Anna Lena Stahl
Katz: Israel is not planning an attack on Iran before the election
Israel has no plans to attack Iran before Israel's parliamentary election this Tuesday, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz. Katz was reacting to a media report about alleged serious differences of opinion between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military chief Ejal Zamir with regard to Iran. “I make it unmistakably clear that Israel never intended to initiate an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel,” the minister said on Platform X. “At the same time, we have made it clear that we will react with great severity if Iran attacks Israel.”
The Israeli TV station N12 reported on Sunday evening that there had been a violent conflict between Netanyahu and Chief of General Staff Zamir over a planned military measure that could trigger an escalation with Iran shortly before the election. Zamir requested detailed advice and written legal protection before implementation. There are fears among the army leadership that Netanyahu could use the conflict with Iran for domestic political purposes. Netanyahu denied the report.
Anna Lena Stahl
Mecca Pact: Top representatives discuss regional security in Tehran
According to Iranian sources, top representatives of the Mecca Pact states Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are expected to meet in Tehran later today for discussions on the conflict in the Middle East. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin would come to the Iranian capital for consultations, deputy secretary of the Islamic Republic's National Security Council Ali Bagheri Kani said on state television on Monday.
According to insiders, the talks will focus on the regional security situation. There were initially no confirmations from Riyadh, Islamabad and Ankara. It would be the first high-level contact between the leadership in Tehran and the new defense alliance since Saudi Arabia has come under increased attack from Iran-allied Houthi rebels from Yemen.
Miriam Braun
Yemen: Houthi rebels report attacks on Saudi oil facilities
The Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen report attacks on Saudi oil facilities and the airport in the capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has not yet confirmed the attacks. Previously, the Saudi-led military coalition reported the destruction of two ballistic missile launch pads in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. A rocket was fired at Riyadh from one of the ramps, but was intercepted, according to the alliance.
Miriam Braun
Jordan: Three suspects arrested after church attack
After the deadly attack on a church in Jordan on Friday, security forces have arrested three suspects, according to a state television report. According to security authorities, the men hid in an abandoned house and opened fire on the officers. They returned the shots and arrested the injured suspects. Nine people were killed and 40 others were injured in the armed attack on a funeral ceremony in Karak province.
Miriam Braun
Research Institute: Record high in attacks on ships in Strait of Hormuz
The number of attacks on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters reached a record high in October, according to a US research institute. 28 attacks were recorded this month. According to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, there have been 113 incidents since the US and Israel's war with Iran began at the end of February. According to calculations by the Reuters news agency based on data from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), more than 30 supertankers were damaged. This corresponds to around 3.5 percent of the global fleet.
Miriam Braun
Saudi Arabia: Houthi rocket attack on Riyadh repelled
The Saudi-led military coalition says it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The alliance said the projectile was fired at the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Julius Stockheim
According to the foreign minister, threats do not dissuade Iran from its course
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has ruled out his country giving in to new threats of war. “Today there is talk of war again, but I am thinking about the time after the war,” he told diplomats in Tehran on Sunday. The Islamic Republic will stick to its policy regardless of whether there is war or not.
Araghchi warned the US against resuming attacks on his country. He also reiterated earlier statements that Tehran was ready to work with its Arab neighbors in the Gulf region. “Everything in our region has changed,” he said. “After the recent war, nothing will be the same again.”
Catiana Krapp
Israeli military imposes new restrictions in West Bank
After the deaths of two soldiers in a gun attack in the West Bank, Israel is expanding restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied territory. The military announced on Sunday that it would ban Palestinian workers from working in Jewish settlements.
After the attack on Friday, the Israeli military said it had responded by conducting targeted and thorough searches in the area from which the attackers had operated. In Hebron, the military arrested people and demolished buildings. According to the city administration, around 2,200 people were displaced as a result. In addition, several border crossings were closed.
Julius Stockheim
Clinics report seven dead in Israeli attacks on Gaza
At least seven people are said to have been killed and eight others injured in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. Four people were killed in attacks in the city of Gaza on Sunday, hospital officials said. A pair of brothers died in an attack in the southern city of Khan Yunis. Another person was reportedly killed in Deir al-Balah. The number of victims was confirmed by several hospitals. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Julius Stockheim
Riyadh Airport resumes international flights
Despite ongoing attacks by the Houthi militia from Yemen, the international airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh is expanding its operations. On Sunday, Terminals 1 and 2 at King Khalid Airport reopened to domestic and international flights, the airport announced.
Julius Stockheim
Netanyahu makes election advertising with a mushroom cloud image over Tel Aviv
Two days before the parliamentary elections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of the danger of an Iranian nuclear bomb with a drastic illustration. The 77-year-old published a picture on social media that appears to show a nuclear explosion over the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv. He quoted IT entrepreneur Yuval Bloomberg, who spoke of a “real and concrete existing threat” from Iran.
