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Friday 23 October 2026
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President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were continuing only "a little bit" and that an outcome would come soon. The White House told ABC News the US would not attack Iran before the 3 November elections, as Israeli sources described joint plans for renewed strikes after the vote.
The IRGC Navy said four ships transferring oil were struck and three hit mines near the Strait of Hormuz, without naming them, and warned that continued US escorts would extend the conflict to US bases. President Donald Trump accused Tehran of inventing the attacks.
Oil prices rose as much as 4% on Thursday after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and Iranian statements about strikes on vessels, while spot gold fell to its lowest level since 14 October.
The US Treasury sanctioned law firm Karnakis and Karnakis, a ship operator, two shipping agents and nine vessels it says helped move Iranian oil, petrochemicals and steel. Its FinCEN unit issued its first administrative subpoena of this kind in an investigation into an unnamed Greek bank's potential ties to Iran.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Donald Trump said Volodymyr Zelensky "has to want to settle this war", that Russia "would like to get it done" and that he had asked Vladimir Putin at length to free US teacher Stephen Hubbard. On Iran, he said he had yet to decide whether to win "the nice way or the not nice way".
Brent crude traded near US$109 a barrel after rising by as much as US$2 earlier in the session, Reuters reported, as US crude inventories fell by 3.06 million barrels.
Paolo Ardoino said Tether froze flagged addresses on average four weeks before official sanctions designations; a report by Senator Richard Blumenthal's staff said Tether had been slow to freeze Iran-linked wallets.
Iraq closed the Al-Sheeb crossing, known in Iran as Chazabeh, to passengers and trade until further notice, an Iraqi border official said. Two Iraqi political sources told AFP that Washington was pressing Baghdad to close more crossings. Separately, the UK maritime agency UKMTO said a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile near the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel's military prepared a multi-day bombing campaign against Iran for the weekend of 10 October, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the plans. It did not go ahead because President Donald Trump opposed restarting the war before the 3 November US midterm elections, the sources said.
Iran's foreign minister told Iraqi television that indirect talks with Washington continue through Pakistan and Qatar and that the US had accepted Tehran's conditions but wanted to add more. The US Treasury Secretary said no oil loadings had been seen at Iran's Kharg Island since August.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday that Israel is committed to "the elimination of the Iranian regime" and that he had raised it with US President Donald Trump, most recently on Sunday.
In an interview with India's Network18, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a US-India trade deal was "incredibly close", defended the US relationship with Pakistan and said a Quad leaders' summit will be held in Manila.
Speaking at the Global Security Forum in Doha, Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy, said the oil-for-security bargain was "transitioning" and that US ground fighting on Saudi Arabia's behalf against the Houthis would be "fruitless".
Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, told visiting Pakistani army chief Asim Munir that "not even a tiny bit" of enriched nuclear material would leave Iran, state media reported. Separately, senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Tehran has deliberately prolonged talks with the US ahead of the midterm elections.
Oil prices fell back on Tuesday after Brent reached US$111.99 a barrel amid Houthi claims of attacks on Saudi energy sites, Reuters reported.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops would not leave the 'security zone' in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, and threatened strikes on Beirut's Dahiyeh district in response to any drone or missile launches.
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said both sides were engaging and warned that unchecked escalation could spread beyond the region. Iran's top military officer said any new US attack would be answered without waiting for the November elections.
Iran's foreign minister said ties with Russia were at a historic high following Sergey Lavrov's visit to Tehran, two days after President Trump wrote that Russia was doing 'very little, if anything' to help Iran.
Witkoff's Oslo talks, Zelensky's Patriot offer and Trump's comments on Ukraine, Hegseth's visit to Israel and Iran's response, France's first curfews and Italy's troop plan, and the day's sport, in one place.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told his weekly briefing in Tehran on Tuesday that Iran would "absolutely not leave any attack unanswered", while saying Tehran must keep pursuing diplomacy despite what he called the US record of breaking agreements.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an air base in southern Israel on Monday and discussed Iran, three Israeli officials told Reuters. The Pentagon declined to comment.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with Iran's Abbas Araghchi and met President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday, the last stop of a Middle East tour. Mr Araghchi blamed the United States and Israel for insecurity around the strait.
Presenting an updated security doctrine nine days before Israel's 27 October election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for new alliances beyond the United States and said he had directed security agencies to work for the fall of Iran's government. Opposition leaders called the doctrine hollow.
Saudi civil defence said a Houthi projectile hit a residential area of Najran. The Saudi-led coalition blamed a technical fault for a helicopter crash that the Houthis say they caused, and Egypt's parliament delayed a vote on military support for Saudi Arabia.
Iran's parliament confirmed Mehrdad Akhlaghi as defence minister. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was still reviewing US comments on its seven-day proposal, while the White House said all options remain on the table.
The US Treasury Secretary spoke on NBC's Meet the Press days after data showed consumer prices up 3.7% in the year to September.
The US Defense Secretary told cadets in Tennessee that Iran faces a choice between a deal at the negotiating table and US military force.
At the ninth Russia–GCC Strategic Dialogue in Manama, Russia's foreign minister proposed a forum on Gulf security. The GCC asked Russia to urge Iran to stop its attacks. TASS says the tour will end with talks in Iran.
The Revolutionary Guards said the tankers used a route Iran had not authorised. Iran's foreign minister said a reopening proposal was passed to Washington through Qatar.
