- Referring to previous US attacks on Iran, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warns “should such aggressions be repeated, [Iran’s response] will take on much broader dimensions”.
- Iran says a “maximum deterrence” plan is ready in case of any new attack by the United States, warning of an immediate response as the military updates its target lists to include US and Israeli assets across expanded geographical areas.
Khamenei says US elections will not change US hostility towards Iran
We now have more comments from Mojtaba Khamenei in a statement marking Iran’s National Day of the Fight Against Global Arrogance.
Iran’s Supreme Leader says the US cannot be trusted, stressing that changes in Washington’s political leadership will not alter its hostility towards Tehran.
“If there are still those who harbour even the slightest hope that the behaviour of the hegemonic system could change through party or factional shifts, or who believe that making concessions to the US could persuade it to abandon its hostility towards the Iranian people, they are gravely mistaken,” he said.
Khamenei accused Washington of seeking Iran’s unconditional surrender, warning that concessions would only encourage further aggression.
“Even the slightest inclination towards surrendering to the hegemonic enemy will squander the enormous gains achieved,” he said.
Khamenei warns of ‘broader retaliation’ if US launches further attacks on Iran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned that any renewed US military assault on his country would trigger a broader response, while praising armed groups allied with Iran across the Middle East.
In a message marking Iran’s National Day of the Fight Against Global Arrogance, Khamenei described Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on US military bases in the region as retaliation for Washington’s military actions.
“Should such aggressions be repeated, it will take on much broader dimensions,” he warned.
Khamenei also praised what he called the “wise and powerful acts of heroism” by the regional “resistance front,” referring to groups in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
He said the developments demonstrated the limits of US military power and called for the strengthening of Iran’s defence capabilities.
“The only way to achieve absolute deterrence is to continue pursuing the strategy of ‘an ever-stronger Iran’ through comprehensive development,” he said.
Lebanon’s PM warns against dragging country into new war
In a message apparently directed at Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has warned the group against plunging the country into a new war if the Iran conflict resumes.
“Faced with the risks of renewed war in the region, I renew my warning of the dangers of dragging Lebanon into a new senseless adventure in service of outside interests,” Salam said.
“We do not accept the country again becoming a theatre for the conflict of others,” Salam added, saying Lebanon had “already paid a heavy price”.
Hezbollah has twice pulled Lebanon into a war with Israel in as many years, most recently when it attacked Lebanon’s southern neighbour in support of Iran in March.
There has been heightened speculation in recent days of renewed US-Israeli strikes on Iran following the US midterms and Israel’s general election.
Iran warns it will ‘expand response’ if Gulf states allow US to launch attacks
An Iranian adviser to the IRGC commander-in-chief says Tehran will broaden its response beyond US military bases if Gulf states allow Washington to launch attacks against it from their territory, amid speculation of renewed strikes by the US and Israel.
Speaking at a rally in Bandar Abbas, Hamidreza Moghadamfar said that Iran would use a “new doctrine and new technology” to respond to any attacks by the US and Israel, warning that countries, including the UAE and Bahrain, would face a wider response if they hosted attacks on Iran.
What’s happening in the occupied West Bank?
The Israeli military has forcibly evicted 25 families from their homes, turning some of them into military barracks, near the Al-Hadida neighbourhood, in the vicinity of Tulkarem camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.
Here are the other key developments this morning, as reported by Wafa:
- Israeli soldiers began demolishing an inhabited house in the town of Tuqu’, southeast of Bethlehem.
- Israeli forces also prevented citizens from picking olives in Tuqu’.
- Students at a school suffered from tear gas inhalation during an incursion by Israeli soldiers into the village of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah.
- Israeli bulldozers began demolishing residential and agricultural structures in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Settlers, under the protection of soldiers, destroyed a number of olive trees during a pogrom in the town of Surif, northwest of Hebron.
Qatar renews condemnation of attack on LNG vessel
Qatar’s council of ministers has renewed its condemnation of the recent attack on the LNG carrier Al Mayeda, affiliated with the Qatar Gas Transport Company, while it was sailing in the Gulf, the Qatar News Agency reports.
The council affirmed that Doha reserved its right to take all necessary measures in accordance with international law and the UN Charter to protect its properties, safeguard its interests and ensure the safety of its ships and crews.
