Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called for an unrestricted response to threats and ordered commanders to revise Iran’s target list, raising the stakes as diplomatic efforts aim to prevent renewed fighting.
Gulf News reported that a statement attributed to Khamenei called for an immediate response without geographic limits. It said commanders were told to revise the target list to cover a broad range of material and nonmaterial assets associated with the United States and Israel.
Gulf News reported that President Donald Trump had warned of possible renewed U.S. military action after the midterm elections. At a G20 news conference in Atlanta on Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump had not decided on further strikes, the outlet reported.
Qatari mediators arrived in Tehran on Friday, while Qatar and Pakistan were involved in efforts to broker an agreement, Gulf News reported. Those discussions had not produced a lasting settlement, the outlet said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that U.S. Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, at Trump’s direction to revive negotiations and avert further strikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Iran had received the letter, Gulf News reported. Araghchi told Al Jazeera there were no plans for meetings with U.S. officials, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. He also described Washington’s effort to reopen dialogue as a positive step, Gulf News reported.
Iran had earlier called for a return to a temporary pact, as EconoTimes covered in its report on Tehran’s appeal to revive an interim deal.
Gulf News reported that Iran had restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began. The waterway usually carries about 20% of global oil consumption, the outlet said. Gulf News linked the shipping limits to higher global energy prices and said the added costs had contributed to opposition to the war in the United States.
The U.S. midterm elections are scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3.
