France is putting into action operational elements of an agreement to help protect Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists, the French Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux declined to elaborate on what were the means sent to Saudi Arabia.
The announcement signals deeper French involvement in defending Saudi energy infrastructure as Houthi attacks escalate amid the broader Iran war.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last month France would send troops and defense systems to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, which is key for energy transport.
Saudi Arabia has faced repeated threats to its oil sites and shipping routes from the Yemen-based, Iran-backed terrorist group.
Reuters contributed to this report.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Thursday rejected Iranian claims that Tehran controls the Strait of Hormuz, that a commercial vessel struck a naval mine in the waterway and that hundreds of U.S. troops were killed in Jordan.
The command said on X that the United States and its “regional partners control the strait as commercial vessels continue to transit despite unwarranted IRGC aggression.”
CENTCOM also said the civilian container ship M/V GFS Pride was struck by a projectile fired by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The vessel later sank while being towed to shore.
Despite the attack, commercial shipping continues through the Strait of Hormuz, with more than 40 vessels passing through the waterway in the past 24 hours, CENTCOM added.
The command also said the strait's primary shipping routes are clear of sea mines.
“Three American service members were killed in action in July as partner forces defended against Iranian attacks. We honor the memories of all U.S. service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice and represent America's best,” the command said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun attempted to assure Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a call Thursday that Lebanon’s army and security forces are enforcing measures to confiscate weapons, prevent armed displays and combat smuggling, according to the Lebanese presidency.
The call came after Hezbollah acknowledged that hundreds of kilograms of explosives seized in Lebanon belonged to the Iran-backed group and were intended for explosive drones targeting Israeli troops.
Aoun said the recent seizure was part of Lebanon’s effort to bring all weapons under state control and vowed that judicial authorities would pursue the cases without leniency.
He also asked Rubio to pressure Israel to halt strikes in southern Lebanon and comply with a U.S.-brokered framework agreement.
Reuters contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}The American military has largely operated on a familiar premise: combat the enemy overseas before the fight reaches home.
But as drones, cyberattacks and long-range weapons pose growing threats to U.S. military installations and critical infrastructure, Army leaders are preparing for a future in which American forces could come under attack before they ever deploy overseas.
"If we're going against a pacing threat, power projection will be contested," Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army's acting chief of staff, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
He said the military is rethinking assumptions that were held during decades of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, when American forces could largely count on secure bases and supply lines at home.
"During the Global War on Terror, we took a lot of things for granted, because we could," LaNeve said during a small-group roundtable at the Association of the United States Army's annual conference in Washington this week.
In a potential conflict with China, disrupting American military bases, transportation networks and communications could delay U.S. forces from reaching the battlefield.
The Pentagon's latest report on China's military capabilities warns that Beijing has positioned cyber capabilities inside U.S. critical infrastructure networks that could be used to disrupt American military mobilization during a conflict.
This is an excerpt from Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips' report.
The U.S. military has reportedly developed plans that could include using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs,” against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites if President Donald Trump orders renewed combat operations, CNN reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials.
The potential use of the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal would represent a major escalation in the Iran war.
Officials reportedly questioned whether the weapon would achieve Washington’s strategic objectives.
Fox News Digital could not independently verify the report.
The Saudi-led coalition said Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia.
The coalition did not immediately identify who launched the drone or provide details about its intended target.
Khamis Mushait, in southwestern Saudi Arabia, has faced repeated attacks from Iran-backed Houthi forces during the escalating regional conflict.
The incident comes as the coalition intensifies operations against the Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia strengthens defenses around its airports, ports and oil facilities.
{{#rendered}}Senator Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., joined FOX Business' "Varney & Co." to discuss President Donald Trump’s evolving strategy toward Iran as negotiations reach a critical point.
Hagerty also addresses the diesel deal with Russia and the probe into the alleged debanking of conservatives.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said Thursday that their missile strike on a presidential complex in Aden targeted a “Saudi military operations HQ” as part of a campaign against Saudi reinforcements.
