War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the Middle East can solve its problems without the involvement of the United States, AFP reports.

“I believe we are capable of resolving our problems in the region without relying on the United States,” Pezeshkian said at a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow.

Qatar has called for a new regional security framework underpinned by respect for state sovereignty, in the wake of a quadrilateral meeting between Iran and the three signatories of the Makkah pact, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.

In a statement, the director of the Qatari foreign ministry’s Media and Communication Department, Ibrahim Al Hashemi, calls for the framework while urging Iran to demonstrate its commitment to regional stability through concrete actions.

“The State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were working alongside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Mecca Defence Alliance to de-escalate tensions and help bring an end to the region’s current state of heightened tension,” Hashemi is quoted as saying.

“The State of Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states had repeatedly expressed their readiness to establish a regional security framework,” he says, adding that it is now up to Tehran to uphold the proposed principles and demonstrate good faith.

Saudi Arabia has lifted an emergency warning in the southern city of Abha, after authorities announced that the danger had passed, Anadolu reports.

The country’s National Early Warning Platform had earlier issued an alert warning residents of potential danger and urging them to follow safety instructions, not specifying the nature of the threat or provide further details.

In a subsequent alert, authorities confirm that the danger has passed in Abha, but have urged residents to continue following civil defence instructions and to strictly avoid gatherings and filming.

Residents have also been advised to contact emergency services if necessary.

Nearly 100 fighters have been killed in renewed clashes between Yemen’s government forces and the Houthis in the country’s southwest, military sources from both sides tell AFP.

At least 63 Houthi fighters and 34 pro-government combatants have died, mostly near the Bab al-Mandab strait, they add.

Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has met in Tehran with Houthi ambassador Ibrahim Mohammed al-Dailami to discuss the latest developments in Yemen, Al Jazeera reports citing Iranian state television.

According to the broadcaster, Rezaei says that the recent quadrilateral meeting hosted by Tehran between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia aimed to establish security arrangements among the region’s own states and secure the withdrawal of foreign forces, additionally addressing the interference of external powers in regional countries’ internal affairs.

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has urged Iran to provide the agency with the information and access needed to verify its previously declared nuclear material, including 440 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium, Anadolu reports.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says the agency continues to engage with Tehran, “seeking avenues to encourage it to clarify all remaining safeguards issues”.

“One area of particular concern is Iran’s previously declared nuclear material, which includes 440kg of high enriched uranium,” he adds, noting that the issues “have now been outstanding for more than five years”.

He recalls that the agency had to withdraw all its inspectors from Iran by the end of June 2025 for safety reasons after military attacks began.

“Inspectors have been available to return for many months now,” he says.

Saudi Arabia’s Directorate for Civil Defence says that debris from two ballistic missiles intercepted over Riyadh has damaged a building, a construction project and a vehicle.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree says that the group managed “to target Abha International Airport with a drone, and the strike was precise, leading to the disruption of air traffic at the airport”, according to a statement on X.

Oil futures have fallen as attention turns to Middle East peace talks, though prices remain near multi-month highs as the Houthis continue to attack Saudi Arabia and the potential for fresh US-Israeli attacks hangs over the market, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are down $1.00, or 0.86 per cent, at $114.81 a barrel as of 1311 GMT (6:11pm PKT). US West Texas Intermediate crude is down 78 cents, or 0.77pc, at $100.98.

Several social media users, including pro-Houthi accounts based on their past posts, have been sharing an image since yesterday, allegedly showing the Saudi defence minister kissing the hand of the Iranian president amid a meeting.

However, the image is old and edited using AI.

A reverse image search of the viral photo yielded an Arab News report from July 3 this year, covering the funeral procession of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The viral image depicts the Saudi official kissing the Iranian president’s hand, whereas the original image shows him simply shaking hands with the president.

Investigating the image also found several visual discrepancies, such as deformities around the Saudi official’s fingers and hand as he kisses the Iranian president’s hand.

AI-detection tool Hive Detect reported a 99 per cent likelihood of AI generation, while DeepAI and TruthScan also indicated a 90pc likelihood that the image was edited using AI.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have attacked the Saudi defence ministry in Riyadh, according to the group’s spokesperson.

“Our armed forces targeted the Saudi enemy’s Ministry of Defence in the capital, Riyadh, with a ballistic missile, and the strike was direct,” he writes on X.

Saudi Arabia has yet to issue confirmation.

US Central Command (Centcom) has rejected claims by Iran’s navy that American warships have “abandoned” the Strait of Hormuz and moved “hundreds of ‘kilometres’ away”.

“US forces deployed to the Middle East remain present and vigilant in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, as demonstrated by the Centcom commander this weekend,” the military says in a statement posted on X. “US forces and regional partners control the international waterway — clearly not Iran.”

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claims that the group has destroyed two Saudi transport aircraft with ballistic missiles, which targeted Najran Airport and Khamis Mushait Airbase, according to a post on X.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) says all vessels belonging to the South Korean shipping company Sinokor will face “legal action” starting on November 1, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on X, it accuses Sinokor vessels of committing the highest number of crossing violations in the Strait of Hormuz over the past three months, adding that “appropriate actions” have been taken against at least seven of them.

In an address to the 8th summit of heads of state of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the global energy security situation is facing grave challenges amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, Al Jazeera reports.

He adds that the targeting of energy infrastructure and facilities, and unilateral sanctions on countries and “economic terrorism”, have had a dire impact on the global energy landscape and market.

The Iranian ⁠navy says an ⁠oil tanker has ⁠caught fire after hitting naval mines ‌east of the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the vessel ⁠entered ⁠a prohibited area ⁠with its tracking ⁠systems ⁠switched off, Al Jazeera reports citing state media.

The Houthis claim to have repelled an offensive by Yemeni government forces, according to a statement from spokesperson Yahya Saree.

“Those mobilisations were targeted with a number of ballistic missiles and heavy weapons, resulting in a large number of dead and wounded, and ambulance vehicles rushed to the sites of the strikes,” he writes on X, adding that several vehicles were also destroyed.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has chaired a meeting in Riyadh where he and his council of ministers reviewed talks held in Tehran with the Makkah alliance a day earlier, AFP reports citing Saudi state media.

“The council reviewed the substance of the talks held between the countries party to the Makkah Common Defence Agreement and senior officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reaffirming Saudi Arabia’s commitment to establishing security and stability,” a statement released by state media reads.

Qatar’s ruler and the Iranian president discussed the Middle East war and the blockaded Strait of Hormuz during a meeting in Moscow, the emir’s office said, AFP reports.

“They reviewed developments in the regional situation, foremost among them the latest on the negotiations, the Strait of Hormuz, and energy supplies,” a statement said.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by the group at Riyadh, as the Iran-backed fighters pressed their attacks on the kingdom, AFP reports.

“Air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh,” the coalition spokesman said.

Multiple explosions were heard in the Saudi capital Riyadh, AFP journalists said, following weeks of attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

Residents received a text-message alert on their mobile phones warning of an “aerial threat” and instructing them to seek shelter.

Iran’s national security chief Mohsen Rezaei has met with the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, with the latter stressing the importance of pursuing Iran’s interests and implementing its conditions to end the conflict and the “‘no war, nor peace’ situation”, Reuters reports citing state media.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claims that the group has struck Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery in the kingdom’s Eastern province with a ballistic missile, adding that fires have erupted at the site.

Iran needs to show good intentions, stop threats against Arab Gulf states and open the Strait of Hormuz for mediation efforts to succeed, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said during a press briefing, Reuters reports.

Qatar, along with Pakistan, has been mediating between Washington and Tehran in an effort to end the US-Israeli war with Iran.