Houthis claim: ‘Sensitive targets in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu have been hit’

New Israeli attacks have been reported in southern Lebanon. Lebanese media have reported raids in the area around the villages of Haris and Sarbin. Al Jazeera also reports attacks in the Nabatieh area.

The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, stated in an interview with Al Jazeera that “consultations are under way with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, to whom we have communicated our conditions for the negotiations. Our conditions are: an end to the war on all fronts, the unfreezing of our assets and the lifting of the naval blockade.” “It is in Washington’s interest to accept our conditions to bring the conflict to an end; Trump’s threats will achieve nothing, and we are prepared for a decisive war,” Rezaei said. “We are serious about our defence; if attacked, we will strike US bases and Washington’s interests in the region with even greater force.”

UNICEF is urging its partners to provide flexible and timely funding to cover the US$97.5 million needed to protect 540,000 children and their families in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank from freezing cold, heavy rain, flooding and other life-threatening winter conditions.

In the Gaza Strip, almost 84 per cent of the population – according to a statement from the organisation – continues to live in overcrowded displacement centres or in damaged and unsuitable accommodation, leaving families with little protection from the elements.

An IDF attack on a car in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in the north of Gaza City has left two people dead, according to media reports from the Strip, which have posted videos of a car on fire.

According to Ynet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cut short his visit to the United States for his address to the United Nations General Assembly and has cancelled his planned meeting with billionaire Elon Musk, which was due to take place in Texas. An advance team from Netanyahu’s office had already arrived in Texas to prepare for the meeting, but today the team was informed that the visit had been cancelled. Furthermore, instead of arriving on Wednesday, speaking on Thursday and returning to Israel, the Prime Minister will arrive in New York on Thursday morning, deliver his speech at 2.00 pm New York time and return that evening. Netanyahu will also not be meeting President Donald Trump.

The foreign ministers of Oman and Germany discussed initiatives to “restore freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz and reduce tensions in the region. According to a statement from the Omani Foreign Ministry, reported by Al Jazeera, Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi and Johann Wadephul also examined ways to “reduce tensions and de-escalate the situation” and strengthen regional security.

The war against Iran has cost the United States $45.1 billion, far more than both Congress and the Department of Defence had estimated a few months ago. Furthermore, according to a Pentagon source speaking to CNN, this figure does not include the costs of repairing damaged bases or buildings, nor the indirect costs of military operations requested by lawmakers. The Congressional Budget Office had estimated the cost of the war at around $38 billion up to 1 August, whilst the Department of Defence had put the figure at $37.5 billion.

Three Palestinian civilians are reported to have been killed in raids carried out by the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera reports this, citing local hospital sources. According to the Arab broadcaster, Israeli troops are also said to have raided the village of al-Mughayyir in the West Bank.

At least one fuel tank belonging to the Saudi oil giant Aramco – located just north of Riyadh International Airport – caught fire today, after residents of the Saudi capital reported hearing explosions. As reported by AFP, witnesses at the scene saw firefighters attempting to put out the flames, and the oil company’s logo was visible.

Black smoke and flames have been spotted near Riyadh airport, according to residents speaking to Agence France-Presse. The news is also reported on the Jerusalem Post’s X channel, which quotes an eyewitness who reportedly saw a large column of smoke rising near the airport.

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, and the Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, held a telephone conversation focusing on the latest developments in the region. This was reported by the Iranian news agency Mehr, which added that the two ministers discussed bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.

It is reported that 22 US soldiers have died in the war against Iran, a figure higher than the official toll released by the Pentagon. This is reported by the Washington Post, citing six US officials with knowledge of the Defence Department’s internal casualty figures: five of them speak of at least 22 military personnel killed, which is four more than the figure recorded in the Pentagon’s public database. According to a sixth source, the figure is 23: not all of them are believed to be directly linked to the conflict, but they are nevertheless personnel who were present in the Middle East during the ongoing hostilities. The same official also reports the deaths of three US contractors based in the region. At present, the public Defence Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) database lists 18 military casualties. The casualty classification system adds to the confusion: 14 deaths are recorded under Operation Epic Fury, the name chosen by the Trump administration for the war against Iran, whilst another four appear in a separate category called ‘Overseas Operations’, referring to the period following the July ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, which subsequently collapsed with the resumption of attacks. Over the summer, when four combat deaths had been temporarily excluded from the database, the administration had reclassified the resumption of hostilities as ‘Overseas Operations’ rather than as part of Operation Epic Fury. Among the cases not reflected in the database are Sergeant Devin Seibel, who died on 31 May in Erbil, Iraq, in an accident during a training exercise as part of Operation Inherent Resolve against Islamic State, and Major Sorffly Davius, who died on 6 March in Kuwait from an unspecified medical emergency whilst engaged in Operation Spartan Shield, the US newspaper reports, noting that it is unclear whether his death is linked to an Iranian attack. The Pentagon has confirmed that, since February, two other service personnel have died in the Middle East whilst on missions unrelated to the war against Iran, at bases targeted by Iranian forces.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused France of hypocrisy regarding its colonial history in Algeria, urging French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to “stop the crocodile tears” and criticising his silence over the killing of Iranian schoolchildren by the United States. This was reported by the Iranian broadcaster Press TV. “1.5 million Algerians were massacred by France during the War of Independence. Fewer than a tenth of them have been recognised by Paris, which refuses to apologise for its colonial crimes. Enough of the crocodile tears. Your silence when the United States massacred our students speaks volumes.”

A Palestinian girl is reported to have died after Israeli forces opened fire north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera reports this, citing sources at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Gaza.

Donald Trump has once again expressed confidence that the war with Iran will end shortly. “The war will end soon. And when it ends, petrol prices will fall back to previous levels, perhaps even lower,” the President said whilst speaking to journalists in the Oval Office.

A loud explosion was heard in Riyadh, following the alert issued to the public.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has described as “disgusting” and “false” the claims made by the Washington Post that the Pentagon had concealed the true number of American military personnel who died in the Middle East as part of the war against Iran. “They’re worse than the Iranian state media,” he wrote in a post on X.

The Iranian judiciary has announced the execution of a man accused of providing information on Iranian missile sites to Israeli intelligence. “The death sentence has been carried out against Hossein Pedaran, who had provided the Mossad with information on missile sites in Isfahan province,” the judicial authorities stated, without specifying when he had been arrested or tried.