71 entries, newest first, by day in U.S. Mountain Time.
The US virtual embassy in Iran told US citizens not to travel to Iran 'for any reason' and to leave, citing Houthi hostilities against Saudi Arabia including civilian airports and warning the conflict 'has the potential to escalate rapidly.' It followed wider US warnings to citizens across the region.
QatarEnergy chief and Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said the company is producing a 'very minute' amount of LNG and could resume normal output a few weeks after the Strait of Hormuz reopens, adding that critical equipment could not reach Qatar because of the crisis.
Trump told Fox News he is in a 'deciding mode' and that 'very big things are going to be happening in the not-so-distant future,' framing the options as 'wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically or making a deal,' and said he would probably be open to meeting President Pezeshkian at the UN.
Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters said it had information that the US had decided, with a 'green light' from some regional states at a meeting in Europe, to resume actions against Iran, and warned that any attack would bring retaliation on US bases and interests 'without any limitations' and that countries hosting them would be 'considered complicit.'
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told parliament there would be no return to earlier negotiations and no reopening of the Strait of Hormuz until Iran's conditions, conveyed through intermediaries, are met and US commitments under the June deal are fulfilled.
In an Al Jazeera interview, Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei said Iran had sent its conditions for ending the war to Washington through Qatari and Pakistani mediators, naming an end to the war on all fronts, the release of frozen assets and the end of the naval blockade, and was awaiting Trump's reply. He later said on X Iran had 'seven conditions' for any talks.
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said crude, cargo and LNG volumes through Hormuz over the past two weeks were the highest in six months, that US forces had helped move more than 1 billion barrels in two months and protected more than 2,000 transits, and that the main lanes were clear of mines. Iran's armed forces called the claim a 'failed psychological operation,' while Iran's budget office said its September oil sales topped $3 billion, a two-year high.
The Israeli military struck Hezbollah infrastructure, including surveillance posts, in southern Lebanon after an IDF engineering vehicle hit a roadside bomb, wounding two soldiers. The IDF said it targeted sites used by the group in retaliation.
Iran's judiciary said Hossein Pedaran was executed for providing Israel's Mossad with information on missile sites in Isfahan province, after the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence; it did not say when he was arrested or tried.
In a press statement (SC/16458), Security Council members condemned in the strongest terms continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure, affirmed the kingdom's right to self-defence and demanded that the Houthis immediately halt their escalation. They cited at least 125,000 people displaced across Yemen since the start of September.
CBS News, UN Security Council press statement SC/16458 +1 more
Saudi Arabia issued two rounds of air raid alerts for Riyadh overnight, the first since July, and the coalition said a Houthi ballistic missile fired at the capital was intercepted at dawn. Hours later a large fire sent smoke over Aramco-branded fuel tanks beside King Khalid International Airport, disrupting flights; the Houthis claimed attacks on 'sensitive' sites in Riyadh and an Aramco facility in Yanbu.
Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (H.R. 5334), which extends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 by five years to 2031 and adds sanctions and tariffs on Russia; the House passed it on Wednesday after Senate approval in August.
Five US officials told The Washington Post at least 22 service members have died since Feb. 28, four more than the Pentagon's public database shows, and a sixth put the toll at 23 plus three contractors. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the report a 'complete lie.'
The Times of Israel (liveblog citing Washington Post), The Times of Israel live blog +1 more
France will call a G7 meeting in the coming weeks devoted to soaring energy prices and consider releasing strategic oil reserves, President Emmanuel Macron said after a crisis meeting on threats from the Middle East and Ukraine wars.
The Israel Defense Forces said it is reinforcing troop deployments across all active fronts as a precaution ahead of the Yom Kippur holiday period.
New satellite imagery reviewed by reporters shows Iran is rapidly reconstructing its Taleghan 2 facility at the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran, a site that was targeted by Israeli strikes earlier in the war.
Saudi Aramco has sold about 60 million barrels from Ras Tanura for loading by ship-to-ship transfer off Oman's Sohar this month and next, mainly to Chinese and South Korean refiners, Reuters reported, while Bloomberg said Aramco told at least two European refiners they would receive no crude next month.
