Middle East conflict: US carries out defensive strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island near Strait of Hormuz as tensions escalate

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday it had intercepted a drone in the region of Mecca, Islam's holiest city, as the Houthis reported 17 people killed in Yemen over two days.

Saudi Arabia has accused the Houthis several times of targeting Mecca and Medina, another holy city, accusations the Iran-backed fighters systematically reject.

"Interception and destruction of a drone in the Mecca region," Turki al-Malki, the coalition's spokesman wrote on social media, without elaborating on the source of the attack.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree denied that they had carried out any attacks on Saudi territory on Tuesday, calling the Saudi statement "a slanderous and recycled lie".

Qatar said on Tuesday it remained hopeful that a deal could be reached between the United States and Iran as both sides review proposals put forward by mediators including Doha.

"Both parties remain committed to the negotiation process; as we mentioned, we are facilitating the real-time exchange of proposals between them," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters, while adding that both sides "are currently reviewing the ideas and proposals we have presented".

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had no involvement in reported US strikes on an Iranian island, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent threats to resume war with Tehran.

Asked if Israel was involved in secret attacks reported by US media outlets on Qeshm Island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz, an Israeli military spokespeson told AFP, "No".

The coalition has announced that a drone was intercepted and destroyed in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Iranian authorities on Tuesday hanged two men after convicting them of involvement in the killing of four police officers during January protests in central Iran, the judiciary said.

"Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi, two armed perpetrators of the January 2026 crime in Isfahan whose brutal and atrocious actions led to the martyrdom of four police officers, were hanged," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.

The executions were carried out "after their cases underwent a thorough legal review and their death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court", following appeals by the defendants, the report said.

A wave of protests erupted in Iran in December over a surge in foreign currency rates and soon escalated into anti-government demonstrations, peaking on January 8 and 9.

The number of executions in Iran has surged since the start of the Middle East war, which was started in late February by the United States and Israel.

Saudi oil giant Aramco on Tuesday announced a 34.6 percent surge in third-quarter net profit, as the Middle East war keeps crude prices soaring while the kingdom's energy infrastructure comes under regular attack.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage facilities and refineries regularly since hostilities resumed in July, intensifying their strikes in recent weeks. 

The kingdom has also had to contend with the Houthis and Iran hampering traffic in the straits of Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz, complicating exports.

The 2027 Asian Cup football tournament in Saudi Arabia will be postponed from January to December due to "exceptional circumstances" in the region, the continent's governing body said on Tuesday.

A number of sports events in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or postponed in recent weeks following Houthi attacks on the country.

The Asian Cup was originally scheduled to take place from January 7 to February 5 next year.

The new dates for the continental showpiece are December 23, 2027, to January 21, 2028.

Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Tuesday that the ball was in Washington's court to "prevent war".

"The countries of the region should know that, just as the Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready for battle with its finger on the trigger, it has also given the American side a powerful and rational response," he said in a televised speech. "The ball is now in America's court to prevent war."

An India-flagged cargo vessel was struck by an "unidentified aerial object" off Oman, killing one Indian crew member, New Delhi said Tuesday.

Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the tanker MSV Al Jusufi had 14 Indian seafarers on board when it was attacked.

"While 13 crew members safely evacuated and were rescued by the Omani Coast Guard, I am deeply saddened to report that one of our seafarers, Gandhar Nahim Ajij from Gujarat, tragically succumbed to his injuries," Sonowal said in a statement on social media.

India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide, with more than 320,000 active seafarers in 2025, according to the shipping ministry. 

US President Donald Trump said on Monday night that the United States could strike Pickaxe Mountain's suspected nuclear facility within an hour if necessary.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump suggested Washington could quickly target Iran's remaining nuclear infrastructure, saying the US had already destroyed the country's potential nuclear capabilities.

"We bombed out all of their potential nuclear power. Now, we might have to go after Pickaxe, but that's not a big deal," Trump said.

"We can do it in, literally, we can do that in one hour, okay, as soon as we want, at any time we want."

US President Donald Trump signaled progress on Monday in talks with Iran to avoid a return to war, as Tehran reported "intensive" exchanges while offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under strict conditions.
The fresh diplomatic signals came ahead of US midterm elections on Tuesday, in which Trump's Republican Party is pushing to retain control of Congress, faced with voter dissatisfaction over the conflict and the soaring fuel prices it has triggered.
A deal with Tehran "could happen," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible."
But hours later, Washington's diplomatic overtures were dashed by a report that the United States had attacked Iran, in what the Wall Street Journal said was the latest in a string of limited strikes it secretly carried out against the Islamic republic in recent weeks.
Iranian state media reported five explosions in rapid succession on Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said that his administration will work to resolve problems created by the "enemies" through dialogue, according to the Iranian president's office.

Speaking at a meeting with the country's governors and mayors in Tehran, Pezeshkian noted that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has granted the government certain authorities to pursue diplomatic solutions.

