Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi-fired missile as IRGC claims commercial ship struck mine

A top IRGC commander claimed Oct. 13 that the United States would never dare launch a ground invasion of Iran.

"I think that even in very private American meetings, there has been no discussion of a ground attack at all," Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi said, according to the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency.

“They talk about this in media propaganda, but even in secret and in each other's ears, they have not spoken about a ground attack; because they know what will happen to them," he warned.

"Which calculating person would be willing to decide on a ground attack considering such an experience? The fate of a ground attack is the same," Naqdi continued.

"They have been present in the Persian Gulf for 100 years, but since the start of the war they have fled and cannot come within a thousand kilometers because they know what might happen to them," he also said of U.S. military assets in the Gulf.

President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at an alleged leaker he accused of revealing the departure and arrival times of U.S. bombers ahead of planned strikes on Iran, saying the disclosure compromised the mission and declaring that "leakers should be shot."

“There were two weeks, and we sent those beautiful B-2 — the wings. You know, the wings that carry very large bombs and are totally stealth.

“And they went there and they were being waited,” Trump said at a rally in Arizona.

“I mean, Iran was waiting for them, and they never got to see him. 1:00 in the morning, they flew over and, you know, somebody leaked, some sleazebag,” he said.

“They ought to go to jail. But they leaked that we were leaving at 1207 from Missouri.

“And it was in the New York Times, CNN they leaked the time we were leaving, the time we were arriving.”

Trump said he called Gen. Dan Caine, who assured him the military could proceed despite the leak.

“I said, let's change the time. “So I called off the raid,” Trump said, adding that the strikes took place two days later.

“Now we can do the raid. Let's leave it exactly the same time. That was the only time that they didn't expect us to be used.

“We used the exact same time, but they leaked. Leakers should be. In my opinion, leakers should be shot,” Trump added.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran made him promise to stop targeting its leaders after strikes on the country’s leadership amid Operation Epic Fury.

“We don't need any help with Iran,” Trump said at a rally in Arizona.

“We've done so well there. They've got no — we've got nothing right now. They have no military. Their navy's gone. Their air force is gone. Their radar is gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone, their leaders are gone,” he said.

“That's one of the problems. I might have gone too far. I don't know who the hell to deal with.

“Their first-level leaders are gone. They picked a second level. Their second-level leaders are gone. They picked the third level. Half of them are gone.

“They made me promise not to take out anymore, and I did. I promised them.

“But nobody wants to be the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“We hear, we have conversations. We hear them. Who would like to be the president of Iran? Please raise your hand.

“No, I don't want to be. So I probably went a little too far. I'm sorry, because I don't know who the hell we're dealing with anymore, but that's going to end very soon,” Trump said. 

The Yemeni government urged the U.N. Security Council Wednesday to help lift the Houthis’ siege of the city of Taiz and warned of a humanitarian catastrophe.

In a letter, Foreign Minister Afrah Abdulaziz al-Zouba said the situation risks developing into a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe.

“The gravity of the current situation in Taiz, and the direct threat it poses to the lives, dignity and fundamental rights of civilians, requires urgent international action that goes beyond expressions of concern,” the foreign minister said.

“Yemen’s government is calling for urgent action to lift the Houthi siege of Taiz, warning that more than 4 million people could face a worsening humanitarian crisis,” the ministry also

The Houthis surrounded the city Oct. 13 amid fighting with Saudi-backed coalition forces as Taiz residents reported heavy bombardment, according to Reuters. 

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces destroyed an Iranian-linked small boat in the Gulf of Oman that was gathering intelligence and targeting American ships.

“On Oct. 6, U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian-affiliated dhow conducting surveillance and targeting U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Oman,” the command said on X.

“Over the past seven months, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has continued to indiscriminately target thousands of civilian mariners transiting regional waters in addition to U.S. Navy warships.

“Crew members were safely removed prior to destruction of the dhow. Repatriation efforts are ongoing,” CENTCOM said.

Meanwhile, the Iranian navy said it had deployed “operational units” in a new formation east of the Strait of Hormuz and throughout the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, according to Iran’s Press TV.

The navy said Oct. 13 that the units were tasked with “real-time surveillance of enemy activities and maritime traffic in the region.”

