Iran says no military solution to war as currency hits new low under US blockade

Yemen’s armed forces said early Sunday they were carrying out strikes against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Sanaa and the group’s stronghold of Saada, as fighting in Yemen continues to flare amid the wider Iran war.

A spokesperson for Yemen’s armed forces, which are aligned with the internationally recognized government, said the strikes were targeting “vital targets,” but did not provide further details.

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV had earlier reported an attack on Sanaa that it said was carried out by Saudi Arabia.

The conflict between the Houthis and forces aligned with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government had largely paused after a 2022 truce, but fighting has resumed as a spillover from the broader war between Iran and the United States.

Hostilities intensified this year after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and began attacking Saudi territory and shipping, while also making major territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes in Yemen and backed government forces trying to repel the Houthis.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The U.S. aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush docked in Phuket, Thailand, on Sunday, giving its roughly 4,800 sailors a rest-and-recreation break after six months supporting U.S. operations in the Middle East.

The Nimitz-class carrier and its strike group had been supporting Operation Epic Fury and the U.S. naval blockade in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, where Washington says it has been working to secure maritime stability during the Iran war.

The Navy said Phuket marks the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group’s first port call since departing Norfolk, Virginia, and Mayport, Florida, in March.

Crew members are expected to come ashore through Phuket Deep Sea Port and remain on the island from Oct. 4 to Oct. 9, with sailors taking part in cultural and community events, including sightseeing tours and a U.S.-Thailand soccer match.

The visit follows a five-day port call by the U.S. carrier Abraham Lincoln also docked in eastern Thailand last month with about 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard.

Thailand is the United States’ only treaty ally in mainland Southeast Asia.

Reuters contributed to this report.

OPEC+ has agreed in principle to keep oil production targets steady for November as the Iran war continues to disrupt Gulf exports, three sources close to the talks told Reuters.

The group’s seven core members — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman — were meeting Sunday, while the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee was also scheduled to review the market.

Gulf OPEC+ producers have been pumping far below their targets, with exports fluctuating between 60% and 80% of normal levels in recent months because of continuing disruptions from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The conflict has also delayed the group’s capacity review, which is needed to determine members’ 2027 production quotas, because future production potential has become harder to assess.

OPEC+ had been raising output targets for much of 2026 after years of production cuts, but Reuters reported that most of those increases remained largely on paper because of the Middle East conflict.

The seven core OPEC+ members pumped 25 million barrels per day in August, up 630,000 bpd from July, but still about 5 million bpd below prewar levels in February, according to OPEC data.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Iran’s military plans to increase the range of its missiles following the war with the United States, citing the distance of American forces from the Iranian coast.

“During this war, we concluded that we absolutely must increase the range of our missiles, and we have now moved in that direction,” Iranian Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told Fars news, noting U.S. forces are now positioned as much as 1,000 kilometers, or about 621 miles, from Iran’s coast.

The range of Iranian missiles has been a contentious point for President Donald Trump, particularly with its refusal to give up nuclear weapons aspirations.

Not country that chants "death to America" should be given a path to a nuclear weapon, Trump has maintained for years.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The latest U.S. counterproposal largely tracks Washington’s earlier positions on denuclearization, according to Iran, which is pushing to make the Strait of Hormuz the immediate focus of any talks.

“The Americans’ propositions are more or less in line with their previous positions, specifically on the nuclear issue,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said. “We told them our focus in this stage is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz and the return to security in this waterway requires clear steps from the U.S.”

Baghaei also denied that Iran had offered to allow U.N. nuclear watchdog inspections in exchange for U.S. sanctions relief, saying Iran had not entered into nuclear discussions with Washington.

Reuters reported last week that the proposal being circulated outlines a seven-day trust-building period aimed at returning the two sides to an enhanced version of the June memorandum of understanding, including concrete steps on Iran’s nuclear program.

Reuters contributed to this report.

After President Donald Trump rejected the Iranian peace conditions, Iran is reportedly doubling down on them.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a plan put forward by Tehran to resolve its dispute with Washington could lead to the Strait of Hormuz reopening within seven days, hoping Washington would choose diplomacy but warned that Iran was prepared to respond if the United States again chose military action.

“If they again move toward military solutions, we are more prepared than before and will take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves,” Araghchi said.

Nournews reported Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Sunday that it will not stop the Strait of Hormuz attacks until seven Iranian conditions are met.

“The Americans, who say something different in the media, have recently put forward proposals through a mediator, but they must understand that the period of dragging out the process and dictating one-sided demands is over," Qalibaf said.

"The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely clear and firm, and the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until our seven conditions, based on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, are met."

Reuters contributed to this report.

A commercial tanker was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging its engine room, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said Sunday.

UKMTO received a report of an incident inside the key waterway, noting the crew was safe, and no environmental impact had been reported at the time the notice was issued.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, making any attack on commercial shipping there a potentially major escalation risk amid the Iran war.

Reuters contributed to this report.