Military

A small boat attached two explosive devices to a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, causing an engine-room fire and temporarily disabling the vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Friday, providing new details about an attack the previous day.

Iran has used a secret network of more than 5,000 military agencies to import at least $2 billion worth of equipment, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, bypassing Western sanctions and the US naval blockade, a Reuters investigation published on Thursday found.

A senior Iranian official said on Wednesday that Qatar had presented Tehran with ideas that were unacceptable rather than a new peace proposal, casting doubt on diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israeli war on Iran as Washington weighs further military action.

Two men appeared in a London court on Tuesday over an incident at a British air base used by US bombers to strike Iran, with prosecutors alleging that one of them sought to assist Iranian intelligence.

Talks involving Saudi Arabia and its defense partners in Tehran may offer a final diplomatic opportunity before a collective military response, a regional affairs analyst said Monday, amid attacks on Saudi territory and threats of renewed US-Iran fighting.

Iranians are looking to Israel's election as a potential turning point in their country's future, with supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu hoping his victory will bring renewed pressure on the Islamic Republic.

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey opened talks with Iranian authorities in Tehran on Monday, following increased Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and renewed warnings of military action between Tehran and Washington.

Saudi Arabia intercepted drones and missiles over Riyadh and southern parts of the country on Sunday as fighting with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis continued, the Saudi-led coalition said.

Tehran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Washington lifted its naval blockade, Iran’s envoy to Pakistan said Saturday, while an IRGC-affiliated outlet rejected such an exchange and President Donald Trump raised the possibility of strikes as soon as “tomorrow.”

Armed Baluch groups in Iran’s southeast are adding one more strain on the Islamic Republic’s security forces just as war has stretched them thinnest, with 18 attacks in the 18 days to October 10, more than in any full month this year.

Pakistan is mediating between Iran and the United States even as it sends troops to defend Saudi Arabia against attacks by Tehran’s allies, placing Islamabad in the conflicting roles of peace broker and military partner to Iran’s rivals.

China regards its relationship with Iran as largely transactional and is not firmly committed to defending the current Iranian government, according to Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Revolutionary Guards' threat to target undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz raises questions about its feasibility, as the waterway carries a fraction of global bandwidth and damaging its cables would not shut down the world's internet.

Saudi Arabia should join forces with the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates to help bring about political change in Iran, rather than continue policies that have failed to contain Tehran's regional influence, an analyst told Iran International.

Iranian military officials warned of a stronger response to any renewed US attack on Monday, as Russia's foreign minister visited Tehran for talks and regional security concerns grew following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Washington could “soon finish the job” against Iran unless Tehran changed course, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was prepared to strike Iran without US support and vowed to bring down Tehran’s government.

Iranian officials raised the possibility of a shift in nuclear policy and threatened retaliation against further US-Israeli attacks, while Tehran outlined its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, a sanctioned veteran of Iran's missile industry with ties to the Revolutionary Guards, became defense minister on Sunday, following his predecessor's killing in the war with the United States and Israel.

Iranian support has helped Yemen’s Houthis carry out their most potent and sophisticated attacks yet on Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people briefed on intelligence from Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s anti-Houthi alliance.