Congressional candidate Ryan Elijah called for scaling back U.S. military involvement in Iran on Thursday, warning against another prolonged conflict overseas while emphasizing the need to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The veteran television news anchor-turned-political contender outlined his position on escalating tensions with Iran during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

"This is a decade-long issue and a conflict between Iran and its proxies, where they have targeted and they have killed Americans,” Elijah said.

“So the U.S. military right now is trying to end that conflict. But as representatives, we have to listen to the American people. We have to listen to central Floridians.”

"And they have been very clear on this. They're concerned about it,” he added.

“They are concerned this is going to be a never-ending war. They don't want that. I don't want that either. I share that belief, which is why I think we need to draw this conflict down. And we need to make sure that Iran is not a nuclear threat."

Elijah faces Navy veteran and former NASA official Bale Dalton in the November congressional election.

This is an excerpt from a report by Fox News Digital's David Unsworth.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked U.S. sanctions on Wednesday, saying Washington's economic pressure campaign has failed to bring down the Islamic Republic despite repeated deadlines that have passed.

"btw, “They have nothing in 2 weeks,” “Wells explode in 3 days,” “Economic D-Day” all passed," Ghalibaf said.

Taking aim at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Ghalibaf also suggested Bessent deserved a Nobel Prize in physics for making predictions about U.S. economic pressure.

“Time’s relative; turns out it could be irrelevant. Nobel in Practical Physics for Treasury?” Ghalibaf wrote on X.

Brig. Gen. Yadollah Javani, the IRCG’s deputy for political affairs, claimed Wednesday that “foreign military forces” had been driven from the Persian Gulf.

"Today, the Persian Gulf region—which previously hosted over 100 military vessels and warships—is free of foreign military forces," Javani said, according to Iranian state media.

"Soon, the world will acknowledge that neither a naval blockade can bring Iran to its knees, nor are air or land blockades viable options," he said.

His remarks came as Reuters reported that Iran said it was deploying new tactics to target ships and keep oil prices high.

Iranian officials told the outlet that the new offensive strategy targeting ships began about 10 days ago.

Yemeni government forces said they carried out more than 2,000 strikes against the Houthis on Wednesday, destroying hundreds of military vehicles as regional tensions escalate.

"As part of Operation Dawn of Yemen, our forces executed 2,309 direct targeting ops against Houthis militia targets across all fronts, resulting in neutralizing 1,250 Houthi members & destructing & disabling 460 military vehicles," the armed forces spokesperson said on X.

The Dawn of Yemen military campaign aims to recapture Houthi-held territory across Yemen.

The Houthis said Wednesday they had targeted Riyadh’s international airport with a ballistic missile.

The claim came after the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting a missile fired toward the capital.

“By the grace of God and His assistance, our armed forces were able to target Khalid International Airport in the Saudi enemy's capital, Riyadh, with a ballistic missile, and the strike was precise and direct,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X.

Saree also said Houthi forces targeted “several Saudi enemy mobilization points in the Ras Al-Arah and Al-Mudarabah areas using three ballistic missiles.” 

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar from Oct. 19 to Oct. 21, the Élysée Palace said Wednesday.

Macron’s trip will focus on the region’s energy situation and efforts to limit the impact of the Iran war’s energy crisis on the French people.

The Gulf tour comes as attacks on commercial shipping and energy infrastructure threaten oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, driving up fuel, diesel and transportation costs.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao sank close to the Strait of Hormuz after being struck by a projectile Sept. 23, data from UN shipping agency the International Maritime Organization showed Wednesday.

The loss was reported less than 24 hours after the sinking of the Singapore flagged GFS Pride, which was struck by a projectile in a separate incident, maritime security sources said earlier Wednesday.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Triumph CEO Aaron Graft said the administration’s red-dye diesel announcement will not immediately ease the burden of high fuel costs on truckers or consumers amid the Iran war.

“Everyone realizes it's a problem, and everyone realizes that higher diesel costs translate into higher transportation costs,” Graft said Wednesday on “Varney & Co.”

But shifting red-dye diesel across the nation’s fuel network will take time, he said.

“You're talking about trying to change an entire supply chain of where diesel ends up across 50 states in this country: You're not going to do that with the stroke of a pen,” Graft said. “It may over time work if we stay committed to it, but for now it's an announcement.”

