Tehran awaits formal US response after conveying conditions, says Ghalibaf
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran has communicated a clear and reasonable response to the US, but Washington has yet to issue a formal or specific reply, saying the ball is now in teh US' court.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera TV network, Ghalibaf, who also heads Iran’s negotiating team, said Tehran’s response addressed the legitimate rights of the Iranian people, who have faced US and Israeli aggression, threats and crimes.
“The ball is now in the US’s court; it must make a decision and announce it,” he said, referring to the seven conditions Iran had laid out as prerequisites for further negotiations, IRNA reported.
Rezaei warns US bases in Europe, West Asia will be targeted if Washington launches new war against Iran
Iran’s top security official warned that any US military bases involved in a renewed war against the Islamic Republic, including those located in Europe, would be legitimate targets for Iranian retaliatory strikes, Press TV reported.
In a post on X on Thursday, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote, “If the US launches another war against Iran, every military base involved in the aggression—from West Asia to Europe—will be a legitimate target for Iran’s lethal strikes.”
“NO SAFE DISTANCE. NO SAFE HAVEN. NO IMMUNITY,” he added.
Oil prices drop more than $1 as hopes for Iran, Ukraine peace talks pressure markets
Oil prices dropped more than $1 on Thursday as hopes for progress in peace talks over the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine wars pressured the market, Reuters reported.
Brent futures lost $1.14, or 1.2%, to $91.62 a barrel by 0141 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.04, or 1.2%, to $85.49. Brent rose about 1.4% and WTI 0.6% on Wednesday after hitting two-month lows the previous day.
Saudi Arabia says debris from intercepted missiles falls in Makkah region
Saudi Arabia said debris from two ballistic missiles intercepted by its air defences fell in the Makkah region on Wednesday, as the kingdom and Yemen's Houthis continued to trade attacks in an escalating conflict.
Saudi state television identified the locations as Sabuhah village, about 35 km (22 miles) northeast of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, and Wadi al-Maghmas, about 21 km east of the mosque.
The missiles were launched towards the region and intercepted and destroyed, Saudi Arabia's civil defence said in a statement.
The Houthis have repeatedly denied Saudi accusations that they target Makkah and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities, saying their military operations are directed at military and strategic targets elsewhere in Saudi Arabia.
Makkah, home to sites sacred to Muslims worldwide, is the focal point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, which millions of Muslims undertake each year.
"This hostile targeting of civilian objects constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reflects the dangerous hostile approach pursued by the Houthi militia," Saudi Arabia's civil defence said early on Thursday.
Iran attacks shipping navigation systems on Oman's Didamar island, sources say
Iran has attacked ship navigation systems on the Omani island of Didamar in the Strait of Hormuz, three sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed, showing Tehran's ability to target infrastructure used to restore Gulf oil flows.
The three sources did not provide a damage assessment and Reuters could not determine independently if any navigation systems were destroyed in the attacks that Tehran had claimed on Tuesday.
Iran tells COP31 it wants compensation for environmental damage from US-Israeli strikes
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told the COP31 climate conference on Wednesday his country wanted compensation for environmental damage caused by US and Israeli strikes, saying the issue related to global efforts to fight climate change, Reuters reported.
"We expect the global community to establish a genuine and meaningful link between climate commitments in times of peace and responsibility in times of war, to document and assess the environmental damages caused by military aggressions and to develop compensation mechanisms," he said.
OPEC plus oil output in October nears pre-Iran war rate, led by Saudi Arabia
OPEC+ crude oil production jumped in October, led by a sharp increase in output from Saudi Arabia despite continued disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz caused by the Iran war.
The OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, pumped 41.23 million barrels per day in October, OPEC said in a monthly report on Wednesday, up about 2.04 million bpd from September.
The figures, based on secondary sources, add to signs that Gulf oil producers are recovering exports by using workarounds such as ship-to-ship transfers to bypass disruption caused by the conflict.
According to Reuters calculations based on OPEC data, October output was equivalent to 97% of the 42.72 million bpd produced by OPEC+ in February.