Al Jazeera

By Faisal Aziz Khan, Edna Mohamed and Umut Uras

•     Iran says if the United States accepts its demands “both security will be restored to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiation process will begin in a short period of time”.
•     US President Donald Trump says the war on Iran will end “very soon one way or the other” warning Tehran will either make a deal or “the hammer” will come down.
•     Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says two crude oil tankers caught fire after hitting sea mines in Hormuz as Gulf nations condemn Friday’s attack on a Qatari LNG carrier.
•     Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says talks with mediators over a two-day plan to reopen the strait are ongoing and expressed hope the US has “enough sense to choose diplomacy“.

UAE will be more prepared if US launches new war on Iran: Minister

    Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei says while what will happen in the US-Israeli war on Iran cannot be predicted, the United Arab Emirates will be more prepared this time around.

    Al-Mazrouei made the comments at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference on Monday.

    Fears of US attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes by Tehran have gripped the region and roiled oil markets in recent days.

    President Trump has said he would not launch an attack on Iran before the US midterm elections on November 3, but on ‌Friday he said Washington may carry out another military operation against Iran.

Gaza death toll rises to 74,609 as Israeli attacks continue

    Gaza’s Health Ministry says 11 Palestinians have been killed and 38 wounded in Israeli attacks over a 48-hour period.

    Two others succumbed to their wounds from previous violent acts and two bodies were recovered from the rubble, a statement said.

    Since a “ceasefire” took effect in October 2025, at least 1,593 Palestinians have been killed and 5,748 injured, it said. Another 847 bodies have been recovered from under the debris of destroyed buildings.

    The total death toll from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza now stands at 74,609 with 175,872 people wounded since October 2023.

China seeks to expand influence with Middle East diplomacy

By Katrina Yu

Reporting from Beijing, China

    China has just announced it will send special envoy to the Middle East – Zhai Jun – to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Oman in the middle of November.

    This is China stepping up its mediation efforts in the region.

    Oman has been relatively less impacted by the US-Israel war on Iran when it comes to energy exports. Many of its ports are located outside the Strait of Hormuz. That’s useful for China, which relies on the Gulf region for its energy.

    Also, China has been looking to expand its influence in the Middle East and the Gulf region, and closer ties with Oman help towards that end.

    It does want to become a bigger player in that region alongside the United States if not to – in the long term – potentially displace some of US influence.

South Korea denounces Houthi attacks in call with Saudi Arabia

    South Korea has condemned recent Houthi attacks against the kingdom.

    Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud said he congratulated Seoul’s new Defence Minister Kang Shin Chul on his appointment in a phone call.

    “We discussed our defence cooperation and affirmed our support for efforts to achieve regional and global peace. We also condemned the Houthi terrorist attacks against the kingdom,” he said in a post on X.

    The Saudi defence minister earlier said he discussed “regional security” with his Australian and Japanese counterparts in separate calls.

Source confirms Iran’s negotiating team leaves Doha, peace proposal on the table

    An Iranian ⁠delegation ⁠has departed Qatar after exchanging messages with the US but not because of a breakdown in negotiations, a diplomat with knowledge of the matter tells Al Jazeera.

    A draft proposal to end the US-Israel war on Iran ⁠has been ⁠circulated for ⁠feedback, and a follow-up meeting is being discussed, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

    Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, has said a recent letter sent by US Vice President JD Vance changed the US tone “completely”, describing it as a “very positive sign”.

Oil prices fall nearly 4% on talks to end US war on Iran

    Oil prices have plummeted nearly 4 percent with talks ongoing to secure a deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran.

    Brent crude futures fell $4.20, or 3.7 percent, to $109.23 a barrel by 09:00 GMT while West Texas Intermediate traded at $100.14, down $3.98, or 3.8 percent.

    “The new month brought with it renewed hopes of a breakthrough in the Iranian stalemate,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

    While the Qatar-mediated talks follow a recent increase in attacks on oil tankers transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, there are also signs of shipments rising from some major exporters.

Israeli army says 4 Hamas members killed in Gaza attacks

    Four Hamas fighters have been killed in recent attacks carried out in northern Gaza, Israel’s military says.

    An army statement said it killed the head of a recruitment department, Nabil Hamad, and Hamas commander Muhanad Nader Mahmoud Dahdouh in separate attacks on Saturday.

    It also claimed two separate attacks killed Ayil Naif Fahmi Masallem, a member of the elite Nukhba Forces, and a commander in Hamas’s rocket unit, Arafat Kamal Mohammed Arair.

If you’re just joining us

    Here are the latest developments:

•     Iran says it’s taking a “goodwill-based approach” to ongoing negotiations to end the war, “the ball is now in the US’s court” and Tehran’s demands are “entirely clear and logical”.
•     An Iranian ⁠delegation has ⁠left talks in Qatar but not because of difficulties in negotiations, Reuters reports.
•     Chinese President Xi Jinping says the Gulf region should not become a geopolitical battleground between major powers and Beijing is willing to work with Arab nations to achieve lasting peace.
•     Sultan al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, says the world’s energy buffers have eroded since the US-Israel war on Iran began with nearly one billion barrels of oil drained from global inventories.
•     In the occupied West Bank, Governor Khaled Dudin says Israeli forces have withdrawn from the entire city of Hebron after a military assault that lasted more than 10 days.

