US President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Alabama, said the war on Iran could end soon, while questioning whom Washington could negotiate with in Tehran and insisting Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon, according to Al Jazeera.
US President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Alabama, said the war o Iran could end soon, while questioning whom Washington could negotiate with in Tehran and insisting Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon.
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— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 3, 2026
“I don’t know who the hell to deal with. There’s nobody to deal with. Nobody wants to be president. I say, who do I speak to in Iran? …Knock knock, nobody home.”
Yemeni army carries out 71 operations against Houthi positions in country’s southwest
The Yemeni army announced on Saturday that it had carried out 71 operations targeting Houthi positions in Yemen’s southwestern province of Taiz.
“Our armed forces carried out 71 precise targeting operations against combat gatherings, military buildups, and reinforcements belonging to the terrorist Houthi militia” in Taiz, army spokesman Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili said in a statement on US social media company X.
Yemeni forces conducted 71 precision strikes, destroying Houthi vehicles and reinforcements across ten Taiz areas, including “neutralisation of militia members,” Yemeni army spokesman Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili says
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— TRT World (@trtworld) October 3, 2026
Al-Nuzaili said the operations focused on the areas of al-Aqrood, Sama’, al-Ahkum, al-Akboush, Jabal Rasin, Jabal Jardad, Bani Omar, Bani Bakari, al-Kaawash, and al-Athawir.
The operations “resulted in the destruction of a number of hostile transport and support vehicles, the neutralisation of militia members, and the stripping of their formations of the ability to continue fighting,” he added, without specifying the number of casualties.
The Houthi group did not comment on the statement.
The developments come amid a military escalation in Taiz Governorate between government forces and the Houthi group.
Iran executes detainee over January protests, judiciary says
Iran has executed a man detained during protests in January for allegedly firing at police, the judiciary said on Saturday.
The judiciary said Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi fired at least three shots at police on January 8 and was arrested two days later with a handgun in Shahrekord in southwestern Iran.
It accused him of contacting people online to organise “anti-security” activities and seeking payment for a “mission”, without identifying who was purported to be behind it.
The protests erupted on December 28, 2025, over economic hardship and swelled into widespread foreign-aided demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule in the Islamic Republic.
Iran blamed armed groups and operatives backed by the US and Israel for involvement in the protests and for the violence.
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu acknowledged during the protests that Israel had operatives inside Iran. He said they aimed to weaken Iran’s capabilities, though he denied they were directly working to topple the leadership.
Trump’s national security team holds unannounced Camp David talks on Iran war, Yemen: Axios
Trump’s senior national security officials gathered on Friday at Camp David for closed-door discussions on the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen, Axios reported.
Citing three American officials, Axios said Vice President JD Vance presided over the undisclosed meeting, which ran for hours. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, special envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine also took part.
One official said issues were settled or discussed at length.
With talks stalled, Trump is weighing a return to large-scale combat operations against Iran. The Pentagon, according to the Wall Street Journal, is preparing to send a third aircraft carrier strike group and additional Marine ships to the Middle East, adding up to 10,000 troops.
Read: Saudis plan assault on Houthis to break Red Sea chokehold
The WSJ, citing US officials, said the forces are expected to arrive by the end of November.
Trump earlier said he could resume strikes on Iran after the midterm elections in early November if no deal is reached.
Meanwhile, Riyadh is urging Washington to join airstrikes on the Houthis, the rebel group fighting government forces in Yemen since 2014, ahead of a planned offensive. Trump has been reluctant, though officials said he could reverse course.
Iraq cleric Ammar al-Hakim urges reopening of airports for Iran flights
Senior Iraqi cleric Ammar al-Hakim calls for the reopening of all airports to flights between Iran and Iraq, expressing solidarity with Iran and its people in facing economic pressure, according to Press TV.
Senior Iraqi cleric Ammar al-Hakim calls for the reopening of all airports to flights between Iran and Iraq, expressing solidarity with Iran and its people in facing economic pressures.
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— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) October 3, 2026
Flight delays, cancellations reported at Riyadh airport amid missile attacks
Flights at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport were disrupted by delays and cancellations, while explosions were reported in Saudi Arabia’s Asir region following reported ballistic missile attacks, according to Iranian state media.
Houthi projectile hits school in Saudi Arabia’s Najran: Civil Defence
A projectile launched by Yemen’s Houthi group struck a school in Saudi Arabia’s southern city of Najran on Friday, causing material damage, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, citing a Civil Defence spokesman.
The spokesman said that emergency teams responded after a “hostile projectile” launched by the Houthis fell in the area, according to the news agency.
He said the projectile hit a school in Najran, causing material damage.
Read more: Meeting of Makkah defence pact in Saudi Arabia next week to focus on Houthi attacks: FM Dar
Standard procedures for such incidents had been carried out, he added.
Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government said it intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis since March 2015.
The group has controlled the capital Sanaa and several provinces since September 2014.
Crude oil tanker struck by unknown projectile off Oman, UKMTO says
The master of a crude oil tanker has reported being struck by an unknown projectile 4 nautical miles east of Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said early on Saturday.
UKMTO WARNING 149-26
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— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) October 2, 2026
UKMTO said all crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was currently reported.
Russia rebukes US call for Iran to abandon ‘inalienable right’ to nuclear program
Russia’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has dismissed Washington’s call for Iran to abandon its nuclear program, stressing that Tehran has an “inalienable right” to pursue it, according to Press TV.
In a post on X on Friday, Mikhail Ulyanov slammed the US for relying on “wrong assumptions” about nuclear non-proliferation.
Apparently the #US Ambassador doesn’t know that #Iran is not obliged to abandon its nuclear programme. It is Iran’s inalienable right. Unfortunately the position of the Republican administration is based on wrong assumptions of non-proliferation norms and the IAEA activities. https://t.co/65gvETlQWW
— Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) October 2, 2026
“Iran is not obliged to abandon its nuclear program. It is Iran’s inalienable right,” Ulyanov said.
“Unfortunately, the position of the Republican administration is based on wrong assumptions of non-proliferation norms and the IAEA activities,” he said.
Ulyanov was responding to US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who claimed that Iran had “broken the rules” and was enriching uranium to 60% with “no credible civilian purpose.”
Iran has maintained a consistent position regarding its peaceful nuclear program since the unprovoked US-Israeli wars of aggression in June 2025 and early 2026.