Two security guards were killed in the strike on al-Maashiq Palace, two Yemeni government officials told Reuters.
The Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the strike on what he described as a Saudi military operations headquarters in Aden was part of the group's declared policy of "targeting Saudi military build-ups wherever they are."
Yemen’s prime minister and other ministers who were at the presidential complex were unharmed.
The Houthis said the missile attack was aimed at Saudi-backed forces supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Five explosions were reported at the palace, which serves as the government’s headquarters in the country’s temporary capital.
Reuters contributed to this report.
The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier has returned to the Arabian Sea following a recent port visit to Thailand, U.S. Central Command said Thursday.
The carrier and its roughly 5,000 sailors and personnel are supporting CENTCOM operations in the Middle East as part of a scheduled deployment, according to CENTCOM’s Farsi-language account.
The carrier’s return comes as tensions remain elevated across the region amid the Iran war and ongoing attacks by Iran-backed forces.
{{#rendered}}The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that it apprehended a terrorist affiliated with the dismantled Jenin terror network.
According to the IDF, the suspect served as a key weapons trader who helped acquire and transfer weapons to the network.
The arrest was made as part of ongoing operations following Israel’s “Iron Wall” campaign in the West Bank.
The IDF did not identify the suspect or provide additional details about the arrest.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued an early warning Thursday for a potential threat in Najran, near the country’s southern border with Yemen.
The agency later said the danger had passed. It did not provide details about the nature of the threat, whether an attack occurred or whether there were any casualties or damage.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Two security guards were killed in a Houthi missile attack on the presidential complex in Aden, Yemen, two government officials told Reuters on Thursday.
The attack targeted al-Maashiq Palace, the headquarters of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the country’s temporary capital.
Yemen’s prime minister and other ministers who were at the presidential complex during the attack were unharmed, the government said.
A local reporter said five explosions were heard at the complex.
The strike marks a major escalation by the Iran-backed Houthi group amid intensifying fighting in Yemen and the broader Iran war.
{{#rendered}}The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Thursday that Iran-aligned Houthi terrorists attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities as fighting escalated across the region.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the Houthis launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and wounding 333 others.
Attacks on Abha airport killed three people and injured 28, he said.
The coalition said it destroyed 127 Houthi weapons depots and launch platforms in Yemen’s mountainous areas.
The group has used ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden boats in attacks carried out with help from “regional actors,” according to al-Maliki.
The Houthis later warned airlines that Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe, while excluding the airspace over Mecca and Medina.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Iran-backed Houthi terrorists fired several missiles at the presidential palace complex in Aden, Yemen, two government officials told Reuters on Thursday, after a local reporter said five explosions were heard at the site.
Al-Maashiq Palace serves as the headquarters of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the country’s temporary capital.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The attack marks a fresh escalation in Yemen as the Iran war intensifies and Iran-backed Houthi terrorists continue targeting government and regional interests.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, campaigning in the final weeks before the Oct. 27 Israeli elections, is billing himself as a peace-maker in the Middle East.
At a campaign stop, video posted to X shows Netanyahu saying he spoke briefly with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa last year during deadly violence against Druze in Suwayda, claiming the killings stopped after the conversation.
“We took down the Ministry of Defense in Damascus, just like that, it’s gone,” Netanyahu said at an election gathering with Israel’s Druze community. “We struck inside the [Presidential] Palace compound, and I made a phone call to al-Sharaa. It was a very brief, very sharp conversation, and the massacre stopped.”
Netanyahu vowed to continue protecting the Druze community and said Israel would ensure residents can return to their homes.
“I will do whatever is necessary to protect our brethren, your brothers and ours,” Netanyahu said. “We will not allow the massacre to continue.”
{{#rendered}}Five explosions were reported Thursday at al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, Yemen, the headquarters of the country’s internationally recognized government, according to a local source cited by a reporter on X.