U.S. Central Command rejected a claim by Iran’s ambassador to the International Maritime Organization that American forces are using “threatening, abusive, and provocative language” against Iranian mariners.

CENTCOM called the allegation “FALSE,” saying the U.S. blockade of Iran has been in place for months and has been “professionally communicated.”

Commercial traffic continues through the Strait of Hormuz with coordinated protection from U.S. forces and regional partners, President Donald Trump and the Pentagon have maintained, despite what they have described as Iran’s “unjustified attacks.”

A former U.S. CENTCOM intelligence director warned Wednesday that deeper U.S. involvement against the Houthis could widen the war around Yemen and turn the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into another major global shipping chokepoint.

Retired Lt. Gen. Karen Gibson told “America’s Newsroom” that President Donald Trump would have “a lot to weigh” before deciding whether to back Saudi Arabia more forcefully against the Iran-backed Houthis, who have escalated missile and drone attacks on Saudi targets.

Gibson said one concern is that U.S. action would open “another significant front” requiring ships, aircraft and intelligence assets that could be pulled away from the Strait of Hormuz, Iran or other contingencies.

“A second reason, you know, there’s some would question the efficacy of airstrikes alone to compel the Houthis to do anything,” Gibson said. “They’ve been at war with the Saudis, you know, a hard, hot war from 2015 to 2022. They’re pretty belligerent.”

Gibson warned the Houthis could expand their campaign beyond Saudi-linked vessels if other nations join the fight.

“I think there’s some concern that if other nations like the US get involved, that they will broaden, open the aperture and they will go after more vessels and at the Bab el-Mandeb itself could become another key choke point, much like the Strait of Hormuz,” Gibson said.

Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer said the conflict is rapidly becoming a “hot war” between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, noting Houthi strikes on Riyadh airport and Saudi Aramco’s headquarters, while warning that two oil chokepoints are now under threat.

Gibson said regional leaders are worried the “economics of warfare have really shifted,” making it cheaper for groups like the Houthis to strike critical infrastructure than for Gulf states to defend it.

“Cheap and easy to strike, relatively exceedingly expensive to defend,” Gibson said. “And we’ve got to change the — we’re on the wrong side of that cost equation.”

Protesters shouted at War Secretary Pete Hegseth and other military leaders Wednesday as they spoke at a panel on drones during the U.S. Army’s annual conference in Washington.

The six protesters appeared to yell about the war with Iran as well as Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion military budget for next year.

The speakers acknowledged the disruptions but continued their discussion, which focused initially on a need to open more military contracts to smaller businesses to develop more drones.

Others in the audience chanted “USA, USA” to counteract them at one point, but for the most part, the panel continued its discussion as the protesters were removed one by one.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Iran hanged a man Wednesday accused of carrying out an “armed operation” against the Islamic Republic in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah.

Mizan, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, identified the man as Ali Sina Mostafavi. It said he opened fire during the Iran war in the southeastern city of Kerman, wounding several.

Executions in Iran on similar charges have drawn international condemnation.

U.N. experts this month urged Tehran to halt all executions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Singapore-flagged container ship identified as the GFS Pride sank near the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile, maritime security sources said Wednesday.

The GFS Pride, a small container vessel with capacity for 2,824 twenty-foot equivalent units, sank while sailing through the strait. Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said the vessel had been transiting the waterway Tuesday when it was damaged.

“GFS PRIDE sustained damage and a fire on board, and has since sunk. All 21 crew members were safely evacuated. No injuries have been reported,” the MPA said in a statement.

The sinking marks the second vessel lost since the U.S.-Iran war began Feb. 28, according to data from the U.N. shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization.

“MPA is deeply concerned about the continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” Singapore’s maritime authority said.

“Such attacks are unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency revised its guidance for Jordanian airspace Wednesday, recommending airlines take potential risks into account when operating there instead of its earlier guidance to avoid the airspace.

EASA also extended its Conflict Zone Information Bulletin for Jordan until Nov. 16, 2026, with revisions to its content and recommendations.

The update comes as the Iran war continues to heighten aviation and security concerns across the Middle East, with airlines weighing risks from missile, drone and military activity near key regional routes.