A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire that was later extinguished, UKMTO said; all crew were reported safe and the environmental impact was unconfirmed.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Italy would deploy warships to ensure safe passage for Italian commercial vessels through the Bab al-Mandeb without waiting for an EU decision, warning of severe economic consequences if the strait became impassable. The EU's naval mission raised its alert level the same day.
Israeli warplanes carried out at least four strikes on al-Qantara and Nabatieh al-Fawqa on Thursday evening and another on Talloussah, and fired flares over the outskirts of Yater and Beit Lif, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
The IRGC navy said it struck the Togo-flagged tanker Trend as it attempted an 'illegal passage' of the strait, setting it on fire and bringing it to a halt, and warned that illegal passage would bring 'destruction.' UKMTO earlier reported a security incident 16 nautical miles northeast of Khasab with the crew safe; it was unclear if it was the same ship.
The UN Human Rights Office verified 55 civilian casualties in 19 incidents in Taiz, Hodeidah, Marib and Lahj since the start of September, including 16 people killed, 10 of them children, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that the real toll was likely much higher and that access limits and funding shortfalls were hampering aid.
Launching Likud's campaign for the Oct. 27 election, Netanyahu said 'the mission must be completed; we must bring down the Iranian regime and totally destroy Hezbollah and Hamas,' and cited Israeli troops in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza as proof that 'we take land instead of giving it.'
The State Department approved the possible sale of 48 F-35 fighters, 49 engines and support equipment to Saudi Arabia for an estimated $24.3 billion, saying it would improve the security of a major non-NATO ally and 'will not alter the military balance in the region.'
Iran summoned Germany's ambassador after Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Tehran to halt its 'military nuclear programme', end support for proxies and lift the Hormuz blockade. Earlier Iran gave a Swedish diplomat 48 hours to leave after Sweden expelled an Iranian embassy staff member.
The State Department said a core Iranian delegation, expected to include President Masoud Pezeshkian, can attend UN General Assembly high-level week in New York, citing host-country obligations; it will be smaller than last year's and subject to travel limits and a ban on luxury purchases.
OFAC designated BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh and three associates of financier Babak Zanjani, saying the exchange routes funds to the IRGC and processes payments for Strait of Hormuz transit under Iran's new strait authority.
Trump told Axios: 'I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them or do I not? ... Anything could happen with me,' while saying Iran was in direct contact and wanted a deal and that no ships had reached Iran since the blockade was reinstated in July.
Russia and China vetoed a US draft resolution to extend the mandate of the Security Council committee overseeing sanctions on Iran, rejecting the 'snapback' of UN sanctions as invalid because the 2015 nuclear deal and resolution 2231 expired last year. Iran thanked both countries.
A westbound tanker reported that a skiff pursued it and tried to intercept it about 75 nautical miles east of Aden, UKMTO said in warning 136-26, urging vessels in the area to be cautious.
In a televised address, Abdul Malik al-Houthi said the group's operations mainly target Saudi military sites and the oil infrastructure the kingdom relies on for revenue, blamed Riyadh for the escalation, and called Saudi claims of a drone attack on Mecca 'an ugly lie.'
China asked Iranian officials to use their influence with the Houthis to prevent disruption of energy routes it depends on, after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing following Houthi attacks, three Iranian sources told Reuters. Tehran replied that regional stability depends on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.
European and Arab military chiefs met in Paris to assess the Lebanese army's needs ahead of the end of the UN peacekeeping mission, in talks opened by Emmanuel Macron with President Joseph Aoun and King Abdullah II, with a senior US military official taking part, Reuters reported. Aoun said Lebanon had chosen a state 'alone the decision-maker in matters of war and peace, with the bearing of arms exclusively in its hands.' Jordan and France also signed a defence cooperation agreement.
One person, a Yemeni resident, was killed and two were injured by falling shrapnel after air defences brought down a Houthi drone over Taif, Saudi state TV and civil defence said, the first death announced in the kingdom since Houthi attacks intensified this month.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo News the time had come to implement the Mecca defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye because of Houthi attacks, saying Pakistan was committed to protecting Saudi Arabia and its holy sites; he said Pakistan had conveyed Riyadh's message to Iran and did not think 'Iran as a state will open another front.'
