Live Updates: Iran lauds ties with Russia, contradicting Trump's claim of little Russian support for Tehran

King Charles III praised Oman's peacemaking attempts in the Middle East Tuesday as Sultan Haitham bin Tariq began the first state visit by an Omani ruler to the U.K. in nearly half a century.

Hailing longstanding diplomatic, military and royal ties at a Windsor Castle banquet, the British monarch paid tribute to Muscat's "noble efforts" to help reopen the choked Strait of Hormuz.

"I would especially like to recognize, at a time when conflict has returned so painfully to the region, Oman's enduring commitment as a trusted interlocutor to all parties," Charles told around 160 guests at the lavish dinner.

"Oman's role across the Gulf and her 'constructive neutrality' — as you put it — matters far beyond Hormuz, and is worthy of our utmost respect," Britain's king added in a toast to the Omani sultan.

The first state visit to Britain by a sultan of Oman for 44 years comes amid severe turbulence in the Middle East prompted by the U.S.-Iran war.

Oman, a key U.K. military ally which borders the vital Hormuz waterway, has acted as a mediator in talks between the U.S. and Iran since the conflict flared in late February.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Tuesday that he visited Israel on Monday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he "was there visiting our troops" and "had a chance to talk to the prime minister."

The unannounced visit came just over a week before Netanyahu's party faces elections. It also comes after President Trump floated resuming military operations against Iran following next month's U.S. midterm elections.

"Of course, the nature of our conversations is not something I would talk about but they've been good partners and I appreciate that," Hegseth said of his meeting with Netanyahu.

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U.S. diplomatic missions across the Middle East have issued a new round of security warnings to Americans amid escalating attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants against Saudi Arabia, including an Oct. 10 strike on Riyadh's international airport that killed an American citizen.

The alerts, issued Sunday by U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries, warned that hostilities could rapidly and without warning spread beyond areas already affected by the fighting. The advisories urged Americans to exercise vigilance and prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions.

"We are actively warning U.S. citizens about the very real threat the Houthis pose and urging them to heed official guidance," Edgar Vasquez, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for press, told CBS News.

"These alerts are part of a proactive effort by the Trump administration to ensure Americans are aware of potential risks," Vasquez said, adding that the safety and security of American citizens remain the department's "top priority."

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President Trump said the U.S. is "doing very well with Iran" and he's just deciding how he wants to win the war. 

"As you know, we're doing very well with Iran," Mr. Trump said as he took questions from reporters in the Oval Office at an unrelated executive order signing. "We just have to make a final decision of which way do we want to win? Do we want to win the nice way or the not nice way? But we're doing very well."

The war, which Mr. Trump said would take only a few weeks in March, has now dragged on for almost eight months with no apparent end in sight. Iran said on Tuesday it would not return to the negotiating table unless the U.S. drops its sanctions, threats and pressure campaign — an unlikely demand.

The president also discussed Europe not helping the U.S. with the war with Iran, saying, "We don't need any help. But I was testing them."

"I just called individual presidents and prime ministers to ask, would they like to help us? And they said, 'No,'" Mr. Trump said. "I said, 'Well, that's not nice.' You know, we spend hundreds of billions a year on NATO. And they said no."

Iran is taking a hard-line stance on negotiations with the U.S. to end the war, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying Tuesday there will be no return to talks without a halt to the pressure campaign by the U.S.

Pezeshkian met with representatives from Pakistan, including army chief Asim Munir, on Tuesday. Pakistan has played an integral role as a mediator in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, including the brief success of the Islamabad Memorandum in June.

"(Pezeshkian) told Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir that US warmongering lies behind regional tensions, including disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz," according to a readout of the meeting from the official Iranian government account on X. "He said Washington must lift its pressures, threats and sanctions before any negotiations."

Those conditions are unlikely to be agreed upon by the U.S., which has stepped up its sanctions, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast, over the past month. President Trump has said the economic pressure campaign has become the main strategy for ending the war.

Pezeshkian also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tehran on Tuesday. Iran and Russia have become powerful allies.

Naval mines have halted three tankers attempting to travel the Strait of Hormuz via routes considered illegal by Tehran, Iranian Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday.

"Two violating oil tankers were set ablaze and halted due to the explosion of mines planted by the brave sailors of the IRGC Navy at an illegal crossing point in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz," the Guards said in an earlier statement on their official Sepah News website.

The Guards later said in a statement carried by state TV that a third oil tanker "exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine south of the Strait of Hormuz."

The tanker "carrying over 2 million barrels of crude oil, had deactivated all of its radar and navigation systems," the statement added.