If the Iranians obtain nuclear weapons, nothing else will matter, the quote said. Netanyahu also reiterated the assessment that Israel still has two years under the administration of US President Donald Trump to counter the Iranian threat.
Julius Stockheim
Saudi Arabia intercepts drones and missiles over Riyadh
Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted drones and missiles over its capital Riyadh and areas in the south of the country. The Saudi civil defense authorities had previously issued emergency warnings on Sunday for Riyadh and the cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait, according to the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen. Minutes later, however, the all-clear was given.
The coalition said two drones and a ballistic missile were fired at Riyadh. Another rocket was aimed at the southern city of Khamis Mushait. It was later said that a total of ten ballistic missiles were intercepted that were aimed at the south of Saudi Arabia. Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened further attacks on Riyadh's international airport.
The airport remains a military target, said Houthi military spokesman Jahja Sari. He warned airlines, airport workers and travelers not to use the airport.
Julius Stockheim
Further attacks in Yemen and Saudi Arabia
The mutual attacks by Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen continue. Saudi Civil Defense sent out nearly a dozen warnings within 24 hours about suspected Houthi attacks in areas including Riyadh, Jeddah and several southern provinces near the Yemeni border.
The Houthis said Saudi Arabia had carried out more than 3,000 missile and air strikes in Yemen since the new escalation in the war began. Within 24 hours alone there were more than 100 such attacks in Sanaa and other parts of the country, leaving several dead and injured, said Houthi military spokesman Jahja Sari. The information provided by both sides cannot be independently verified.
Julius Stockheim
Iran shoots down US drone over Bandar Abbas
Iran shot down a US drone over the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. It is a LUCAS drone, reports the Iranian news agency Tasnim, citing the army.
Julius Stockheim
Iranian Revolutionary Guards appear to be attacking positions in Iraq
According to a report, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have attacked Kurdish positions in neighboring Iraq. The attack with combat drones took place on a headquarters of the Komala party in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, reported the pro-government Iranian news agency Mehr. There were initially no reports of victims.
Iran's leadership classifies many Kurdish groups in Iraq as "terror groups." According to human rights activists, the Kurdish minority in Iran is also being oppressed. The Revolutionary Guards have repeatedly attacked Kurdish targets in Iraq in recent years. Tensions at the border have increased since the US-Israel war began.
Miriam Braun
Military coalition intercepts Houthi missiles targeting Saudi Arabia
Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels renew their warning against using Riyadh airport. This remains a “military target,” says a military spokesman. The operators had previously announced the resumption of operations in two terminals. An attack on the airport claimed by the Houthis on October 10 left 13 people dead and more than 300 others injured.
Miriam Braun
Mass protest in Israel against Netanyahu government
According to eyewitnesses, tens of thousands of people in Israel are demonstrating against the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At a rally in the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, former hostages and relatives of the bereaved called for a state commission of inquiry into the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023.
According to official Israeli figures, fighters from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups killed around 1,200 people in Israel. They also abducted more than 250 other people to the Gaza Strip. The protesters directed their criticism directly at the government leadership and shouted, among other things, the slogan: “We do not forget, we do not forgive.”
Miriam Braun
Houthis report attacks on oil facilities and airports in Saudi Arabia
The Iran-allied Houthi rebels from Yemen said they attacked several oil facilities and airports in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. According to a military spokesman for the group, the attacks were directed, among other things, at the international airports in Riyadh and Dammam as well as against an oil company Aramco facility in Janbu and a refinery in Rabigh.
The Saudi-led military coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired at Janbu and Taif. The Saudi civil defense briefly raised the alarm for several cities, but lifted it again after about ten minutes. It initially remained unclear whether the attacks reported by the Houthis hit their targets in the kingdom.
Marie Boms
Witnesses report explosions near Aden airport
At least two explosions were heard near the airport in the Yemeni port city of Aden. Witnesses reported this on Saturday. A journalist from the AP news agency also heard the detonations. The city has been the seat of the country's internationally recognized government since 2015, which was expelled from the capital Sanaa at the start of the war with the Houthi militia.
Marie Boms
Families leave residential areas in Hebron in the West Bank
In Hebron in the occupied West Bank, hundreds of families have left the Deir Baha area and two neighboring neighborhoods, according to the city administration. The Israeli military forced dozens of residents to evacuate their homes, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Saturday.
All routes to and from Hebron are closed to vehicles, the Telegram channel Basma Radio reported. Palestinians use the channel to find out about Israeli military checkpoints and roadblocks.
Marie Boms
Palestinians demand help after Israeli army deployment
The Palestinian Authority is calling on the international community to intervene over the actions of Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank. According to the autonomous authority, the measures in the Hebron area - including the displacement of residents, the demolition of houses and buildings and the closure of cities - constitute collective punishment. This escalation will not bring security or peace to anyone, but will only fuel further tensions, it said.
There was a gun attack near Hebron in the West Bank on Friday morning. According to Israeli military reports, two soldiers were killed and three others were injured. The two suspected Palestinian perpetrators from Hebron were caught.
