US-Israel attacks on Iran/ Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish officials in Tehran for talks

The regional repercussions of the US-Israeli attack on Iran has been discussed among officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkiye meeting in Tehran.

US President Donald Trump has ruled out imminent military action against Iran telling reporters on Sunday (25 October): “There will not be a strike today.”

The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government has carried out air strikes on Houthi-held territory in Yemen including the capital, Sanaa.

Israeli forces have killed at least eight Palestinians in Gaza and locked down all of the occupied West Bank while launching raids in the city of Hebron.

Saudi-led coalition says Houthi missile facilities destroyed

The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthi rebels says it degraded their ability to strike targets inside the kingdom after destroying tunnels used to store ballistic missiles and launchers.

Spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Malki said in a post attacks also aim to cut off the Houthis’ supply lines between areas under their control and targeted rebel fortifications and military equipment along the front lines inside Yemen.

Al-Malki said the coalition will continue to use “deterrent operational measures” to protect against the Houthis’ “brutal attacks” inside Saudi Arabia and in Yemen.

Tehran talks with Mecca pact nations raise hopes of defusing tensions

This meeting is intended to start negotiations for the purpose of achieving a mechanism for security, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.

He called it “endogenous security” for the region – something that Iran has been seeking to achieve since the beginning of the US-Israeli war.

This is a major development considering the high-level representation, particularly from Saudi Arabia, whose defence minister is here in Tehran. Saudi Arabia is considered by Iran as almost a part of the aggression on the country, because it provides facilities and facilitates the Americans, according to Iranian claims.

It is also clear this is a thaw in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia – a country that accused Iran of aiding and abetting the Houthis, who attacked the Saudi defence ministry just a couple days ago.

There are high hopes this meeting today will be the beginning of something positive, something that could lead to diffusing the tension and avoiding another war in the region.

Attacks ground more than 4,000 flights across Saudi Arabia

Ballistic missile and drones strikes by Yemen’s Houthis have nearly emptied the skies over the Saudi capital, according to aviation data.

About 86 percent of scheduled ⁠flights at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport – or 4,071 out of 4,736 – were cancelled between October 8 and October 25, according to the latest data from aviation ⁠analytics firm Cirium.

The Houthis stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia this month targeting airports, ports and oil facilities.

Riyadh’s airport – the kingdom’s second-busiest after Jeddah – has been struck repeatedly including an attack on October 10 that killed 13 people, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.

Saudi authorities partially reopened the airport on Sunday after a halt that started on October 10.

Satellite images show widening oil spill off UAE coast after tanker hit

An oil spill off the United Arab Emirate’s coast is spreading prompting authorities to restrict access to more beaches.

Satellite images show the oil spill approaching the Emirate’s northern Umm Al Quwain shores. Efforts are underway to contain the leakage, the UAE’s Environment Ministry said on Friday but didn’t say what caused the spill.

Analysts cited by Reuters news agency suggested the Gem No 2 oil tanker was the source after it was hit by an unidentified projectile last month.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, attacks on vessels in the Gulf have heightened fears about severe environmental impacts.

Source: Al Jazeera