Iran War Updates: Tehran ignores Trump’s attack threats, says diplomacy continues as oil prices remain high

An oil tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, the British Navy’s Maritime Commercial Operations Center announced on Monday.

The Maritime Observer said it had received a “verified late report” of the incident, in which “an outbound transit tanker was struck by an unknown projectile, disabling the vessel.”

In an article on X, the UKMTO said “the crew has been declared safe.”

Iran claimed it struck at least four oil tankers near the strait last Thursday, but those claims have not been corroborated, and President Trump has accused the Iranian regime of fabricating attacks on commercial shipping in an effort to boost global oil prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday dismissed reports of a disagreement between the Israeli military and its civilian leadership – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – over the prospect of further strikes in the war with Iran, calling them “totally baseless.”

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

Netanyahu called the report “rubbish” in a television appearance, and Katz called it an attempt to sow doubt about the Netanyahu administration’s judgment on the eve of close parliamentary elections that could oust him.

“Reports of differences between the political echelon and the Israeli military on the Iranian issue are completely baseless and false,” Katz said on X, insisting on “complete” coordination between the two.

In its report, Channel 12 said Zamir demanded a detailed discussion as well as legal guarantees and signatures from political leaders before carrying out the directive he received. The outlet did not provide details of the alleged directive, but cited sources saying there were concerns within the military that the war could be exploited for political purposes.

CBS/AFP

The price of Brent crude oil was hovering around $115 a barrel early Monday after surging late last week on global supply concerns linked to ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine as the northern hemisphere heads into a gas-hungry winter.

President Trump has fueled speculation that he may order a resumption of U.S. strikes against Iran after next Tuesday’s midterm elections.

The president told Fox News on Sunday: “I have a decision to make: Do I finish it, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? That’s it.”

Additional U.S. forces, including a third aircraft carrier group, have been sent to the region, although U.S. diplomatic troop levels have been reduced, and sources told CBS News last week that the overall U.S. military footprint in the Middle East was also being reduced. being quietly reduced.

CBS/AFP

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the outcome of Israel’s elections, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a tight race, will make “no difference.”

“It makes no difference to us who, in these elections, will take the helm of a regime that has brought nothing but violence and massacres to our region,” ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press briefing on the eve of the Israeli legislative elections.

Netanyahu claimed Sunday that Israel had “intelligence signals that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, may challenge us with attacks to disrupt the elections.”

CBS/AFP

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold talks with Iranian officials on regional security in Tehran on Monday, Iranian and Saudi officials said.

The meeting will follow eight months of war in the Middle East and recent US and Israeli threats of further attacks on Iran.

“As agreed, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief General Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will attend this meeting,” said Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

In an interview with state television, Kani said the meeting would also include Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei.

Saudi Deputy Minister of Public Diplomacy Dr. Rayed Krimly confirmed that the kingdom’s defense minister was leading a delegation to Tehran on Monday.

“This visit is part of the ongoing efforts by the Mecca Common Defense Agreement countries for de-escalation between the parties involved in the ongoing crisis,” Krimly said in a post on X.

It aims to “promote dialogue and diplomatic solutions, in support of the mediation efforts led by the State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he added.

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

A Houthi spokesperson said the group launched attacks on the airport on Sundayjust a few hours after flights resumed. Deadly strikes carried out by the rebel group earlier this month forced the airport to suspend operations for more than two weeks.

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

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

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

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

Saudi Arabia and the government it supports in Yemen have been the target of sustained attacks in recent weeks from the Houthis, as a years-long truce broke down over the summer, shifting the focus of the broader war between the United States and Iran that erupted in February.

CBS/AFP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran and its allies could try to disrupt Israel’s elections on Tuesday, warning the Islamic republic against any hostile acts.

“The IDF is prepared for both defense and attack,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his office on Sunday, using the acronym for the Israeli military.

“We have signs that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, may challenge us with attacks to disrupt the elections,” he added. “Don’t test us. You will take a disproportionate beating.”

CBS/AFP

President Trump said Sunday morning that he was torn between reaching a deal with Tehran and taking steps to “finish them,” after suggesting Friday that Washington “could do another little epic fury,” in reference to the joint U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran.

“Now my question is, do I make a deal with them or do I terminate them?” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”

He also claimed that the United States now controls the Strait of Hormuz and criticized former President Barack Obama for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, better known as the Iran nuclear deal. Obama signed the deal in 2015, but Mr. Trump withdrew from it during his first term.

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

The remarks come amid growing tensions between Tehran and Washington after President Trump said Friday that Washington “could commit another little epic furore,” referring to the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran that began on February 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,” Araghchi said during a televised event in Tehran.

“They’ve done it twice before and seen the results. If they want to try again, they know they won’t get different results than in the past.”

Direct negotiations between the United States and Iran appear to have stalled for weeks, but Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Sunday that Tehran had not closed the window of diplomacy and that messages were still being transmitted to the United States through intermediaries.

CBS/AFP