Tehran Shrugs off Trump’s Attack Threats, says Diplomacy Ongoing as Oil Prices Stay High

By AFP

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks with Iran on Monday in an attempt to stop the Middle East war from reigniting, with Tehran saying the discussions were “very good.”

Officials from the three Mecca pact countries flew to Iran as part of efforts to “de-escalate between the parties to the current crisis,” a Saudi foreign ministry statement said. It was the first joint visit to Tehran by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey since they formed a defense alliance in Mecca, the holy city in western Saudi Arabia, in August.

The talks, which included heavyweight Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, followed warnings by the United States, Iran and Israel that hostilities could restart in the eight-month war.

The delegations met Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The meeting ended without concrete announcements, with the various parties saying they “agreed to continue discussions” according to Iranian state media.

But Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei said the discussions in the capital were “very good,” according to state television. “I feel that a new atmosphere is emerging in the region… I sensed a very positive atmosphere in the discussions among the gentlemen,” said the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

He said they agreed that security in the region “should be achieved by the countries themselves, and that we must prevent any kind of foreign intervention,” saying emphasis was put on the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, southern Syria, Gaza and the West Bank.

By AFP

Kuwait condemned three men to death on Monday for plotting the assassination of the deputy prime minister, collaborating with Iran and joining Hezbollah, two judiciary sources told AFP.

The three men are all from the Shia Muslim community, which makes up around a third of Kuwait’s population.

Huseein Abdallah al-Maatouq, a religious dignitary and secretary-general of the National Islamic Alliance, was among the three condemned by the criminal court, the sources said.

Another of the trio had been convicted in 2016 of terrorism before being pardoned by the country’s emir. He was arrested again in April, the sources said.

The men are accused of undermining national interests, collaborating with Iran, planning the assassination of the deputy prime minister and interior minister, and membership of Hezbollah, which is classified as a terrorist group by Kuwait.

The court sentenced 11 other people connected to the case to five years of hard labor.

Since the start of the Middle East war in February, Gulf countries, including Kuwait, have arrested dozens of people with suspected ties to Iran.

By Emily Mae Czachor

A vessel was on fire off the coast of Iraq on Monday, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center, or UKMTO, citing multiple third-party reports.

The vessel was situated 63 nautical miles from Al-Faw, a coastal town located along the Gulf between Iran and Kuwait, the maritime monitor said.

“Crew status, damage assessment, and environment impact are unknown,” wrote UKMTO of the incident, which it deemed “suspicious activity.”

The agency reminded those transiting the area to do so with caution while authorities investigate what may have occurred.

CBS/AFP

Wrapping up his re-election campaign on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israel could face potential annihilation by Iran if his political rivals prevailed over him.

Over the course of a neck-and-neck race, Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on his security credentials, insisting only he can “finish the job” against Tehran and painting his main challenger, ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot, as soft on Israel’s sworn foe.

“I think this is a fateful moment for the future of the state, because we have enemies who want to annihilate us,” Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 the day before Tuesday’s vote, adding, “Gadi Eisenkot will not strike Iran.”

Eisenkot has in turn accused the premier of playing politics with security on the election’s eve and citing the Iran threat when it suits him — an allegation that came after a report, citing unnamed sources, said there were concerns within the Israeli army that the war was being politicized.

Netanyahu dismissed the report as “rubbish,” and Defense Minister Israel Katz said any reports of a gap between the army and political leadership were “entirely baseless and false.”

By Frank Andrews, Khaled Wassef

The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s government in the escalating civil war with the Iran-backed Houthis claimed Monday to have shot down three more drones over the Saudi capital Riyadh, and in the south of the country.

In a post on X, coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki announced the “interception and destruction of 3 drones in the Riyadh region and the southern region.”

He did not specify where the drones came from, but the Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones for weeks in retaliation for the kingdom’s involvement in the Yemen war.

Earlier Monday, al-Maliki said Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis at Riyadh. The Saudis have struggled to intercept Houthi missiles and drones on the kingdom’s infrastructure.