Jordan sits between Israel, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, making its airspace strategically sensitive as the conflict involving Iran, Israel, the U.S. and Iran-backed proxies continues to disrupt travel, shipping and energy markets.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Record-high oil tanker rates are squeezing Asian refiners that rely heavily on Middle Eastern crude, as the Iran war continues to drive up the cost of shipping fuel through the Strait of Hormuz , the International Energy Agency said Wednesday in a new report.

Asian oil refiners have faced the highest transportation costs because cargoes are being moved through the Strait of Hormuz to secondary tankers for onward delivery, the IEA reported.

The freight rate for a very large crude carrier from the Middle East Gulf to Asia rose to around $36 a barrel by early October, more than five times the cost before the Iran war, the agency said.

Refiners can partly offset the spike by buying U.S. crude , but those freight rates have also surged. Shipping costs from the U.S. Gulf Coast to China have topped $37 a barrel, according to the IEA.

The higher delivered crude costs pushed margins for Asian refiners processing medium sour crude into negative territory in September, adding another strain on global fuel markets as the war disrupts oil flows and shipping lanes.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The European Commission proposed delaying methane emissions rules for oil and gas imports by one year Wednesday, citing concerns over fuel supply as the Iran war continues to disrupt global energy markets.

The rules, originally set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027, would require foreign oil and gas suppliers to the European Union to monitor and report methane emissions.

Under the proposed change, the rules would begin in 2028, while importers would have until May 31, 2029, to prove their oil, gas and coal imports from the previous year complied with EU-equivalent reporting standards.

“This one-year postponement of the import-related provisions is designed to help avoid additional pressures on the security of supply of imported fossil fuels in the current geopolitical context,” the European Commission said.

The law was designed to clamp down on methane leaks from oil and gas infrastructure, but it has faced growing pressure after the Iran war disrupted global energy supplies and intensified concerns over fuel availability this winter.

The United States, Europe’s biggest liquefied natural gas supplier, warned the EU in June that the methane law could disrupt fuel deliveries, a position backed by companies including ExxonMobil.

French President Emmanuel Macron also pressed for a delay, warning the rules could create legal risks for Europe’s fuel importers.

Industry groups want an even longer three-year postponement, arguing suppliers are not ready to comply and could divert LNG cargoes away from Europe.

“Without a mechanism for further extensions, we risk finding ourselves in exactly the same situation 12 months from now,” a spokesperson for the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Iran might be getting a midterm reprieve on action from the U.S. military and President Donald Trump , but that might be running out in a few weeks, Trump warned Tuesday night.

He told his Alaska rally crowd the U.S. has "had it" with Iran.

“We're going to do a number,” Trump said. “They're just waiting. They're waiting.

" Wait until you see what we do to Iran," he added. “Because we sort of had it, you know, we've had it, but, you know, it doesn't matter.

“The big thing is they were not going to have a nuclear weapon. And they want what's buried under thousands of tons of rock."

President Donald Trump told supporters at an Alaska rally that Iran is “the bully of the Middle East no longer,” while predicting the war will “end very soon” and arguing Tehran will not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

“They were the bully of the Middle East, but they’re the bully of the Middle East no longer,” Trump said. “But it’s going to end very soon. Very soon. They have no Navy. They have no air force. They have no anti-aircraft.”

Trump said Iran was “two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon” before U.S. action, adding that “other presidents should have done what I did.”

“You’re not going to have a nuclear Iran,” Trump said. “Because if you did, if you want to see trouble, if you want to see trouble, let them have a nuclear weapon. You’ll see trouble. That’ll be real trouble.”

Trump also tied the war to oil prices, saying the U.S. had kept key waterways open.

“We opened the straits. The straits have been open,” Trump said. “We’ve been taking more oil out of the straits now than we did before the war started. Believe it or not, we control the straits. That’s why the oil stayed where it is.”

Oil prices surged Wednesday after an attack on Saudi Aramco’s headquarters and as Iranian officials told Reuters they are deploying new tactics to target ships in a bid to keep oil prices high and influence U.S. midterm elections.

“That Iranian officials are openly admitting to undermining U.S. efforts to keep oil prices under control speaks volumes about the real intentions behind the so-called ‘peace talks,’” Priyanka Sachdeva, head of market insights at Phillip Nova, said.

