US President Donald Trump was subjected to harsh criticism after he said, while speaking about American economic sacrifices during times of war, that he was determined to “achieve a major victory (over Iran) because that would prove the validity of everything we have done.”
Trump hinted before a crowd of his supporters in Nebraska that Iran could "destroy" a large American city, such as Los Angeles or San Diego, in California.
"We pay a small price for the security of the world and the security of our country," he said. "They can destroy a city. Let them destroy Los Angeles, let them destroy San Diego. This is a very small price, and it will be over very soon."
Trump's comments sparked angry reactions from California officials. The state's governor, Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, criticized Trump and wrote on the X platform, "After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump now says our foreign enemies can 'destroy' Los Angeles and San Diego."
Criticism from within Trump's party
Republican Jim Desmond, who is running a competitive race in a redrawn California congressional district near San Diego, wrote on the He added, "No American city can be sacrificed, and no American family should ever be considered collateral losses."
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat and former member of Congress, also criticized Trump for his comments, saying in a statement, "The President of the United States suggested that a foreign government attack Los Angeles. His comments against our city are dangerous and could put our security at risk."
The White House rejects the media hype surrounding Trump's statement
The White House rejected criticism of Trump's comments. “The media hype around President Trump’s comments is not based on reality,” White House Communications Director Stephen Chang said in a post on social media. He clearly stated that American cities would have been threatened if Iran had not been prevented from becoming nuclear-armed.”
He added, "America has become safer thanks to the president." He now continued, "Iran has no nuclear weapons, no navy, no air force, and no money."
Iran asserts that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and denies seeking to possess nuclear weapons, but Western countries question Tehran's intentions.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday (October 6, 2026) that “some threats” were behind the withdrawal of American long-range bombers from a military base in the United Kingdom, contradicting previous statements by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "There were some threats," Trump told reporters at the White House. He added: “Instead of luring the enemy, we will capture the enemy and defeat the enemy, but why should we leave them there? "So we moved them a little bit, but not too far."
When asked who was behind the threats, Trump said they were likely linked to Iran. Hours earlier, Rubio said the withdrawal was not directly related to suspected terrorist threats, and described the transfer of military assets as a routine procedure. The Pentagon later confirmed that all American bombers deployed at the Royal Air Force Base in Fairford had returned to their bases in the United States. That seemed to contradict Trump's statement that the planes were flown "not very far."
The Wall Street Journal reported that 12 B-1 bombers were stationed at the base until their recent departure.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said on the “X” platform, “The emergency meeting of the Political and Defense Strategic Committee of the Mecca Defense Pact confirms the solidarity and standing of our countries as one to confront the sinful attacks that targeted the Kingdom and its sacred feelings, and to activate collective deterrence against these attacks, and against everyone who stands behind them, within the framework of Mecca Defense Alliance.
Deploying “military forces and capabilities” in Saudi Arabia
In a joint statement with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey announced today, Monday (October 5, 2026), that they will deploy “military forces and capabilities” in the Kingdom in light of the escalation between it and the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to a defense agreement signed about two months ago.
The three countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh “to discuss security developments and threats facing Saudi Arabia,” during which it was decided to “immediately move to the practical implementation of joint defense obligations, and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed-upon military forces and capabilities and quickly deploy them in the Kingdom... in a way that enhances readiness, military integration, and the collective ability to confront and respond to threats.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters after the emergency meeting of the committee, “We also discussed what could be done to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue.” “Saudi Arabia adopted a very constructive approach to resolving the issue,” referring to the confrontations with the Houthis.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey agreed to immediately move to the practical implementation of joint defense commitments and ensure the “speed of deployment” of forces and military capabilities agreed upon in Saudi Arabia.
In August, the three countries signed the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement,” which included a clause that deemed an attack on any of them an attack on all of them. The joint statement was issued today, Monday, under the name “Mecca Defense Alliance,” a name adopted for the first time since the agreement.
The agreement, which was announced at the time, did not include specific details regarding the military obligations or defense pledges incurred by each country.
Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia continue
On Monday evening, the Houthis announced, through the military spokesman for the group, Yahya Saree, in a statement published on X, “the implementation of three military operations,” which they said targeted sites in Saudi Arabia, “including King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, the Aramco refinery in Rabigh, Abha Airport, the Khamis Mushait base, and other sites in the south of the Kingdom.”
The spokesman indicated that the operations came “as part of the response to the Saudi aggression against Yemen,” accusing Saudi Arabia of launching 60 air strikes and missiles during the past 24 hours, targeting Sana’a and the governorates of Al-Jawf, Taiz, Hajjah, Saada, and Ma’rib.
Sarie warned "all international airlines that use Saudi airspace against continuing their flights," and said that Saudi airspace "has become the scene of our operations, with the exception of the holy airspace of Mecca and Medina."
Saudi Arabia did not confirm the occurrence of Houthi bombing, nor did it comment on the threat to airlines.
