Iranian army official warns US, Israel against 'miscalculation'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday for talks focused on bilateral relations and the situation in the Middle East, according to Iranian media.

Pezeshkian and Lavrov discussed relations between Tehran and Moscow and ways to strengthen cooperation, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported.

The meeting came after Lavrov also held talks earlier Monday with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Lavrov, Araghchi said regional disputes should be resolved through diplomacy and blamed the United States for insecurity and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed his relationship with President Donald Trump and the IDF’s military objectives amid conflict in the Middle East and more on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin.’

The "vast majority" of Iran's attempted attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz are "unsuccessful" as the key waterway remains open for transit, U.S. Central Command spokesperson and U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News Digital.

Hawkins spoke after CENTCOM said the GFS Pride, a Singapore-flagged, Cyprus-owned container ship was hit by an Iranian projectile in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday and sunk while being towed ashore due to a fire on board the ship.

"The vast majority of Iran's attempted attacks on innocent civilian mariners transiting an international waterway, being the Strait of Hormuz, they are unsuccessful," Hawkins said.

"As a matter of fact, the U.S. military has assisted in providing coordinated protection for thousands of ships that have safely transited.

"That translates to about 97% of the ships that have sought to transit the Strait of Hormuz have done so successfully without being hit by an Iranian projectile.

"But let's be clear here. What the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran is doing is unjustified, and it's also unsuccessful because they are not achieving their objective of closing the Strait of Hormuz," he added.

"It is open, it is available for transit and we've seen that transit continue this very day."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Greg Norman. 

Fox News' Trey Yingst reports the lates in the Middle East as he says the regime is Tehran is preparing for conflict with the U.S. to escalate once again.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., the war in Iran and other issues during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday.

Luna argued that President Donald Trump has achieved all of the U.S. objectives in the conflict.

Attendees at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Exposition were skeptical of President Donald Trump’s signal that a deal with Iran to end the war may be near, arguing the United States needs to continue its military and economic pressure on Tehran to bring the conflict to a close.

"Look at history, and that area only respects strength, right?" a member of AUSA’s Marne chapter in Georgia told Fox News Digital about Iran. "We're not going to get a deal with them. We're going to have to, unfortunately, beat them into submission.

"There is no such thing as negotiation. So, I think we're probably looking at at least another year, if not two."

The war began in February with joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The conflict has continued despite an April ceasefire and a June agreement intended to pave the way for a broader settlement, which later collapsed amid renewed fighting.

Trump still signals optimism about ending the conflict, saying earlier this month that Iran was "ready to fold up" and suggesting the war could end before the November midterm elections.

"It looks like you guys are holding off because of the midterms," Lincoln from Australia said.

"But it also appears that the Gulf allies need to step up and start doing something for themselves, for their own defense," Lincoln said. "Saudi Arabia doesn't seem to be doing enough.

"It shouldn't just be the United States providing security for the entire world."

Thousands of sailors remain stranded near the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating attacks on commercial ships, the United Nations' top maritime official warned Sunday after Iran accused the U.S. military of using an international emergency radio channel to threaten civilian crews.

The warning also came amid reports that 24 ships had been attacked on the waterway over roughly two weeks, underscoring growing concerns about maritime safety in the region, according to Financial Times.

"The situation continues to be severe and critical when it comes to international shipping," International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told Fox News Digital.

"There is a double blockade and too many vessels have been attacked, particularly in recent days.

"Seafarers have continued to perish in these attacks and around 6,000 seafarers remain trapped since the beginning of the conflict," he warned, adding that his message was not to transit the Strait of Hormuz or put seafarers at risk "until we have guarantees."

Dominguez's warning followed an Oct. 9 letter to the IMO in which Iran alleged that the U.S. military used VHF Channel 16, an internationally designated maritime distress and safety channel, to intimidate Iranian crews in the Persian Gulf.

"VHF Channel 16 has been repeatedly occupied for prolonged periods by the United States military forces operating in the Persian Gulf," the letter stated.

"During such transmissions, Iranian seafarers have been addressed in Persian with threatening, abusive and provocative language and in certain instances urged to abandon their vessels."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Emma Bussey.

President Donald Trump is supporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party in the Oct. 27 Knesset elections, urging Israel voters to pick the man he called a "great warrior" and U.S. "partner for peace" amid the multi-front war on Iran and its nuclear weapons aspirations.

