War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

US President Donald Trump says things will happen “very soon” in Iran, claiming that Tehran’s economy is “no good” and wracked with inflation, and reiterating his claim that Iran’s military has been destroyed.

Addressing an event at the White House, Trump insists that the US has “virtually total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, and claims that over the past three days, “more oil has come out of the Hormuz strait than at any time in the history” of the waterway.

A music festival in Saudi Arabia has announced in an email to ticket holders that it is being postponed, becoming the latest entertainment event to be nixed amid the ongoing Middle East war, AFP reports.

“We know we said we’d see you at Soundstorm this year, so this isn’t the update we wanted to share. With regret, Soundstorm ’26 will be postponed,” the email from the organisers of the MDLBEAST Soundstorm festival reads.

The announcement comes a month after an upcoming UAE concert by singer Christina Aguilera and a separate Abu Dhabi festival featuring Shakira were both cancelled.

US Central Command (Centcom) has announced that Bahrain will be joining the American military’s multinational attack drone task force — which was launched in August — according to a statement.

“We’re excited to welcome Bahrain to Task Force Falcon Strike after the kingdom affirmed its commitment to join Centcom in building the world’s first multinational attack drone unit,” Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper is quoted as saying.

“Bahrain is a steadfast partner in strengthening regional security and stability.“

According to Al Jazeera, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi says stability in Lebanon requires “ending the [Israeli] occupation” and the “handover of Hezbollah’s weapons”.

“We want peace with all our neighbours, and we stress the need for Iran to stop interfering in our affairs,” he has said at a discussion hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in Washington, adding that Beirut is committed to direct, US-sponsored negotiations as “the only way to reclaim our land and secure the return of the displaced”.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham says there are “strong indications” that Iran was involved in suspicious activity at a UK airbase that triggered a major security incident, AFP reports.

“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford,” Burnham told the BBC in an interview, referring to a weekend bomb scare near the airbase in southwest England, which is used by the US military in its campaign against Tehran.

Lebanon’s National News Agency has reported that Israeli artillery struck the town of al-Khiam in the country’s southeast, while an explosion was also heard in the southeastern town of Houla near the Israeli border, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran’s national security chief Mohsen Rezaei, in an apparent warning to the UAE, has said that hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not have “favourable consequences”.

“Just as hosting US military bases has not brought you security, hosting the ‘Butcher of Gaza’ will also not have favourable consequences,” he writes on X, referring to Netanyahu’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip. “Learn from the last war, stop igniting wars, and cease issuing baseless claims regarding the Iranian islands!”

Earlier this week, it was reported that Netanyahu visited the UAE, though hsi destination was unknown at the time.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an advisory to airlines over Saudi airspace, following a recent increase in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Reuters reports.

The latest advisory on Saudi Arabia does not mention today’s incident involving a diverted flydubai airliner, and EASA says it will continue to monitor the situation to assess whether there is an increase or decrease in risk for EU airlines in the country.

EASA, in a separate bulletin, now recommends that flights not operate within the airspace of Jordan at all altitudes and flight levels; a change from a previous advisory to exercise caution.

Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Atabak has mocked US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s claims that the US can “sever” the country’s economic lifeline, saying that Bessent’s claim “lacks rational logic”, state news agency IRNA reports.

Atabak says Bessent made similar statements in the early days of the US-Israeli 12-day war on Iran last year, and that the US Treasury chief predicted Iran’s economic collapse within less than two days.

“The remarks made by the American official against Iran lack any rational logic, Atabak says, arguing that Bessent’s words “are not without bias, since the US is an adversary, and such claims do not merit serious attention”.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi says there is “military conflict” in the Strait of Hormuz every day and that Iran has been striking vessels in the waterway with little intervention from the US, Al Jazeera reports.

“We have been hitting small ships and preventing them from passing for a long time, but America does not respond,” Mohebbi says in an interview with the semi-official Fars News Agency.

Crude exports from Gulf oil producers, excluding Iran, have returned to pre-war levels seven months after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, reaching at least 16.5 million barrels per day in September, Al Jazeera reports citing maritime data firm Kpler.