The coalition launches hundreds of raids in Yemen
For its part, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced through its spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, via the “X” platform that “the coalition’s naval forces carried out a military operation in Hodeidah Governorate that included the destruction of legitimate military targets belonging to the terrorist Houthi militia,” pointing to “the destruction of weapons stores and warehouses of booby-trapped boats and naval mines,” which he said “thwarted a plan for imminent attacks targeting the waterways south of the Red Sea.”
Earlier today, the coalition announced its participation through air strikes with "one hundred combat aircraft" in the attack with the Yemeni government against the Houthis, in the first official announcement by the coalition to participate in the current military operations in Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced on Monday its participation through air strikes in the attack against the Houthis, which was launched by the Yemeni government on Sunday (October 4, 2026).
Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the military coalition to support the government, said on the “X” platform on Monday that “one hundred fighter planes participated at dawn today in Operation ‘Yemen Dawn’,” in the first official announcement of his support for the government forces’ current operation.
The spokesman added, "We provide air protection for the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and dealing with moving targets continues." "We destroyed 324 high-value targets with the launch of the operation," he said.
The forces affiliated with the Saudi-backed government announced the implementation of more than a thousand raids and the start of a “strategic attack” on Sanaa, which is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.
Government sources also said that the Yemeni forces took control of Dhubab Airport, located in the west of Taiz Governorate, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, pointing out that they "cut the road between Dhubab and Mokha and tightened fire control over it."
But a military source in the Houthi group denied this and said that this was an attempt to hide what he described as "repeated failure and defeats" of the Saudi-backed forces.
It was not possible to verify the accuracy of the statements of both parties from independent sources.
The internationally recognized government announced on Sunday its intention to restore all areas controlled by the Houthis across the country since the start of the conflict in 2014.
In September, after fierce battles, the Houthis expanded their areas of control to include the entire western coast of Yemen overlooking the Red Sea, all the way to the area of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and its surrounding islands. It is a strategic corridor for oil exports, including Saudi Arabia.
In light of the field escalation, the Houthis on Monday warned civil aviation companies that Saudi Arabia's airspace was "unsafe," saying that it "will be a scene of operations for our forces."
There was no immediate comment from the Saudi side regarding the Houthi statement.
On Monday (October 5, 2026), the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), affiliated with the Houthis, quoted a military source as saying, “What the Saudi enemy media is promoting about fake advances towards the Dhubab area is baseless and an attempt to cover up their failure and repeated defeats.”
A government military source reported that government forces had regained areas surrounding Bab al-Mandab, southwest of Yemen, and were close to completely cutting off the Houthi group’s supply line to the Dhubab area, in a military move that has been taking place since the morning hours with intense air cover.
Yemeni military source: Government forces are advancing around Bab al-Mandab
The source told the German News Agency (DPA) that units of the Giants Brigades and the National Shield Forces, with the support of tribesmen, entered Dhubab Airport and the New Victory Road, after implementing a detour behind the village of Al-Saqya, indicating that the forces carried out a precise ambush that led to the separation of the Houthi forces present in Bab al-Mandab from those present in the Dhubab area.
The source added that the joint forces were able to cut the road linking Al-Saqya and Al-Omari Camp, which, according to field information, led to the besieging of Houthi elements in the Bab Al-Mandab sector and Mayon Island. The source indicated that a number of Houthis were killed and a large number of them fled their positions, while the joint forces arrested a number of prisoners, pointing out that the joint forces are currently heading towards Al-Omari camp. The source confirmed the continuation of military operations on the west coast under air cover amid "a major advance of the joint forces and the surrender of many Houthi elements."
These developments come one day after the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, announced the start of military operations to restore the remainder of the Republic’s lands and extend the authority of the state and its institutions over the entire national territory, following what he described as the exhaustion of opportunities for calm.
The East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia was halted after an attack
A source in the energy sector told Agence France-Presse on Monday that the transport of oil through the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia was halted again after the strategic facility was subjected to a new attack on Sunday. The source said, "The East-West pipeline was subjected to a new attack yesterday. A pumping station located in Khurais, east of Riyadh, was targeted. It had never been targeted before. The damage was severe, and pumping operations stopped again."
This strategic artery allowed Saudi Arabia to transfer its oil from the east of the kingdom to the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
This comes the day after the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen announced that they were targeting sites belonging to the giant Aramco oil company in Riyadh and the Khurais region in the east of the Kingdom, without specifying their identity.
The East-West pipeline has been subjected to repeated attacks since the outbreak of war in the Middle East on February 28 following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Last month, Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporting country in the world, closed this line, which extends for a distance of 1,200 kilometers, after it was targeted by attacks with drones launched from Iraq, according to Riyadh. The flow of oil through this line stopped from September 11 to 22, according to Kepler.
The East-West pipeline has become vital to Saudi oil trade after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war in the Middle East.