By Matt Gutman, Frank Andrews

Israeli TV station Channel 12 reported Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had fallen out with army chief Eyal Zamir over an unspecified new directive on Iran.

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have both denied the reports, but a senior Israeli source with deep knowledge of the people involved has told CBS News the report of a rift seems credible.

The biggest tell, the source said, is that the Channel 12 report passed through military censorship. All stories by Israeli media that deal with national security must go through the censor before publication. This is key, according to the source, because it indicates that military brass felt it was necessary for the public to have the information before Israeli parliamentary elections on Tuesday.

Had it been false, the military censor would have simply prevented it from being published, the source told CBS News.

The other sign the report may be true is that Zamir, according to the source, is not personally opposed to renewed attacks on Iran – he’s just opposed to the timing. The source said while there are likely new threats emerging from Iran, the question for commanders is whether new strikes need to happen now.

The military appears to believe that nothing requires a response within such a short timeframe, as Israelis prepare to cast their votes, according to the source.

By Khaled Wassef

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that insecurity created by the United States in the Middle East was harming the entire world, as he prepared to travel to Moscow to attend the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) at the invitation of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.

Pezeshkian said the GECF has 12 member countries and, together with its eight observer members, oversees more than 70% of the world’s gas supply. He added that a substantial share of the energy needed globally is exported by these nations.

“The problems the United States has created by igniting war in the region and bringing insecurity to Europe have disrupted the free flow of energy,” Pezeshkian said, apparently referring to the ongoing U.S.-Iran war and Putin’s long-standing claim that the U.S. and Europe are responsible for Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He said his visit to Moscow would include discussions aimed at securing energy transit routes and eliminating insecurity.

By Frank Andrews, Ahmed Shawkat

Egypt’s parliament on Monday approved a request by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi that allowshim to send troops to Saudi Arabia to help defend the kingdom from attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Egypt’s House of Representatives “approved authorizing President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to take the necessary measures to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported.

El-Sisi stressed last week that it would only be a defensive mission, “and does not include an attack on Yemen.”

Under Egypt’s Constitution, the president must consult the National Defense Council and obtain approval from two-thirds of parliament before deploying the armed forces on a combat mission abroad.

Egypt has managed, so far, to stay out of the recent military conflicts across the Middle East and has been involved in some mediation efforts. Some in the country view that as one of el-Sisi’s greatest achievements.

But political analyst Samir Ragheb, a retired army brigadier, told CBS News it was time for Egypt to make good on commitments to help secure the region.

“This is a time of war, not politics and statements,” he said last week. “If Egypt fails to deliver on these promises, they will lose their meaning and amount to nothing more than empty threats.”

By Khaled Wassef

The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s government said Monday that its forces carried out a military operation targeting areas controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in response to repeated attacks by the group using ballistic missiles and drones.

In a statement posted on X, coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki said the operation sought to neutralize “the sources of threat,” and included strikes against Houthi military infrastructure.

“The operation included the destruction of (5) tunnels used for storing ballistic missiles, (4) ballistic missile launchers, and a missile storage [unit],” Al-Malki said.

He added that the operation sought to disrupt supply lines between areas under Houthi control, targeting “fortifications, elements, and military equipment along the front lines inside Yemen.”

Al-Malki said the operation was conducted in response to repeated Houthi attacks allegedly targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. He said the coalition would continue taking “deterrent operational measures” to protect Saudi and Yemeni civilians.

He said the operation was conducted “in accordance with the Customary International Humanitarian Law.”

Earlier, al-Maliki said Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis at the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

By Khaled Wassef, Frank Andrews

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has praised his nation’s resilience after nearly eight months of war with the U.S., crediting civil defense efforts, national mobilization and cooperation between the armed forces and diplomatic service.

“The victorious resistance of our beloved country during the enemy’s two recent acts of aggression has been made possible only through the solidarity and mobilization of all military and civilian sectors, as well as the proud presence of all segments of the Iranian people on the front lines of resistance,” he said in a message marking Iran’s Civil Defense Week.

Araghchi added that close coordination between the armed forces and the diplomatic service had brought “great achievements” in safeguarding Iran’s independence and dignity.