"I have watched Bibi under the most trying of times," Trump wrote Sunday morning in a full-throated endorsement of the Likud leader. "Normal men or women in such situations would have wilted under the pressure — But Bibi did not wilt, he actually got stronger, and maintains that same Strength today."

"This is the kind of Partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel, a Country for which it has done so much," Trump added. "Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-election as Prime Minister of Israel."

"If Israel has the wrong leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so," Trump wrote.

"BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Trump concluded.

One of Saudi Arabia’s most iconic skyscrapers ordered office workers to stay home Sunday as escalating attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels rattled the capital of Riyadh amid fears of a widening Middle East conflict.

The move came after the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two drones in the Riyadh area, a third over the Eastern Province and two ballistic missiles in southern Saudi Arabia overnight, after authorities had earlier issued a threat alert in the capital, also shared on X.

Management at the 99-story Kingdom Centre, a landmark on Riyadh's skyline, ordered office employees to work remotely until further notice, according to reporting by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The directive affects a building whose tenants include major international financial institutions such as Merrill Lynch, consulting giant McKinsey & Company and the International Monetary Fund.

"Please be advised that remote working arrangements are mandatory for all office employees at Kingdom Centre, effective immediately and until further notice," building management said in an email obtained by AFP.

Employees were instructed not to report back to their offices. The shopping mall at the base of the tower, however, remained open to the public.

Management did not specify a reason for the directive, but it came as repeated missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthis disrupted the Saudi capital.

Fox News' Emma Bussey contributed to this report.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired missiles at a Yemeni military compound on Monday, killing at least 20 soldiers and wounding dozens more.

Yemeni military officials confirmed the attack on condition of anonymity, with official sources offering no details about the extent of the casualties.

Col. Majed al-Nazili, spokesman for Yemen’s military, confirmed that the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at a training center for police and security forces, but did not provide further details.

The attack targeted the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said those killed were new recruits from around the country and promised a “firm response.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saoud confirmed that the country plans to announce a regional defense partnership with a number of Middle Eastern countries in the coming days.

Saoud made the announcement at the Global Security Forum as it kicked off in Doha on Monday.

“I’m happy to say that soon we’re going to announce a new partnership,” he said.

Saoud did not name specific countries involved in the agreement, but noted that recent cooperation between the U.S. and gulf states has seen great success in fending off missile strikes by Iran in recent months.

The chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, warned the U.S. and Israel against "further miscalculation" in a statement on Sunday.

Abdollahi said that Tehran has stood strong in the face of U.S. attacks for months and claimed that further attacks against Tehran would be met with more aggressive retaliation.

“In each of the previous wars, you entered battle with the slogan of overthrowing the Islamic Republic, dismembering and destroying Iran; yet today you are the ones being destroyed and overthrown while a powerful Iran still stands firm,” Abdollahi told Iranian state media.

Five Democratic senators reached out to the Pentagon and demanded documentation of the "real cost" of the war in Iran, claiming President Donald Trump's administration is making efforts to mask the cost.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., led the senators in writing a letter to Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, asking the Pentagon to publicize cost estimates for damage to U.S. bases and a timeline for repairs. The letter was first reported by USA Today.

"During a recent classified briefing, you provided information to the Senate Armed Services Committee on the estimated cost of the damage to U.S. bases and facilities," the senators wrote. "However, that figure should not be available only to lawmakers – the American people deserve to know the full cost of the Trump administration’s unauthorized war against Iran."

Joining Warren in the letter were Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and Gary Peters of Michigan.

The Pentagon's last public estimate of the cost of the Iran war came September 3 and sat at $46.3 billion. U.S. operations have continued against Iran since then, but at a much less aggressive pace.

Iran's foreign minister issued a defiant response to President Donald Trump on Sunday, challenging the United States to launch another attack and warning that Tehran was prepared to retaliate.

“Last time you wanted to 'finish the job,' Iran emerged even stronger,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.

“Want to try your luck again? Be our guest. But be careful; we have unfinished jobs too,” he warned.

Araghchi also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pushing the United States toward another war to avoid prosecution.

“Netanyahu is driving America into another war to stay out of jail, whatever the consequences for Israel—let alone POTUS,” he said.

Araghchi’s remarks came after Trump warned that the United States could “soon finish the job” against Iran unless Tehran changes course and gave Netanyahu his “complete and total endorsement” for reelection Sunday.

Netanyahu also vowed Sunday to bring down the Islamic Republic, saying he had instructed Israel’s security agencies to pursue that goal.

Fox News' Emma Bussey contributed to this report.