and other unmanned weapons, according to Press TV.
While visiting a facility manufacturing combat and attack drones, Hatami reiterates that the military is prepared and that it had previously used equipment that caught the enemy off guard.
“We have assessed the enemy and are aware of its considerable capabilities but taking all these factors into account, we have prepared ourselves for asymmetric warfare and acquired the equipment required for it,” he says. “We know how the enemy will operate and have prepared ourselves to respond from the very same areas it uses.”
Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are having only a “limited” economic impact on the kingdom so far, owing to robust domestic demand, the IMF’s regional director tells AFP, though geopolitical uncertainty remains a threat.
The world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has had its crude shipments squeezed by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthis’ declaration of a maritime blockade.
But shipments continue to move despite the conflicts, Jihad Azour told AFP.
The Gulf kingdom also has “strong internal demand and a robust public sector, so the impact is limited”, he said of the Houthi attacks.
In its regional report released on Thursday, the IMF said that every Gulf state bar Oman had suffered reductions in its hydrocarbon production.
The economy of the region as a whole is expected to shrink 4.8 per cent in 2026.
Still, the IMF expects a strong rebound of around 9.1pc growth next year, albeit with deep uncertainty amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions and stalled diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says that escalating hostilities in Yemen and “unacceptable” Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are “inflicting immense suffering on civilians & adding to regional tensions”.
“We need restraint … and Yemen needs a political horizon,” he writes on X.
Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling have occurred across southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces have advanced toward the outskirts of Habbariyeh in the Al-Arqoub area, Anadolu reports citing Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
Israeli warplanes have struck the town of Kfar Tebnit in the Nabatieh district, while artillery fire has targeted Mansouri and the Bayut al-Sayyad farm south of Tyre, NNA says. Israeli artillery has also shelled Wadi Zibqin and, overnight, the area between Beit Yahoun and Baraachit in the Bint Jbeil district.
In Habbariyeh, Israeli artillery fired six consecutive shells at the outskirts of the town as a military force advanced toward the area, according to NNA.
The force, comprising around 20 soldiers and four tanks, has moved toward the Nabaa al-Khoukh area on the outskirts of Habbariyeh in the Hasbaya district, opening machine-gun fire while carrying out searches.
Major General Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has addressed the impact of US sanctions and a naval blockade to choke Iran’s economy, Al Jazeera reports.
“Iran will suffer from a prolonged blockade. Families will pay a price, investment will be damaged, and sustaining some sectors of the economy will become more difficult,” Rezaei tells DropSiteNews in an interview. “But economic pain and strategic collapse are not the same thing.”
Tehran’s security chief adds that Washington “has repeatedly made the mistake of believing that if it makes life sufficiently difficult for people inside Iran, the Iranian political system will consequently accept Washington’s strategic demands. These are two different calculations”.
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for the inclusion of Yemen’s Houthi rebels on the European Union’s list of “terrorist” groups, according to Al Jazeera.
The parliament has urged the EU Council to designate the Houthis’ military and political wings, its leadership and its military and security apparatus as “terrorist”, describing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as “flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law”.
The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, reiterates that the country has not deployed all of its military capabilities and stresses that the war must end on terms that prevent another illegal aggression, according to state broadcaster Press TV.
In an interview with US-based investigative outlet DropSite News, he says that Tehran has new military capabilities to respond to new acts of aggression.
“We did not deploy all our capabilities in the previous stages. We brought more capabilities into operation in proportion to the intensity of the war, and we are also prepared for the next stage,” he adds.
Rezaei also notes that Iran has spent decades preparing for war with the US by focusing on dispersed production, underground facilities, different launch systems and the ability to repair damage and replace losses.
“Our goal is not to make it to 2029. Our goal is to end the war on terms that reduce the likelihood of another war,” he states.
Billionaire technology investor Peter Thiel has voiced strong scepticism about the US war on Iran, saying Washington should never have launched the conflict, Anadolu reports citing Politico.
“I’m sceptical of [the war], I think we should not have done it,” Thiel has said at a private event on Oct 12, according to audio obtained by Politico. “There were a lot of mistakes that were made.”
Thiel, a major Republican donor and longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, also questioned whether the US had the means to sustain its position in the conflict.
“Maybe we don’t have the hard power. Maybe we’re going to lose the soft power war,” he says.
In the lecture, part of a series held in Nashville, Thiel has also reportedly expressed opposition to neoconservative foreign policy and US military intervention in the Middle East. His comments reportedly suggest concern that the war could have consequences beyond the battlefield, particularly for Washington’s international standing.
At least 1,574 people have been killed and 6,939 others injured in Yemen since the latest military escalation began in August, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In a report seen by Anadolu, the UN health agency says it has recorded 8,513 casualties since the beginning of August, including 1,574 deaths and 6,939 injuries as of Oct 19, without specifying whether the casualties are civilians, military personnel, or both.
The agency adds that 292 people were killed and 1,048 others injured during the latest eight-day reporting period.
Essential staff at the headquarters of Saudi oil giant Aramco in the country’s east have been told to evacuate, two sources briefed on the matter tell AFP, after their non-essential colleagues were told to work from home since last week.
Most staff had already been working remotely since Yemen’s Houthis hit the Dhahran facility last week, three sources say, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, with only essential staff on site.
Those essential employees have now also been told to work from home until further notice, two of the sources add.
Yemen’s Houthis said they had launched attacks on Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry in Riyadh, Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, where Saudi authorities said two people were killed, Reuters reports.
There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of attacks in Riyadh and Yanbu.
Brent prices have risen to their highest since May after more Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoke concerns over an escalation of the Middle East conflict and further disruptions to crude oil supplies from the world’s key exporting region, Reuters reports.
Brent crude futures have climbed $3.06, or 2.81 per cent, to $111.88 a barrel as of 1104 GMT (4:04pm PKT). They hit $112.55 a barrel earlier in the session, the highest since May 18.
US West Texas Intermediate crude has gained $2.04, or 2.1pc, to $99.19, after hitting $100.07 a barrel earlier.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says all options must be explored to find a political solution between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, AFP reports.
At a press conference where he reiterates solidarity with Saudi Arabia, he stresses “the necessity of exploring all avenues for reaching political solutions”.