The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said there were reasonable grounds to believe US forces carried out the Feb. 28 strikes on the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab, where more than 150 people including about 120 children were killed according to Iranian officials, and on a sports complex in Lamerd, and that both were war crimes. It also found Iran's authorities committed crimes against humanity in crushing protests. The White House called the report 'unserious nonsense.'
Trump told reporters the US is 'hopefully toward the end' of the war and that Iran is eager to make a deal; asked whether he had heard from the Iranian side, he said he had spoken with them 'directly.'
Brent settled down $2.92, or 2.7%, at $105.83 a barrel and WTI fell 3.2% to $102.43 after Reuters reported Saudi Arabia was offering Asian refiners additional crude through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port, easing fears over the pipeline outage.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote that 'de-escalation must be a priority,' calling for an end to actions that harm civilians, safe humanitarian operations and the full restoration of navigational rights and freedoms.
Israeli forces hit al-Mansouri, Kfar Tebnit, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Beit Leef, Lebanon's state news agency said. Earlier, army chief Eyal Zamir said on the northern border that troops would keep operating 'deep inside' Lebanon and would not let Hezbollah rebuild: 'The war is not yet over.'
The Houthis said they fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at the Aramco facility in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, causing 'large fires,' and struck the Khamis Mushait air base. Saudi Arabia did not comment.
US officials met Houthi representatives at the US embassy in Muscat last weekend in an Oman-arranged meeting, three sources told Reuters. The Houthis said they had no intention of attacking US vessels, remain committed to their 2025 ceasefire with the US, and would not attack commercial ships except Saudi ones.
Hosting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Washington and Tehran to 'rebuild the negotiating framework' based on the Islamabad understanding and said China did not want tensions to spread to Yemen and the Red Sea. Araghchi said Iran welcomes diplomatic solutions.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said forces shot down a Saudi F-15 over Marib governorate with a 'locally manufactured surface-to-air missile'; local sources told Al Jazeera it came down near Mount Helan. The Saudi-led coalition did not immediately comment.
The House approved a War Powers Resolution to halt military action against Iran without congressional authorisation by 220 to 204, with seven Republicans joining Democrats, up from four in earlier votes, a day after the CBO put the war's cost at more than $38 billion.
At a Security Council meeting called by France on the Bab al-Mandeb, US diplomat Jennifer Locetta said Iran was 'the principal violator' of resolutions 2140 and 2216 by arming, funding and directing the Houthis, and called on the group to halt its advance, withdraw from seized territory and stop attacks.
The Saudi-led coalition said air defences destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca as it tried to enter the holy city's airspace, calling it the second attempt on Mecca after a 2017 missile. A Houthi politburo member called the claim a 'nauseating lie.' Several Muslim-majority governments condemned the attempt.
Some physical crude cargoes in Europe topped $130 a barrel and North Sea Forties rose to $136.75, near April's record, after Saudi Arabia suspended late-September shipments to European buyers because of the Yanbu loading halt, Reuters reported. Brent futures were about $107 earlier in the day.
The Trump administration informally notified Congress of a planned $2.8 billion package for Israel of 20,000 2,000-pound Mk84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117s, mostly paid with US military financing, AP reported; the deal was not final. On Sep 16 the top House Foreign Affairs Democrat, Gregory Meeks, said he would place a hold on it.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the war cost about $38 billion through August, rising about $3 billion a month, mostly from munitions use; it said the US had used half to two-thirds of several key interceptor inventories (Patriot, THAAD, SM-3, SM-6), that restocking could take five years, and that the war would add 0.5 point to inflation in early 2027.
Military chiefs of Israel, the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt met at a secluded German ski resort last week, where CENTCOM's Adm. Brad Cooper said US forces would not leave the region despite Iranian attacks. Israel and Saudi Arabia, with CENTCOM's help, are discussing how Israel could help counter the Houthi advance, though offensive Israeli action is unlikely; Israeli security officials have urged against striking the Houthis.
The 'Janfada' (self-sacrifice) headquarters announced the start of training and organisation for 1,000 national resistance battalions, turning a mobilisation campaign launched in March into structured units in coordination with the armed forces.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC he expects the East-West pipeline, which has moved 4 to 5 million barrels a day, to resume within days, and said Saudi Arabia was sending more oil out through Hormuz 'with the United States military' in the meantime. He called the pipeline strikes 'Iran-supported attacks from proxy groups.'
Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, with partner agencies, publicly identified an Iranian state-linked spyware family called 'CHOSEN BRICK' used in spear-phishing campaigns against dissidents and journalists via WhatsApp and Telegram. NCSC Director of Operations Paul Chichester said the malware steals emails, messages, contact lists and social media data and can access a device's microphone and screen content.
Oil loadings stopped at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu, shipping sources told Reuters, four days after drones launched from Iraq forced the shutdown of the East-West pipeline that feeds the terminal.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Cairo and emphasized the need to secure freedom of navigation through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait amid continuing Houthi attacks.
A Defense Department inspector general report gave the first official account of US losses from Feb. 28 to June 30, saying dozens of aircraft were lost and hundreds of structures used by US forces were damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks, and confirmed strategic munitions shortfalls.
The IDF said troops of the 55th Brigade found ready-to-use launchers loaded with 32 rockets aimed at Israel, left since before the ceasefire, and later that another unit found rockets and a launcher in the Mount Dov area; the launchers and a nearby Hezbollah shaft were dismantled.
The IRGC said its air defences destroyed an MQ-1 drone west of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and two more on Tuesday, which Mehr said made four MQ-1s downed in recent days, and later claimed an MQ-9 over Qeshm Island at 22:59 GMT. US officials later told CBS News that Iranian forces had downed at least two US MQ-1s in recent days.
Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei wrote on X: 'Don't get distracted by the U.S. president's mixed signals... The stakes around oil and the straits have changed. Damage control won't stop what's coming. No talks until Iran's conditions are met. Period!'
Hormozgan's deputy governor said a drone struck two fishing boats near Kargan port and fishermen were missing. CENTCOM said Iranian small boats had tried to take a US unmanned surface vessel and failed 'after CENTCOM forcefully responded'; Axios, citing US officials, reported a US drone fired two missiles that destroyed both boats and killed everyone aboard.
The US Treasury sanctioned Russia's state-controlled VTB Bank, which operates in Iran, for involvement in Iranian sanctions evasion and for correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks, calling it 'among the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions in the world.'
The IRGC said a supertanker it called 'Algaya' struck naval mines while crossing a restricted zone south of the strait and was engulfed in flames. CENTCOM called the claim false, saying the Panama-flagged El Gaia was disabled by an Iranian missile last month, hit again by an Iranian drone off Oman at the weekend, and was under tow.
The cost of hiring an oil tanker on the industry's benchmark Persian Gulf-to-China route surpassed $1 million a day for the first time, with vessels booked at $1.035 million a day according to the Baltic Exchange in London, as the Iran war leaves too few ships willing to cross the Strait of Hormuz to load cargoes.
Trump posted that the US is producing more 'exquisite and elite weapons' than at any time in its history, with Patriots, THAAD, Tomahawks and Standard Missiles a primary focus, delivered 'on a daily basis' to US forces in the Middle East, and that defence factories are running 24/7.
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed senior Sunni cleric Molavi Yusef Gorgij in southeastern Iran; local officials described him as having 'actively fought against divisive elements and Zionism,' according to a Times of Israel live update.
Trump wrote that 'the failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to.' He added that countries that did not help restore oil flows through Hormuz 'should and will reimburse the United States.'
Vice President JD Vance told reporters in Kansas City that the US has been in direct conversations with the Houthis, voiced concern about their seizure of Mayyun (Perim) Island in the Bab al-Mandeb, and said Washington was in constant contact with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others affected.
Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority published an updated list of 77 vessels accused of 'violating Iranian protocols' in the Strait of Hormuz, warning they face restrictions on future passage including fines, detention or confiscation, and said ships cooperating with the US would be added.
Austria refused entry to Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami for the IAEA General Conference in Vienna, saying the UN Security Council committee rejected its request for an exemption from his UN travel ban for lack of consensus. Iran summoned Austria's charge d'affaires and blamed US pressure.
The Houthis claimed a 'large-scale' missile and drone attack on King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, saying it answered more than 300 Saudi air strikes; the Saudi-led coalition said 13 civilians were hurt in Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, with seven homes and two vehicles damaged.