Israeli soldiers, settlers carry out 3,000 attacks in West Bank in October, Palestinian commission says

    Israeli forces and settlers have carried out 3,133 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in October, a 53 percent increase compared with September when 2,051 acts of violence were recorded, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission says.

    Of these, 1,764 attacks were carried out by Israeli soldiers while 1,369 were carried out by settlers, the commission said.

    Settler violence alone more than doubled in October from 647 attacks the previous month during pogroms linked to the olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, often under the protection or with the participation of Israeli soldiers, it said.

    Ramallah and el-Bireh governorate saw the highest number of attacks with 704, followed by Nablus with 636, Hebron with 568, Jenin with 224, occupied East Jerusalem with 219, Salfit with 217 and Bethlehem with 198, the commission said.

US and Iran should return to Islamabad MoU, restart dialogue, China and Oman say

    China and Oman say the US and Iran should return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and restart dialogue for a peaceful end to the conflict.

    In a 20-point joint statement, both countries said they agreed that safe navigation must resume through the Strait of Hormuz.

    China’s Foreign Ministry also said Zhai Jun, its special envoy to the Middle East, will visit Iran, Saudi Arabia and Oman this month.

    Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq is on a two-day state visit to Beijing, where he met President Xi Jinping.

Irish airline Ryanair says profits drop over rising fuel costs

    Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair says its net profit dropped 6 percent in its second quarter because of higher fuel costs and ticket prices affected by the US-Israel war on Iran.

    In a statement, Ryanair said profit after tax fell to 1.61 billion euros ($1.8bn) in the three months to the end of September from 1.72 billion euros ($1.93bn) a year earlier.

    Ryanair said the cost of fuel not covered by advance purchase agreements had soared because of the war.

    “Unless there is a swift resolution of the Middle East conflict, we expect jet-fuel prices to remain elevated well into 2027,” CEO Michael O’Leary said.

    He said the airline’s fuel bill is expected to rise by 2 billion euros ($2.2bn) in its next financial year, and it’s too early to provide full-year profit guidance, which remains “highly sensitive to … conflict escalation in the Middle East and Ukraine”.

Israeli army says it killed 2 Hamas fighters

    Two members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force have been killed in separate air strikes on the Gaza Strip, a military statement says.

    One attack targeted Khan Younis in southern Gaza and killed Mohammed Kamel Maslih Qdeih, who allegedly took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, it said.

    Another strike on central Gaza’s Nuseirat killed Diaa Abdel Mohsen Mohammed Abu al-Rous, another Nukhba operative, the military said.

‘Glimmer of hope’ as US and Iran show signs of compromise

    Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, says there’s a “glimmer of hope” as the US and Iran show signs of “getting serious” about ending the war.

    “Some of the positions they had taken earlier on no longer cling on in the same manner as before. So, for instance, the Trump administration had said that they were not going to lift the blockade, even if there was an opening of the strait. That position renders any deal completely unlikely,” Parsi told Al Jazeera.

    “But it appears to me that the Trump administration has now softened its position, has a much more realistic position,” Parsi explained, adding it did not mean a deal is guaranteed.

    While the situation in the Gulf would affect the negotiations, for now it would not “scuttle any potential deal unless it happens after the deal.”

Iran says ‘goodwill-based approach’ being used with US

    The same seven-step plan from Iran remains on the table but in an effort to secure peace it has now been “condensed and can be implemented within two days”, the Foreign Ministry spokesman says.

    “This also indicates Iran’s goodwill-based approach. We have stated that if Iran’s demands are met, it is possible that both security will be restored to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiation process will begin within a short period of time,” said Esmaeil Baghaei.

    “All of this depends on how the American side wants to proceed regarding the future of this process.”

Iran says it harbors no hostility toward neighbouring Gulf nations

    Tehran holds no hostility toward regional countries and advocates cooperation to establish lasting security, its Foreign Ministry spokesman says.

    However, Esmaeil Baghaei added, “Iran cannot remain silent when the territory of certain regional states is used to violate its national sovereignty or threaten the security of its people.”

    Some Gulf neighbours have placed “excessive reliance and trust in the US military presence – and, in some cases, are actively cooperating with it”, he said.

    “Building trust is a two-way process, and Iran’s reasonable expectation is that regional countries should not allow their territory or facilities to be exploited against a major neighbour.”

Iran negotiators left Doha on Sunday; draft proposal circulated

    An Iranian ⁠delegation ⁠left talks in Qatar on Sunday – but not because of difficulties in negotiations aimed at reaching a ‌deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, a news report says.

    A draft proposal ⁠has been ⁠circulated for ⁠feedback and a follow-up meeting is possible, ‌Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying.

‘Ball is in US court’ in peace talks with Iran: Spokesman

    Esmaeil Baghaei says Washington has “not only failed to offer any diplomatic initiatives but has actively undermined diplomatic processes” over the last two years.

    “The primary criterion for Iran in talks will be solely the actual conduct and practical actions of the US government,” he told reporters. “The ball is now in the US’s court and Iran’s demands are entirely clear and logical.”

    Baghaei added: “No agreement will be reached, nor will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened or secured, unless the US naval blockade is lifted and Iran’s legitimate demands are fully met.”