Brent crude futures rose 91 cents, or 0.9%, to $106.60 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped $1.65, or 1.8%, to $95.79 a barrel, its highest level in more than two weeks.

“Attacks on ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz and military strikes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis are supporting prices as market participants remain concerned about lower oil exports from the region,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, adding that exports have held up so far.

Iranian officials declined to detail the new strategy, but one official said Iran began using different offensive tactics about 10 days ago.

The Revolutionary Guards Navy said a container ship sank south of the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a naval mine and catching fire, according to Iranian state media.

The incident came a day after UKMTO said a container ship and a tanker were hit by unknown projectiles in the strait.

“The expectation that increased Russian diesel exports will ease market tightness is likely to limit sharp price movement in either direction,” Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment, said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran suffered extensive damage in a Houthi attack Tuesday, with a fire spreading across several floors, sources told Reuters.

Operations at the eastern Saudi Arabia complex have continued normally, but some employees have been asked to work from home, two sources said.

Another source said some functions had been shifted to global offices, and the fire was still burning into early Wednesday.

The facility hosts an operations center that helps the world’s largest oil company oversee onshore and offshore oil rigs, refineries, export terminals and thousands of kilometers of pipeline.

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said Tuesday night’s attack, which came as fighting between Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis and the kingdom intensified, caused a limited fire.

Two sources told Reuters the fire started on the ninth floor of the south wing and spread between the sixth and 10th floors.

Another source said the top three floors, where Aramco CEO Amin Nasser’s office is located, were severely damaged, with part of the ceiling caved in and windows and doors blown out.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Saudi Civil Defense issued an early warning Wednesday for Riyadh and Al-Kharj, alerting residents to potential danger, according to a local news outlet cited by a public Telegram board.

The alert came as Saudi Arabia faced renewed threats from the Iran-backed Houthis, who urged “international shipping companies,” civilians and workers to evacuate airports and oil facilities, which they declared legitimate military targets.

The Saudi-led coalition said earlier Wednesday that it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis toward Riyadh, while several loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital.

Saudi authorities had also issued an alert for a possible aerial threat in Riyadh before the warning was lifted.

The escalating conflict has threatened Saudi oil infrastructure, regional shipping lanes and the kingdom’s broader economy as the Iran war continues to spill across the Middle East.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Diesel shortages could persist well into 2027 as the Iran and Ukraine wars curb output from the Middle East and Russia, the International Energy Agency warned Wednesday.

Diesel refining margins soared to record highs of nearly $95 per barrel in September as attacks on energy infrastructure cut production.

The IEA said combined diesel export losses from the Middle East and Russia totaled 1.3 million barrels per day last month.

“Record diesel prices are already having broad economic consequences by raising the cost of goods and impacting real incomes, economic activity, and inflation,” the IEA said in its monthly oil market report.

“Diesel markets remained under significant strain as prolonged supply disruptions forced counter-seasonal stock draws ahead of autumn refinery maintenance and peak winter demand,” the IEA said.

“As the remaining buffers in the system continue to erode, in the absence of a resolution to the conflicts in the Middle East, oil markets may experience more turmoil in the months ahead before any eventual surplus emerges in 2027.”

The agency said a recovery in refinery operations later this year could help rebuild stocks, but would not make up for the diesel deficit already accumulated.

IEA members are coordinating the release of 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from emergency reserves to ease price pressure.

The warning comes as Middle East crude exports recover from wartime disruptions, with shipments through the Strait of Hormuz rising to 10.9 million barrels per day in September.

But the IEA cautioned that “the recent escalation in attacks on regional energy infrastructure and tanker traffic is threatening to derail further gains.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Saudi Arabia intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthis toward Riyadh on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition said, as tensions widened across the region and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed a commercial ship had struck a mine.

Several loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital after authorities issued an alert for a possible aerial threat in Riyadh, according to a witness.

The warning was later lifted, though it was not immediately clear what caused the blasts and Saudi officials did not immediately comment on their source.

The Houthis also issued a broad threat to “international shipping companies,” civilians and workers, urging them to evacuate airports and oil facilities that the group declared legitimate military targets.

The escalation marks another blow to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to transform and diversify the kingdom’s economy while reducing its reliance on oil, as the conflict continues to threaten energy infrastructure, commercial shipping and regional stability.