Commenting on the possibility of resuming the American war against it, Tehran confirmed that its response this time will go beyond the American bases spread in the Gulf.
An advisor to the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said today (Wednesday, November 4, 2026) that Iran will expand the scope of its response beyond US military bases if the Gulf states allow Washington to launch attacks on the Islamic Republic from its territory. Counselor Hamid Reda Moghadamfar said during a rally in Bandar Abbas that Iran will use “a new doctrine and new technology” in response to any American or Israeli action, warning that countries including the UAE and Bahrain will face a broader response if attacks on Iran are launched from its territory.
In a related context, the Saudi Civil Defense announced in a post on “X” that the danger had passed from Jazan Governorate in the southwest, after an earlier warning warning of a potential danger there. Jazan includes an Aramco refinery with a refining capacity of 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
US President Donald Trump confirmed that the US military carried out an attack on Iran in the early hours of Tuesday morning (November 3, 2026), targeting an air defense facility whose construction was recently completed.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News that the operation was a "limited attack." The attack came hours before the US midterm elections.
Trump had stated in early October that he would refrain from launching attacks until the midterm elections were over.
Media reported earlier that there was an attack on targets on the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz, including a Revolutionary Guard site, after a missile was launched from the island towards an American plane, while it was not clear whether Trump was referring to the same attack.
Media reports recently spoke of plans in Washington to launch more attacks against Iran in cooperation with Israel after the midterm elections.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that resuming fighting between the United States and the Islamic Republic would not be in anyone's interest, in light of diligent diplomatic efforts to avoid a new round of escalation in the Middle East.
“No one will benefit from this war,” Pezeshkian said during a government meeting, pointing to working to resolve the conflict “through dialogue.” He reiterated that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei, granted the government powers to discuss “issues that he considered taboo,” without providing further details.
The Israeli army denied on Tuesday its participation in strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm that American media said were carried out by the United States.
In response to a question from Agence France-Presse about Israel’s participation in secret attacks on the island located in the Strait of Hormuz region, an Israeli army spokesman said, “No.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to resume war with Tehran.
The Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government announced on Tuesday that it had intercepted and destroyed a drone in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, as the exchange of strikes continued between the Houthis and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Intercepting and destroying a drone in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region,” coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki wrote in a post on the X platform.
On the other hand, the Houthis said: “We did not launch any drones towards Saudi Arabia today.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on the X website on Tuesday that his country is still continuing dialogue with Saudi Arabia with the aim of reaching new regional security arrangements that the countries of the region themselves will undertake, away from any foreign military presence.
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan met with Iranian officials in Tehran last week, in the first high-level contact between Iran and the three countries since August. The American-Israeli war on Iran broke out in late February, and the fighting later expanded to include Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Riyadh stated that the visit was aimed at opening negotiating channels "to prevent the return of military escalation," especially in light of the intensification of fighting in recent weeks between Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni Houthi group allied with Iran.
The Houthi attacks on the Kingdom escalated in conjunction with their advance towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital waterway for shipping located opposite the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.
A US official said that the United States carried out defensive strikes targeting some Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state television reported hearing explosions on Qeshm Island.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke Monday evening on condition of anonymity, said the strikes targeted “Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against American assets.”
The strikes, which appeared limited and did not amount to a full resumption of hostilities, came on the eve of the important US midterm elections. US President Donald Trump had previously said that the United States would not launch strikes on Iran before the midterm elections.
The unpopular war on Iran, and its resulting impact on fuel prices in the United States and other sectors of the economy, represented a weak point for Republicans in their efforts to maintain their control over Congress.
US Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters earlier Monday that he had just spoken to Trump about talks with Iran, adding that "the president and I feel very comfortable about the prospects for a negotiated settlement."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi confirmed on Monday (November 2, 2026) that Tehran is engaged in intensive talks with the United States through Qatar and Pakistan, seeking to end the war and avoid a new round of escalation.
“Given the sensitivity and seriousness of the current situation, the consultations and talks are very intense,” Araqchi told the official news agency (IRNA), according to a video clip published by it, praising the “mediating and active role” of Doha and Islamabad in this field.
He added, "If the United States accepts our conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened and negotiations will resume."
In a related context, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei, granted the government some powers to negotiate with the United States in an effort to end the war and avoid a new round of escalation.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Pezeshkian as saying, “We are seeking to solve the problem through dialogue. In this regard, the Supreme Leader has granted the government some powers.”