Fox News Digital could not immediately verify the reports at this time.
The explosions reportedly followed a missile attack on the palace in Yemen’s temporary capital.
The incident comes as fighting escalates across the region amid the broader Iran war and increased attacks involving Iran-backed Houthi forces.
The International Energy Agency said Thursday that member countries will accelerate the release of emergency oil reserves as energy markets remain tight amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
About 330 million barrels have been released so far, with roughly 100 million barrels still to come.
The IEA said the total could exceed the originally planned 400 million barrels as some members release more than pledged.
The agency said more than 20 million barrels of diesel will be released “as soon as possible” and urged countries with production and refining capacity to increase supplies.
The IEA also stressed the importance of maintaining the free flow of global energy trade.
The Trump administration has told International Energy Agency member countries it is unhappy with their decision to release emergency oil reserves, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
The IEA agreed to release roughly 400 million barrels from strategic stockpiles as attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping routes disrupt global oil markets amid the Iran war.
The move was intended to ease supply concerns and limit price increases, but the U.S. reportedly questioned the timing and impact of the coordinated release.
{{#rendered}}The Saudi-led coalition said Thursday that Iran-backed Houthi terrorists carried out 20 attacks targeting Riyadh airport in October, killing 17 people.
The coalition also said it had destroyed more than 120 Houthi arms depots in Yemen’s mountains, along with numerous missile launchers.
The Houthis allegedly attempted attacks on dozens of Saudi airports, oil facilities and ports.
France has begun deploying military assets to Saudi Arabia under an agreement to help protect the kingdom’s oil infrastructure, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said.
“France is starting to put into action operational elements of an agreement to help protect Saudi Arabian oil facilities,” Confavreux said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Iran said Thursday that a “violating” oil tanker was on fire in the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz, according to state media, as a pro-IRGC outlet claimed missiles had struck several vessels in the strategic waterway.
The pro-IRGC outlet, citing a public Telegram post, described the Strait of Hormuz vessels as “rogue” ships but provided no further details.
"This rogue tanker, having disabled its tracking systems, was attempting to pass through the restricted area in the Gulf of Oman," the Iranian army statement read.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Iranian state media did not immediately identify the tanker, say what caused the fire or report casualties.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global oil shipments , and tensions have escalated in the waterway amid the Iran war.
Reuters contributed to this report.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the U.S. benchmark price, rose 31 cents, or 0.3%, to $95.40 a barrel Thursday as renewed attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz offset expectations that the U.S. could ease sanctions on Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
Brent crude fell 1.1% to $104.91 a barrel by 1157 GMT after a U.S. official said Washington was considering allowing “legal oil” to flow on previously sanctioned tankers, a move that could lower freight costs and increase diesel supplies.
Oil prices remained supported by escalating Saudi-Houthi fighting and attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Hezbollah acknowledged Thursday that hundreds of kilograms of explosives seized by Lebanese security forces were owned by the Iran-backed group and intended for attacks against Israeli troops.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the explosives were meant to be used in explosive drones targeting Israeli forces occupying parts of Lebanon.
The group asked Lebanese authorities to return the materials and release two people arrested while transporting them.
The admission comes as Lebanon’s government seeks to bring all weapons under state control and enforce a ban on Hezbollah’s military activities.
Hezbollah has refused to disarm while Israeli troops remain in Lebanon, while Israel continues strikes across the country’s south.
Reuters contributed to this report.
CENTCOM, amid the management of the Strait of Hormuz blockade on the Iranian ships attempting to get oil through the blockade, issued a post and photos of assets in the region.
A pro-IRGC media outlet claimed that missiles struck several vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a public Telegram post.
The post described the vessels as “rogue” ships but provided no details on the ships involved, the location of the alleged strikes or any casualties or damage.
The report has not been independently verified.
The claim comes amid heightened tensions in the strategic waterway, a major route for global oil shipments, as the Iran war continues.
