Day 255 | Explosions shake Iran's Qeshm, Bandar Abbas

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Read more: Day 256 | Trump sees 'positive momentum' on Iran deal

US President Donald Trump said Monday that there was “positive momentum” towards reaching an agreement to end the war with Iran, following a meeting with Qatar’s prime minister at the White House.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump described a resumption of US military strikes against Iran as “quite unlikely,” adding that Gulf countries wanted to preserve the current status quo.

The remarks signal a potentially positive shift in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, with Qatar continuing to play a mediating role between Washington and Tehran.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters that Qatar and Saudi Arabia would prefer a peaceful resolution to the escalating tensions with Iran, while warning that Washington remains prepared to launch strikes if necessary.

The comments came after Trump met with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House on Monday. The meeting lasted around 45 minutes and focused on negotiations with Iran, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Qatar has been playing a central mediating role between Washington and Tehran, carrying proposals between the two sides as efforts to end the conflict continue. However, Trump has indicated that he is prepared to maintain military pressure, including through the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, while diplomatic efforts proceed

• Massie accuses Hegseth of abusing his office and knowingly carrying out unlawful orders to launch military action against a foreign country.
• He argues that Hegseth's conduct threatens the US Constitution and violates the rule of law.
• Hegseth has remained defiant, while US President Donald Trump has publicly expressed his support for the defense secretary.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduced Monday articles of impeachment against US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of abusing his office and unlawfully initiating military action against Iran.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has frequently clashed with US President Donald Trump, filed the articles on the House floor on Monday. The measure would need to be brought to a vote by Wednesday.

In presenting the case, Massie accused Hegseth of knowingly carrying out unlawful orders to launch a war against a foreign country, arguing that his conduct violated constitutional limits on executive power.

"Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law," Massie said.

Hegseth has pushed back against the allegations, while Trump has publicly backed his defense secretary. Hegseth is also expected to address the matter at a news conference on Tuesday.

The impeachment effort comes amid growing criticism of Hegseth within Republican circles following the party's major setbacks in the 2026 midterm elections. Some Republican lawmakers and allies have increasingly pointed to the defense secretary as a source of the administration's political difficulties.

The measure could secure enough support to pass the Republican-controlled House, where impeachment requires a simple majority. Democratic backing, combined with votes from Massie and a limited number of Republicans, could be sufficient to advance it.

However, removing Hegseth from office would face a considerably steeper hurdle. A conviction in the Senate requires a two-thirds majority, meaning the effort would need substantial Republican support in addition to Democratic votes.

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The Saudi-led coalition said it had destroyed three facilities linked to the Houthis’ ballistic missile program, releasing footage it said showed the strikes on the sites.

In a statement, the coalition said the targets included a factory used to assemble and manufacture ballistic missile components, a chemical plant involved in mixing and producing solid rocket fuel, and an electronics workshop used to assemble electronic systems for ballistic missiles.

The announcement follows a series of coalition operations targeting the Houthis’ missile capabilities and military infrastructure in Yemen. On Nov. 1, the coalition said it had carried out a precision operation against facilities and resources used by the group to support its ballistic missile and drone programs, warning that these capabilities also threatened maritime shipping in the southern Red Sea.

Schools in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, will switch to remote learning from Tuesday, according to a message sent to parents and seen by AFP on Monday, as exchanges of strikes continue between the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government and Iran-backed Houthi fighters.

The message informed parents that in-person classes would be suspended as part of ongoing precautionary measures, with remote learning introduced for all students and teaching and administrative staff from Tuesday.

No timeframe was given for how long the measure would remain in place.

The latest school closures come just one day after students returned to classrooms on November 8, following an earlier period of remote learning prompted by security concerns.

US President Donald Trump met with Qatar’s prime minister on Monday for talks focused on negotiations with Iran, according to Axios journalist Barak Ravid.

The meeting, which took place around noon and lasted approximately 45 minutes, focused on the ongoing diplomatic efforts involving Tehran, Ravid reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.

The meeting comes amid continued efforts to reach an understanding between Washington and Tehran, with Qatar playing a key mediating role between the two sides.

• The attacks spoiled food worth millions of euros, with temperatures in some stores reportedly reaching 50C.
• French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot threatened European-level sanctions and said Iran's ambassador had been summoned.
• French prosecutors opened an investigation into three figures linked to the IRGC's Shahid Kaveh cyber unit.

France on Monday accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of carrying out cyberattacks that disrupted refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets, spoiling food worth millions of euros.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called the attacks "unprecedented in both their scale and their level of aggression" and warned that those responsible would face European-level sanctions.

Paris has summoned Iran's ambassador to lodge a formal protest. Barrot described the incident as the first large-scale cyberattack targeting infrastructure for sabotage on French soil, calling it a serious threat to national interests and public security.

France will take "any other necessary and proportionate measures" to prevent further attacks, he added. Iran has yet to comment on the accusations.