Trump defeated in war and election, we will impose further defeats on him: Iran judiciary chief
After the Democrats took control of the US Congress from Trump’s Republican Party in the midterm elections, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of Iran’s judiciary, said, “Trump was defeated both in war and in politics; we will certainly impose further defeats on him; this is still only the early outcome.”
“November 4 has always been a day of defeat for the Americans; may the memory of all martyred school and university students, especially the dear martyred students of Minab, be honoured,” he said in a post on Telegram.
Mohseni-Ejei appeared to be referencing the Iran hostage crisis, which began on November 4, 1979, when several Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the US embassy in Tehran.
If you’re just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed:
- US President Donald Trump says the war on Iran played a role in the losses his Republican Party has suffered in the US midterm elections as the Democrats have won control of the House of Representatives and Senate.
- The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, says US voters said “no to war” after the Democrats’ big wins in the midterms.
- The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia says another Indian national critically injured in an October 10 Houthi attack on Riyadh’s airport has died.
- Israeli forces have advanced into the town of Jabata al-Khashab in the northern Quneitra countryside in southwestern Syria with four military vehicles and have conducted home searches, Syrian state television reports.
- Israeli artillery has hit the southern Lebanese towns of al-Mansouri and Wadi Zibqin, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports.
- Israeli forces have detained at least 34 Palestinians during widespread raids across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The calculation in Tehran is that as Trump no longer has a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, they believe that he’s going to be less reckless because now there is a balance in American politics, and so he will have to face resistance from the Senate and the House of Representatives. Second, they believe that now the Republican Party itself, so as not to lose the election in 2028, will have to think of the cost of war on Iran.
That is the optimistic scenario here in Tehran. Throughout the whole process, Iran’s strategy was to raise the costs for those who were engaged in the war, raise the cost for the region to put pressure on the United States and raise the cost on the global economy to make sure that Netanyahu and Donald Trump lost the elections.
So far, more or less, it seems that Tehran has achieved its goal. However, they’re still extremely cautious as well.
Deaths reported in Yemen as Houthis target recruits in Al-Jumaimah camp with missile
The Houthis have bombed a gathering of recruits in Yemen’s Al-Jumaimah camp in the Maris area of Dhale governorate with a ballistic missile, resulting in deaths and injuries, our correspondent on the ground reports, quoting field sources.
Earlier, Yemeni government forces said they launched air strikes on Houthi positions in the Al-Aqroudh area of Al-Masrakh district, Sanamat, south of Mount Sabr, Al-Rabeei and Jabal Habashi in western Taiz governorate.
Saudi Civil Defence briefly issues danger alert in Jazan
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence says the danger has passed in the Jazan province after earlier issuing a brief safety warning to residents.
Jazan is home to a Saudi Aramco refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Earlier, the agency issued and lifted two separate warnings for the Najran region.
Israel’s election committee finds no voting irregularities, verifies final results
Israel’s Central Elections Committee has certified the final results of last week’s general election and found no irregularities that affected the integrity of the electoral process.
It said that when necessary, the committee thoroughly examined voting materials and documentation, but found no irregularities – nor any evidence of a breach of the election’s integrity or any alteration to the results.
The results will be submitted to President Isaac Herzog today, who will begin consultations on tasking a candidate with forming the new government.
As part of its oversight process, the committee also examined all inquiries and requests submitted by various political parties, candidate lists, and the public, including an unprecedented review of the protocols from 9,069 polling stations.
The findings are a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed last week that the Arab parties “stole” the vote after they secured 19 seats in the Knesset.
Gaza, Iran and ‘blind adherence’ to Israel led to Republican defeat in US, says Iran official
An Iranian presidential office official has said the “world listened to the resounding message of the American people in the Senate and Congress elections,” after the Democrats took control of the US Congress from the Republicans.
“Human crimes in Gaza, blind adherence to the interests of the illegitimate Israeli regime, and the endless war with the Islamic Republic of Iran, brought the greatest defeat in the history of American elections upon the Republican Party,” Deputy for Communications and Information at the Iranian President’s Office, Mehdi Tabatabaei wrote on X.
“The restoration of the American nation’s honour is commendable,” he added.
Earlier, Trump acknowledged that the Iran war had played a role in the losses his Republican Party faced during the midterm elections.