{{#rendered}}Saudi Aramco, recently struck by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists from Yemen, has reportedly offered additional spot crude cargoes to European buyers.
The extra shipments are available for delivery in late October and through mid-November, Reuters reported Thursday.
The offers come as Saudi Arabia works to restore crude flows through its East-West Pipeline to Red Sea export terminals after the route was shut down following drone attacks in September.
Poland’s Orlen is also expected to receive at least four Saudi crude cargoes this month, signaling a return toward normal supplies.
President Donald Trump declared that Iran is no longer “the bully of the Middle East” as he touted U.S. military strikes against Tehran during a midterm campaign rally in Montana late Wednesday night.
“They were strong, now they’re not so strong,” Trump said, repeating his claims that Iran’s navy and air force had been largely destroyed.
Trump said the conflict, which he said has lasted for 51 years, will end “very quickly” — “one way or the other” — and predicted oil prices would plunge once the fighting stops.
"They don't have a Navy; they don't have an air force; their army is decimated; their leaders are gone," Trump said. "I should have probably left the leaders because I don't know who we're negotiating with. They had their first-string leaders are all gone. Their second-string leaders are all gone. Half of their third-string leaders are gone. And now their main thing that they ask in negotiation is, 'Will you please allow us to live?'
"This is all they do. They don't want us to go after them."
Trump repeated his belief that transitory oil price shocks are a small price to pay for striking at Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions.
"It's all about we're not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he continued. "You want to see a mess?
"But it's going to end and it's going to end very, very soon, and when that happens, it's the oil is going to drop like a rock."
Making peace through strength with Iran was long overdue, according to Trump.
"This should have been done by other presidents a long time ago. It's gone on for 51 years. The bully, they call them the bully of the Middle East. Iran was the bully of the Middle East.
"And they are, you know, they were strong – now they are not so strong."
Trump said he is "trying to be nice" amid war.
"How many jet fighters are available for use today? Zero," Trump concluded. "You know where they are: They're all scattered all over the beautiful runways of their land. They're all scattered in little tiny pieces all over the runways and it's all gone.
"And now I'm trying to be nice. I want to be a nice person, but it's going to end very quickly one way or the other, and the oil is going to drop. Your prices have come way down."
Poland’s Orlen is expected to receive at least four Saudi crude shipments in October, signaling a return to normal supplies after the company scrambled to secure alternatives last month.
Saudi Arabia has increased crude flows through its East-West Pipeline to Red Sea export terminals since early October.
The pipeline was shut down Sept. 11 after drone attacks that Riyadh blamed on Iraqi militias.
Reuters contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}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.
“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.”
The European Union and Gulf states have postponed a summit that was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 24, the EU said Thursday.
The EU said it would announce a new date for the second summit between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council “in due course.”
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed the postponement to Reuters after Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the meeting was expected to be scrapped as Saudi Arabia and the Houthi terrorists are in a hot war in the Middle East.
Tensions continue to escalate amid the war involving Iran, U.S. forces and Iran-backed groups in the region.
Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump said the Iran war will “end very quickly” after the midterms, saying Iranian officials are now seeking assurances that they will be allowed to live.
“Their leaders are gone,” Trump said during a campaign rally in Kalispell, Montana, on Wednesday night. “I should have probably left the leaders because I don't know who we're negotiating with.”
Trump said Iran’s “first string leaders are all gone,” along with its “second string leaders” and half of its “third string leaders.”
“And now their main thing that they ask in negotiation is, will you please allow us to live?” Trump said. “They don't want us to go after them.”
Trump added that the conflict would soon conclude “one way or the other,” predicting that oil prices would fall sharply afterward.
“It’s going to end very quickly,” Trump said. “And when that happens, the oil is going to come way down.”
Trump also made a midterm campaign rally stop earlier Wednesday in Arizona, where he boldly suggested treason and firing squad for military leaders who leak war secrets to the media.
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