He said the foreign ministry would use its diplomatic capabilities to defend the country politically and legally and protect national interests.

“It will spare no effort in pursuing this mission,” Araghchi said.

Last week, intelligence firm Kpler told The Wall Street Journal that the shadow fleet of tankers holding Iran’s offshore oil reserves, which it had been selling to China throughout the war against the U.S. and Israel, had run dry.

The millions of barrels of crude, held on dozens of oil tankers in Asian water, ran out in mid-October, Kpler told the outlet, with a U.S. naval blockade preventing Iran from replacing the crude being sold to Chinese refineries.

The U.S. naval blockade has cost Iran at least $25 billion in oil revenue, according to U.S. Central Command.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday called for a campaign to cut gas consumption by at least 10%, with officials anticipating shortages as winter approaches.

By Frank Andrews

A tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, the U.K. navy’s Maritime Trade Operations center said Monday.

The maritime monitor said it received a “verified time-late report” of the incident, in which “a tanker transiting outbound was struck by an unknown projectile, disabling the vessel.”

In a post on X, UKMTO said “the crew have been reported safe.”

Iran claimed to have struck at least four tankers near the strait on Thursday last week, but there was no corroboration of its claims, and President Trump accused the Iranian regime of inventing attacks on commercial vessels in a bid to hike up global oil prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

CBS/AFP

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday rejected reports of a rift between Israel’s army and its civilian leaders – most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – over the prospect of new strikes in the war with Iran as “entirely baseless.”

Israel’s Channel 12 reported Sunday, citing unnamed sources, that there had been a confrontation between Netanyahu and army chief Eyal Zamir over an unspecified new directive.

Netanyahu dismissed the report as “rubbish” during a TV appearance, and Katz characterized it as an effort to cast doubt on the Netanyahu administration’s judgement on the eve of close parliamentary elections that could unseat him.

“The reports about gaps between the political echelon and the IDF [army] on the Iran issue are entirely baseless and false,” Katz said on X, insisting there was “complete” coordination between the two.

In its report, Channel 12 said Zamir had demanded a detailed discussion as well as legal guarantees and the signatures of the political leadership before carrying out the directive he had received. The outlet did not offer details of the purported directive, but cited sources saying there were concerns within the army that the war might be exploited for political gain.

CBS/AFP

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting alongside the Yemeni government in the country’s civil war said Monday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis, after the Iran-backed group claimed a new attack on the international airport in Riyadh.

A Houthi spokesperson said the group launched attacks the airport on Sunday, just hours after it resumed flights. Deadly strikes by the rebel group earlier this month had forced the airport to shut down operations for more than two weeks .

Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki said on Monday that air defenses “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile” fired by the Houthis toward Riyadh and destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Monday the group “successfully targeted” the airport with a ballistic missile, and struck oil pumping stations with drones.

Saree previously warned that Riyadh airport was still “unsafe” and a “military target,” as the airport prepared to resume international flights.

The airport closure was a major blow for Saudi Arabia, forcing the postponement of the kingdom’s flagship investment conference until 2027 and disrupting travel plans for thousands of passengers.

Saudi Arabia and the government it backs in Yemen have come under sustained attack in recent weeks from the Houthis as a years-long truce broke down over the summer, shifting the focus of the wider U.S.-Iran war that erupted in February.

CBS/AFP

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that a potential resumption of war with Israel and the United States would not change his country’s positions.

The remarks came amid mounting tensions between Tehran and Washington after President Trump said Friday that Washington “may do another little Epic Fury,” referring to the U.S.-Israeli campaign on Iran that began on Feb. 28.

“Recently, there has been talk of a new war, but I am already thinking about the post-war period. Whether there is war or not, our policies remain the same,” said Araghchi during a televised event in Tehran.

“They have already done so twice and have seen the results. If they want to try again, they know they will achieve no different outcome from those of the past.”

Direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have appeared to stall for weeks, but Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier Sunday that Tehran had not closed the window of diplomacy and messages were still being passed to the U.S. via intermediaries.