Separately, Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into the head of an IRGC-linked cyber unit, Shahid Kaveh, and two deputies. Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the unit was affiliated with the IRGC's electronic and cyber centre.

The attacks began on 11 October, when hackers gained access to software controlling supermarket refrigeration systems. The software, supplied by Danish engineering company Danfoss, allows retailers to manage cooling units remotely.

More than 100 Coopérative U stores and 180 Intermarché and Netto outlets were affected. Carrefour, Monoprix and E.Leclerc were also targeted. In some stores, refrigerator temperatures reportedly reached 50C overnight, ruining fresh and frozen food.

A second wave last week hit more than 100 supermarkets across Europe, including stores in Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as smaller numbers in Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland. Whether the incidents were connected remains unclear.

Similar disruptions were reported at several US military bases in August, where refrigeration failures spoiled food. The incidents are being investigated as possible deliberate cyberattacks, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Two Russian-aligned hacking groups claimed responsibility for the supermarket attacks on Wednesday, but their claims were met with skepticism. Cybersecurity experts had also considered Iran among the possible perpetrators.

French authorities have not disclosed the evidence behind their accusation. Identifying the source of cyberattacks is difficult because hackers can conceal their identities and locations.

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Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said Monday that the kingdom’s strategic East-West oil pipeline was targeted in the Medina region, triggering a limited fire that was subsequently extinguished.

An official source at the ministry said the incident occurred on Nov. 9, adding that emergency response teams brought the fire under control without any injuries or fatalities.

The ministry stressed that the incident had not affected the pipeline’s operational activities, while emergency and technical teams were immediately deployed to secure the site and verify its safety.

Authorities said the response was carried out in accordance with established safety procedures and emergency plans.

The East-West Pipeline is a critical component of Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure, transporting crude oil from the kingdom’s oil-producing areas in the east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu in the west.

Stretching approximately 1,200 kilometers, the pipeline has a pumping capacity of around 7 million barrels per day, providing Saudi Arabia with an alternative export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

Its strategic importance has increased amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during the wider regional conflict.

The pipeline was previously targeted in Sep. 2026, when multiple attacks in the Riyadh and Medina regions prompted Saudi authorities to suspend its operations as a precautionary measure. That incident resulted in injuries, unlike Monday's reported attack.

• The strikes hit sites across six provinces: Marib, Saada, Hodeidah, Taiz, Lahj, and al-Jawf, causing civilian casualties
• Saree stated the sorties were carried out by F-15 and Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets operating out of military airbases in Khamis Mushait and Taif

Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Yahya Saree stated on Monday that Saudi warplanes carried out 103 airstrikes against civilian areas across six Yemeni provinces in a 24-hour period, leaving multiple civilians dead and wounded.

Saree detailed that the strikes targeted locations across the provinces of Marib, Saada, Hodeidah, Taiz, Lahj, and al-Jawf.

The military spokesman claimed that the operations were carried out by F-15 and Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft launched from King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait and King Fahad Air Base in Taif, within Saudi territory.

As stated by Saree, these latest sorties bring the total number of Saudi-led coalition airstrikes and missile strikes recorded since the current phase of military escalation began to 4,563.

• Tehran reiterated that its negotiation stance remains unchanged,
• Iran insisted no talks will occur until Washington takes concrete action satisfying Iran’s seven preconditions

Iran has dismissed reports of a planned high-level meeting in Doha between US Vice President JD Vance and Major General Mohsen Rezaei, reiterating that direct negotiations remain entirely off the table until Washington fulfills Tehran's preconditions.

Speaking to Press TV on Monday, a senior Iranian security official denied media claims that Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, would meet Vance in the Qatari capital. The denial was subsequently reported by Iran's Fars News Agency.

"Until the American side takes practical action within the framework of the seven conditions, no plans for negotiations with the American side will be put forward," the official said, emphasizing that Iran's formal negotiation posture and operational policy remain unaltered.

The clarification came hours after Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın said earlier Monday that Qatar was preparing to host Vance and Rezaei next week.

Kalın had framed the purported encounter as an important breakthrough opportunity for regional diplomacy, according to a report by Middle East Eye from Ankara.

• Ghalibaf detailed Tehran's proposed two-day plan to the visiting delegation
• He emphasized that advancing negotiations requires Washington to respect Iranian rights under the framework.

An Iraqi delegation headed by senior official Ali Faleh al-Zaidi carried out a brief visit to Tehran on Friday for talks with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran parliament speaker, an informed source told Fars News Agency.

The source said that the discussions centered strictly on Baghdad's diplomatic mediation aimed at ending the ongoing war between Iran and the United States, without addressing other bilateral topics.

During the meeting, Ghalibaf praised Iraq's de-escalation efforts and outlined the details of a two-day plan proposed by Iran.

He stressed that any progress in negotiations requires the United States to respect Iran's rights within the framework of the initiative.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group is not expected to enter the Middle East operational theater before the middle of this month, a US defense official told Al Jazeera on Monday.

