Iran designates UK navy, air force as 'terrorist' groups
Iran’s Foreign Ministry designated Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as “terrorist organizations” and MI6 as a “hostile group,” Iranian media reported…
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Doha talks go on as Trump repeats strike threats
Iranian negotiators met Qatari mediators in Doha for a third day, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz have reached no final result. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the armed forces to respond to any threat without geographic limits, his office said.
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Iran, US step up diplomacy as Qatar mediates Hormuz reopening
Iran and the US are pursuing diplomacy to avert a new war as Qatar mediates and Washington and Israel reportedly prepare for possible renewed strikes, according to Amwaj.media and Antiwar News. Iranian officials were in Doha for a third day of talks with Qatari mediators, while Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran was still reviewing a US proposal but that “we have no negotiations with you.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz could reopen within two days if Iran’s conditions are met, including lifting sanctions imposed after the Islamabad memorandum, reducing US forces in the region and releasing frozen funds.
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Trump confirms Netanyahu call as war and diplomacy debate grows
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had a “very good talk” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday that covered Iran, Middle East Eye reported, while other reports described the call as tense or challenging and said Netanyahu pressed to resume war. Axios reported that Treasury Secretary Bessent urged Trump not to rush back to war and that JD Vance, Jared Kushner and Witkoff pushed for talks with Tehran, and Reuters said a draft US-Iran proposal was circulating for feedback and a meeting could be held. The Financial Times reported that Netanyahu asked Trump to resume immediate military attacks on Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections, while the White House said Trump had not made a final decision and Washington was giving diplomacy in Doha a last chance; Iran has linked rapid reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to acceptance of its demands, and analysts said a US-Iran deal would be a major political blow to Netanyahu.
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IRGC says two tankers hit mines in Hormuz as shipping attacks widen
The IRGC Navy said two oil tankers exploded after hitting mines on what it called an "unauthorized route" in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported, with one supertanker burning and the claim not independently verified. Qatar's Nakilat confirmed one of its gas carriers was struck by an unknown projectile on the evening of October 30 about 74 kilometers south of Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, causing a fire, according to Iranian outlets. The UK Maritime Trade Operations said two unknown projectiles hit a moving oil tanker about 72 nautical miles east of Ras al-Khafji in Saudi Arabia, ISNA reported.
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Vessel struck by unknown projectile in Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO says
A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said. The master of another merchant vessel reported the incident to UKMTO, according to the agency.
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Ex-Mossad chief: Israel released footage to provoke Iran arrests
Former Mossad chief David Barnea said Israel intentionally released footage of its covert operation in Iran during the June 2025 conflict to provoke mass arrests and make it harder for Iranian forces to identify real agents, according to remarks The Jerusalem Post reported on 25 October. He said the goal was to cause so many arrests that Iranian authorities could not distinguish operatives from ordinary citizens. Barnea said Iranian authorities arrested 21,000 people during the operation.
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Retirees protest in six Iranian cities over pensions, health care
Social Security and steel industry retirees held protests in Tehran, Rasht, Kermanshah, Ahvaz, Shush and Isfahan on Sunday, demanding pension increases in line with inflation, payment of arrears and better health services. Contract workers in the oil industry also published a letter criticizing job insecurity and exclusion from benefits for permanent staff. The protests come as rising living costs, insurance problems and the economic fallout of war press harder on workers and retirees.
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Iran submits evidence of US-Israeli attacks to maritime agency
Iran says it has submitted documents and photographs to the International Maritime Organization as evidence of US and Israeli attacks on its ports, civilian vessels and maritime infrastructure. An Iranian official said member states will discuss the dossier at an IMO council session in London on Nov. 2-6, according to Middle East Eye. State news agency IRNA reported that damage to maritime traffic control systems raises the risk of accidents and that destroyed rescue facilities undermine emergency response in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman.
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Iran medical labs face crisis over kit shortages and insurance debt
Iranian medical laboratories are facing a crisis as diagnostic kit prices have risen severalfold, essential supplies are scarce, and insurers have accumulated unpaid claims, industry officials warn. They say some centers lack the cash to buy essential kits and cover running costs, raising the risk of closures or reduced services. Patients face harder access to diagnostic services, delayed detection of diseases, and higher treatment costs.
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South Korean firm Sinokor dominates tanker traffic in Strait of Hormuz
South Korea’s Sinokor controls about half of tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reported. The company benefited from a major bet made just before the war in Iran began.
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Iran parliament criminalizes unlicensed, foreign-linked cultural work
Iran's parliament approved Article 27 of a bill on countering foreign infiltration, setting penalties for producing or taking part in anti-Iranian-Islamic cultural works, Khabar Online reported. Radio Zamaneh reported that lawmakers also approved penalties for online activists, writers, filmmakers and cultural producers, including for unlicensed art and cultural activity supported or directed by foreign institutions, and allowed judicial bodies to halt production based on law enforcement reports.
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Iran says Russian Su-35 jets to arrive after war ends
Mohammad Akraminia, identified by Asr-e Iran as an army spokesperson and by Middle East Eye as an IRGC spokesperson, said Iran has purchased Russian Su-35 fighter jets and will receive them after the war ends. He said preparatory work and pilot training were already completed, according to the reports.
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Iran school strike analysis urges civilian protection, diplomacy
A Foreign Policy in Focus essay published on Informed Comment examines the U.S. strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, where reports put the death toll at between about 120 and 168, most of them children. It cites a UN fact-finding mission's finding of reasonable grounds to believe U.S. forces committed war crimes in two February strikes, while also noting the same mission found Iran's crackdown on protesters amounted to crimes against humanity. The piece urges accountability, civilian protection and diplomacy, arguing that asking who is next matters more than assigning blame.
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CENTCOM says 144 vessels redirected in Iran naval blockade
U.S. Central Command said on 31 October that its forces had redirected 144 commercial vessels as part of what it called an "ironclad" naval blockade against Iran. CENTCOM said the figure had risen from 135 earlier and that the USS George Washington was supporting enforcement. The claims could not be independently verified.