Kpler says on social media that the recovery has changed regional oil logistics, with around 40 per cent of crude now leaving without crossing the strait, up from 17pc before the war, as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates make greater use of pipeline routes.

“Of the crude that crossed the Strait of Hormuz in August, more than 70pc changed tankers offshore,” Kpler states. “The volumes have recovered, but through a fundamentally different export system.”

An explosion in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad has destroyed a residential building and injured two people, Al Jazeera reports citing Iranian broadcaster IRIB, which cites a local fire department spokesperson.

According to the report, firefighters and emergency responders rushed to the scene and transported the injured to medical facilities. The cause of the explosion is being investigated.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says the brawl between pilots aboard a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv shows that Israel must intensify its military campaigns across the region The Times of Israel reports.

“Thank God and the heroic passengers, but Israel’s security doctrine must be taken to the next level,” Ben Gvir says, adding, “We must not stop and must continue until achieving total victory in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and Judea and Samaria,” referring to the biblical name for the West Bank.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that following the UN General Assembly, the country has achieved a higher level of diplomatic prestige, news agency ISNA reports.

“Iran has attained a distinguished position under the new circumstances, with European, Arab, and Asian countries showing strong eagerness to meet and hold discussions. This has created a special level of respect for Iran and the Islamic Republic around the world,” he is quoted as saying.

German inflation accelerated at its fastest pace for nearly three years in September due to higher energy costs triggered by the Middle East war, official data showed, according to AFP.

Consumer prices rose 3.3 per cent in the month from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from statistics agency Destatis. That was the fastest rate since December 2023 and above forecasts of a 3.2pc rise by analysts surveyed by the financial data firm FactSet.

A British maritime agency says that unknown projectiles struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz the previous day, according to AFP.

A crude oil tanker and two other vessels have “been struck by an unknown projectile”, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) says.

The sound of an explosion has been heard in Iran’s southeastern city of Zahedan, but no damage has been caused, Reuters reports citing the Fars News Agency, which cites the Zahedan administrative office.

Adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Ali Belali tells the Fars news agency that even if the war against the US and Israel continues for years, the country can sustain its missile operations “at the same intensity”.

“In every operation today, Iran’s armed forces fire with power and resolve, in the quantities required, so the enemy is punished and understands that the era of attacking without receiving a response is over,” he tells the news agency.

Oil prices are up and are on track for a big monthly gain as US-Iran talks aimed at ending the war stall and tight fuel markets continue to underpin prices despite recovering Middle East crude supplies, Reuters reports.

The Brent futures November contract, which expires on Wednesday, is up 57 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $103.16 a barrel as of 0944 GMT (2:44pm PKT). The more active December contract is up 94 cents to $97.10.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 82 cents, or 0.9pc, to $90.20.

A crude oil tanker has been struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, Anadolu reports citing the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO).

In an advisory, UKMTO says it received a delayed report of an incident that occurred within the strategic waterway on Tuesday.

“A verified source has reported that a crude oil tanker has been struck on the port side by an unknown projectile,” the agency says, without identifying the vessel or providing details on possible casualties, damage or the origin of the projectile.

It adds that authorities are investigating the incident.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed the special importance of the Strait of Hormuz to regional and global security, according to state-run IRNA.

In a message marking World Maritime Day, he called for a responsible approach based on preserving stability and the interests of regional countries.

Pezeshkian said that sustainable security in the Persian Gulf and its waterways depended on “cooperation and responsibility among regional countries”.

Iranian Navy commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has described Iran’s maritime power as a key factor in safeguarding national interests, regional security and the safety of shipping routes, IRNA reports.

He stressed that Iran’s naval power is not intended to threaten other nations or create insecurity, but to help maintain stability and maritime security and deter what he described as adventurism in the region.

Fatemeh Mohajerani, the Iranian government spokesperson, says that Iran’s foreign minister has received the US response to the proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz from the Qatari mediator, Iran’s state-run IRIB reports.

General Talaei-Nik, a spokesperson for the Iranian defence ministry, says Tehran seeks peace while defending its rights, security, and interests, Press TV reports.

He added that recognising Iran’s legitimate rights would pave the way for ending the conflict.