Day 245 | Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missiles, explosions in Iran

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Read more: Day 246 | Rubio hosts G20 ministers as Iran, Ukraine wars divide members

US President Donald Trump said that talks with Iran are ongoing, claiming that Tehran wants to negotiate and continues to engage in discussions.

Trump also claimed that Iran was struggling to pay the salaries of its soldiers and police officers, saying the country was facing major problems.

"We have plenty of time," he added.

Describing the conflict, Trump said the war with Iran was not a conventional one and had entered its seventh month.

The Saudi-led coalition announced that it had intercepted a drone launched by the Houthi group toward the Medina region in western Saudi Arabia.

Two explosions rocked the southern Yemeni city of Aden, an Al Jazeera correspondent reported.

No information on casualties was immediately available, and the cause of the explosions has not yet been identified.

The blasts come amid escalating Houthi attacks and a tightening siege on Taiz in recent weeks.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had shot down a US reconnaissance drone over Qeshm Island in southern Iran.

The IRGC identified the aircraft as an MQM-170, but provided no further details about the incident.

Oman’s Royal Air Force evacuated an injured crew member from an Indian boat that was targeted in the Strait of Hormuz, the Omani Armed Forces General Staff announced Friday.

The medical evacuation was carried out in coordination with relevant authorities, according to the General Staff’s Moral Guidance Directorate.

The injured crew member was airlifted from Khasab Hospital in Musandam Governorate to Khoula Hospital in Muscat Governorate for specialized medical treatment.

Separately, the Royal Omani Navy evacuated 25 crew members from a commercial vessel targeted in the Strait of Hormuz after an attack sparked a fire on board, according to the Omani Navy.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that it destroyed an American unmanned boat in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement, CENTCOM described the Iranian claim as false, saying all US unmanned boats deployed in the Middle East remain intact and none have been lost.

It added that a squadron of US unmanned boats is conducting patrols in the Strait of Hormuz in support of its defensive operations.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have brought an oil leak from a tanker reportedly struck by a projectile off the country's coast under control, according to the state news agency WAM.

Citing the UAE Ministry of Environment, WAM reported that no new oil leaks had been detected, while maritime and aerial monitoring operations remain ongoing.

Environmental cleanup teams are continuing operations along stretches of coastline affected by the spill.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center reported on October 9 that the Panama-flagged crude supertanker GEM NO.2 was struck by an unidentified projectile 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera in the UAE.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Friday that European representatives would not appear alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a joint photograph at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

Asked whether he would participate in a group photograph with Lavrov, Wadephul said he expected no traditional group photograph to take place.

“I assume there will be no family photograph at all,” he told reporters, adding that European partners would not pose alongside the Russian foreign minister.

“There is no normality with Russia,” Wadephul said.

The meeting opened without the customary family photograph, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched the first plenary session by calling for international cooperation to address growing economic and geopolitical challenges.

Rubio described the current period as a “moment of choosing,” warning that interconnected crises pose serious threats to the foundations of the global economic order.

The G20 brings together 19 countries, the European Union and the African Union to coordinate global economic policies and address major international challenges.

The Saudi-led coalition announced that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Riyadh region.

In a separate statement, the coalition said air defenses also intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi group toward Saudi Arabia’s southern region.

A Yemeni human rights group says it has documented more than 2,200 alleged abuses by Houthi forces against civilians in Taiz over two months of fighting, including the killing of 189 civilians.

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms said its field teams recorded 2,264 crimes and violations between September 1 and October 29, alongside approximately 12,761 projectiles fired indiscriminately, according to a report cited by Saba news agency, which is affiliated with Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

The reported death toll includes 38 children, nine of them infants, and 27 women. The group also documented 23 field executions, five massacres and 324 abductions or enforced disappearances.

The report further said 521 homes were raided and 356 damaged, while 23 schools were converted into military barracks and 35 government buildings seized.

Five ambulances were reportedly attacked, seven medical workers killed, and more than 15 ambulances looted and used to transport weapons.

The rights group said the siege tightened on September 3, with 26 unauthorized checkpoints established and roads closed, restricting access to food, medicine and fuel.

It added that approximately two million people were left without adequate access to clean water.

Around 280,000 people have fled Taiz province since the conflict escalated in September, according to the group.

Oman’s navy has rescued 25 crew members from a Panamanian-flagged vessel that was targeted 106 nautical miles (196 kilometers) off the coast of Musandam Governorate, the country’s military said.

The vessel caught fire following the attack, according to a military statement.

The rescued crew members were evacuated and provided with medical care. 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said a giant oil tanker exploded after crossing through an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC described the incident as the third of its kind reported today, without providing further details about the vessel, the cause of the explosion, or possible casualties.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy announced that a supertanker carrying two million barrels of oil exploded after navigating an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the third such maritime incident reported today.

Houthi-affiliated media reported that airstrikes targeted the Mahliyah district in Ma'rib, the Hayfan district in Taiz, and the Huwayshan area in Al-Jawf.

Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of coordinated efforts with Washington aimed at reaching a deal between the United States and Iran, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters.

The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen's Houthi movement towards Mecca according to a statement by its spokesman. 

The incident comes amid continued regional tensions and repeated Saudi warnings over threats posed by Houthi missile and drone capabilities. Saudi Arabia has previously reported intercepting drones and missiles launched towards its territory, including areas in the south and around the capital, Riyadh.

The Telegraph claimed Thursday that Iran is preparing to disrupt the upcoming US midterm elections after allegedly attempting to interfere in 'Israel’s'.

According to the newspaper, Tehran views the near-simultaneous elections in the United States and 'Israel', which it considers its two biggest adversaries, as a rare opportunity to deepen political divisions in both countries.

One Iranian official told the newspaper that Tehran had explored recruiting agents within the American and Israeli electoral processes. Another said Iran had established cyber groups to target US election systems.

A second official described the reported efforts as an extension of the war, saying Tehran was prepared to disrupt not only elections but also banking, travel and other civilian systems. The official stressed that Iran was not backing any particular candidate, but wanted to see a "divided America and a divided Israel."

The report said Tehran believes political instability in 'Israel' could delay the formation of a new government and constrain decisions on further military action against Iran, giving it time to rebuild military capabilities damaged during the conflict.

In the United States, Iranian officials reportedly hope that a divided Congress or a shift in control following the November 3 midterm elections could complicate President Donald Trump's ability to pursue further military operations against Iran.

The newspaper also cited Iranian officials as saying Tehran remained prepared for renewed hostilities, with one warning that any future response would not necessarily be limited to American military assets.

The report did not establish that Iranian operatives had successfully infiltrated either country's election systems.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has confirmed that the fire aboard a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was caused by two explosive devices attached to its hull by a small boat.

In an updated report issued on Friday, UKMTO said the tanker was approached on its port side by a small boat, which attached two explosive devices above the waterline. The subsequent blasts caused a fire in the engine room, temporarily disabling the vessel.

The fire has since been extinguished, and the tanker is continuing towards its next port of call, UKMTO said.

All crew members have been confirmed safe, with no environmental impact reported.

UKMTO advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report suspicious activity as authorities investigate the incident.

Yemen’s army said it is taking seriously allegations that the Houthis used shells containing toxic substances against civilians in Taiz, reportedly causing cases of suffocation and fainting among civilians.

The army called for an urgent investigation to establish the validity of the allegations and identify the substances used.