He stressed that no one benefits from war, adding that the "enemies" will not be able to make Iran surrender, Xinhua news agency reported.

Pezeshkian accused the United States of attempting to disrupt Iran's cross-border trade with neighboring countries, vowing to "foil the enemies' plot with the people's cooperation and companionship."

The United States on Monday attacked Iran's Qeshm Island, the Wall Street Journal reported, even as President Donald Trump signaled progress in negotiations with Tehran to end the eight-month-old conflict.

The Journal, citing unnamed US officials, described the strike against Qeshm, the the largest island in the Strait of Hormuz, as the latest of a series of "limited strikes" Washington has secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reported five explosions in rapid succession were heard on the island, and that some residents reported seeing two aircraft flying in its skies.

Yemen’s internationally recognised military and Health Ministry said a Houthi ballistic missile struck Al-Saqiyah Health Center in Lahj’s Al-Mudaribah district, killing five and wounding 15, including medical staff. The casualty toll is preliminary; independent verification was not available. 1286

Yemen’s military said an Iran-backed Houthi ballistic missile struck a health centre in Lahj province late on Monday, killing five people and wounding 15 others, including medical personnel.

Military spokesperson Col. Majed al-Nuzaili said the missile was launched from Houthi-controlled areas and hit the Al-Saqiyah Health Centre in the Al-Mudaribah district. The preliminary toll came from Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population

The Yemeni Human Rights Ministry said the dead included three medical personnel, while seven medical workers were among the 15 wounded.

The attack occurred near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a key maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

US Vice President JD Vance offered measured optimism on Monday that a deal can still be struck to prevent President Donald Trump from following through on his threat to potentially order new strikes on Iran after the crucial midterm elections in the United States.

Vance sent a letter to Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, last week, but the White House has offered scant details about the contents of that correspondence. Trump told reporters that letter was focused on assisting Iran with "medical supplies and various things."

But Vance on Monday suggested there's reason to believe that the U.S. and Iran could still come to an agreement.

"We've had a number of good conversations with the Iranians," Vance told reporters on Monday when asked about the letter. "I actually just spoke with the president of the United States about an hour ago about this. Look, the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We're going to keep on working at it."

Tehran blames US blockade for Hormuz unrest as talks remain deadlocked

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said its forces downed and captured a US MQM-170 drone near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to IRGC-affiliated media.

The claim could not be independently verified, and US Central Command dismissed it as false.

Iranian state media also reported five explosions in "rapid succession" on Qeshm Island, but no independent confirmation of the cause, target or casualties was available.

The IRGC also claimed it had destroyed an MQ-9 east of the strait and downed another MQM-170 reconnaissance drone south of Qeshm, capturing both.

The Pentagon has not confirmed the claims.

Earlier Iranian account claimed its forces seized another MQM-170 drone in the western Strait of Hormuz through an "electronic-warfare" operation, per Mehr News. US officials rejected that account as well.

Iranian media also reported that its forces destroyed an unmanned US vessel in the eastern Strait of Hormuz. CentCom said all American unmanned surface vessels in the region were accounted for.

IRNA said the Qeshm blasts came in rapid succession, and some residents reported two aircraft over the island. Fars also reported explosions in waters off Bandar Lengeh. No attribution has been made.

Global crude oil prices experienced a significant drop early on Tuesday (Nov. 3) driven by increased hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran conflict. The sell-off followed mediation talks in Qatar that included a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, reversing much of the price gains seen in October.

Brent crude price tumbled more than 8% as hopes grew for a diplomatic end to the US-Iran war, erasing part of October’s sharp rally. Brent was down $9.32, or 8.22%, to $104.1 a barrel, as of 5.39am in Beijing on Tuesday (Nov. 3, 2026), per OilPrice.com. WTI fell $8.10, or 7.78%, to $96.02, below the psychological $100 mark. Murban crude fell $13.40 or 11.29% to $105.3 per barrel.

The sell-off followed weekend mediation talks between Iran and Qatar. Oil first fell more than 4% as a draft proposal to end the war circulated after Iranian negotiators left Qatar.

British maritime agency UKMTO reported on Monday that a vessel was struck by "an unknown projectile" near the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, marking the latest disturbance in the contested waterway.

The agency said the incident occurred on Sunday off the coast of Lima, Oman, around the mouth of the strait. 

"The master reports the vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a hole on the starboard side. Vessel and crew safe, no environmental impact reported," the agency said in a statement. 

Day 246: Trump threatens Iran with military action

Day 246: UAE hopes for peace, ‘braced for worst’

Day 245: Rubio says US yet to decide on new Iran strikes

Day 244: US denies Iran destroyed sea drone in Strait of Hormuz

Day 243: US fires senior army general in latest ouster: reports

Day 242: Iran discusses plan to end war and reopen Hormuz

Day 241: Iran says supreme leader met with security chief

Day 240: 'Entering new path could be considered': Iran tells US