The official added that the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), paired with an amphibious ready group, is scheduled to arrive in the region later in Nov. as part of planned military rotations and operational readiness enhancements under US Central Command (CENTCOM).

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has disrupted and disabled the navigation systems of adversarial vessels in regional waters, Iranian state television reported on Monday.

IRGC naval units carried out specialized electronic countermeasures that incapacitated onboard navigational guidance systems, leaving targeted commercial tankers unable to maneuver, according to state media broadcasts.

State outlets reported that the disruptions directly halted four tankers from navigating their intended route through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian media framed the vessels as "illegal" tankers that were attempting to navigate non-Iranian lanes with the operational assistance of US military navigation networks.

Iranian state sources further claimed that at least 11 tankers have been targeted in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz over the past 10 days, stating that several of the disabled vessels suffered damage or were left adrift following the disruption of their control and navigational equipment.

Yemeni government forces said on Monday that they have captured several military positions from Houthi forces along the al-Muhawalah front in the western sector of Lahj Governorate.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Army is shifting its defense doctrine toward a more aggressive, forward-leaning framework, according to statements made by military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia.

Akraminia said that concepts regarding retaliatory readiness have advanced beyond theoretical principles into executable military plans.

"The concepts of 'effective response' and 'no geographical limitations' have been operationally defined and are being transformed into actionable strategies," Akraminia said, underscoring that Tehran will not limit its operational scope if provoked.

Addressing regional security dynamics and foreign adversaries, the spokesperson remarked that hostile actors take action whenever strategic openings arise.

"If enemies have the opportunity to act, they will engage in malicious activities," Akraminia stated, adding that current deterrence may stem from Iranian vigilance or external domestic pressures: "Their inaction may be due to Iran's preparedness or internal problems and developments within their own countries."

Akraminia also addressed maritime navigation, noting that the Iranian military is prepared to safeguard regional shipping channels for commercial vessels that coordinate their movements with naval authorities.

"Ship owners can coordinate with the armed forces to pass through designated secure routes," Akraminia noted, emphasizing that the armed forces provide security guarantees for traffic utilizing those corridors.

An Iranian deputy governor of Hormozgan Province said attacks targeting Qeshm Island overnight caused no damage to the island’s infrastructure.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson, Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, said the Strait of Hormuz remains completely closed, challenging US President Donald Trump’s claims that the strategic waterway has reopened.

Mohebbi said incidents involving oil tankers in the strait demonstrate that Trump’s statements are false.

He also denied that any naval mines had been removed, claiming that no one would dare enter the strait to clear them.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday night that a newly formed American military task force is operating at full strength against Iran, claiming that joint maritime and ground interdiction efforts have effectively halted movement into and out of the country.

"Task Force Iron Gate is in full force and effect in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "Coupled with history’s greatest Naval Blockade, very little gets into, or out of, Iran! President DJT".

The statement marks Trump’s first public comments directly addressing Task Force Iron Gate, a specialized initiative established by US Central Command (CENTCOM) to broaden Washington's pressure campaign beyond the sea.

According to CENTCOM, the task force was ordered formed on Saturday by CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper.

Comprising an internal staff of approximately 20 military and civilian personnel based at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, the unit is tasked with coordinating with interagency US partners to track, interdict, and disrupt the flow of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technology, sanctioned materials, and illicit revenue across Iran’s terrestrial borders and through the Caspian Sea.

"The establishment of Task Force Iron Gate reinforces the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea," Cooper said in the CENTCOM directive announcing the formation of the group.

"Strengthening CENTCOM's collaboration with US interagency partners will further constrain Iran's ability to finance terrorism, rebuild weapons factories, and replenish their military."

The expansion toward overland and northern maritime transit corridors follows months of intensive naval operations by the US military around the Strait of Hormuz and southern Iranian ports.

According to CENTCOM estimates, the maritime blockade has blocked Iran from exporting over $25 billion in crude oil in recent months, pushing Iranian crude production down to historical lows.

Task Force Iron Gate is designed to counter Tehran's alternative trade and supply routes with neighboring states and regional trading partners, seeking to close transit pathways that bypass traditional maritime chokepoints.

Production at Iraq’s Khor Mor gas field in the northern Kurdistan region was brought to a complete halt on Sunday evening following a drone attack, Reuters reported citing regional security sources.

According to security officials, a drone struck the perimeter of the facility located in the Chamchamal district of Sulaymaniyah province, sending columns of smoke rising from the energy complex.

Operating companies and emergency teams immediately suspended all gas pumping and extraction operations as a precautionary measure to secure the facility and inspect the scale of physical damage. No casualties among site personnel were immediately reported.

The operational halt immediately impacted the regional power supply. The Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Electricity stated that approximately 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generation capacity went offline as a direct consequence of the feed gas disruption to regional power plants.

Khor Mor is among the largest gas fields in Iraq and serves as the primary fuel source powering electricity generation plants across the Kurdistan region.