Iranian forces have, since the outbreak of the Middle East war, repeatedly targeted ships attempting to pass through Hormuz via a southern, U.S.-approved route close to the Omani coast.

President Trump has said on several occasions that the Strait of Hormuz has been cleared of all mines.

AFP/CBS

Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, on Tuesday told visiting Pakistani army chief Asim Munir that Tehran will not allow nuclear material to leave the country, according to state TV.

"Not even a tiny bit of enriched nuclear material will leave Iran. Such materials constitute a major asset and national wealth for the Iranian people, intended for use within the country," said Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

"There will be no negotiations until America takes steps to build trust — a process that must begin with the fulfillment of Iran's conditions."

President Trump has made preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon the administration's top priority.

"They can't have a nuclear weapon," Mr. Trump said Monday night at a rally in Kansas. "OK, and they won't. By the way, somebody said you could leave right now. It's true. We can leave right now. They're not going to have a nuclear weapon."

AFP/CBS

Iran's envoy to the U.N., Gholamhossein Darzi, sent a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday detailing concerns over the potential use of the so-called "Mother of All Bombs" by the United States if the war with Iran restarts after the midterms, according to state-run ISNA news.

"I wish to draw your immediate attention, as well as that of the members of the Security Council, to the recent brazen existential threats made by the President of the United States regarding the possible use of the GBU-43/B bomb, officially known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), also referred to as the "Mother of All Bombs," against Iran, as well as the renewed threats by the Israeli regime of military aggression and its declared intention to target all of Iran's energy infrastructure," Darzi wrote in his letter, according to state-owned media.

The letter from Darzi asks for Guterres and the head of the U.N. Security Council to convene a meeting and highlights four demands from the 15-country group, which permanently includes the U.S., China, Russia, France and the U.K.

Iran asks for the security council to call upon the U.S. and Israel to end their "unlawful threats" toward Iran; explicitly and unequivocally condemn threats to attack Iran; address threats to regional peace; and ensure accountability and reparations for damage from "wrongful acts committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran."

"Threatening to use the 'MOAB' bomb (the Mother of All Bombs) against Iran's civilian infrastructure and to target all of the country's energy infrastructure constitutes, among other things, a flagrant violation of international law," Darzi wrote.

The Israeli army has no plans to leave southern Lebanon anytime soon and may in fact take over more territory, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz.

"The IDF will not move out of the security zone as long as Hezbollah has not been disarmed throughout Lebanon — and the threat to the residents of the north has not been removed," Katz said on social media. 

Katz also threatened to bomb part of Beirut every time an attack drone or missile was launched toward Israeli cities or kibbutzim in the north.

"We are pursuing a determined policy stipulating that any shooting or launch of drones and UAVs toward Israeli cities, moshavim, or kibbutzim will be met with a powerful response against the Dahiyeh district in Beirut," Katz said.

While Katz did say the army was willing to take more than the 700 square kilometers already below the Israeli-designated Yellow Line, it said the army would only do so if there was a coordinated attack from Iran.

"If Hezbollah joins an Iranian attack on Israel, it will be dealt a severe blow, and the IDF is prepared to carry out a ground maneuver into additional areas around Nabatieh and the Litani River," Katz said. "The territory that is captured will be evacuated of its residents, dealt with in the same manner, and permanently made part of Israel's security zone in Lebanon."

Qatar and Pakistan have presented Washington and Tehran with a compromise proposal aimed at preventing renewed escalation and bringing the two sides back to the negotiating table, Qatari outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported, citing informed sources.

The initiative was met with U.S. approval and a positive response from Iran, the outlet reported.

The proposal was conveyed to Iranian officials by Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, who arrived in Tehran on Tuesday at the head of a delegation of Pakistani officials, according to the report.

The suggested arrangement includes a partial response to Iran's demand for the release of frozen assets. Under the initiative, Iran would receive interest generated by $6 billion in Iranian funds frozen in Qatari banks, the sources said.

In return, Tehran has reportedly agreed to an undisclosed visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iranian nuclear sites, addressing a key U.S. demand concerning Iran's nuclear program.

The sources said a potential breakthrough could be announced this week.

An Iranian military official said Tuesday that Tehran is pursuing legal action over the U.S. torpedo attack on the IRIS Dena warship, arguing the vessel was not a legitimate military target.

In early March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo launched from a U.S. Navy submarine had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean "that thought it was safe in international waters."

"Instead it was sunk by a torpedo — quiet death," Hegseth said. It was the first time a U.S. Navy submarine had used a torpedo to sink a warship since 1945.

The strike killed more than 80 Iranian service members. 

In an interview with Iranian state TV on Tuesday, Brig. Gen. Moslem Yaghoubi, the Iranian army deputy for legal affairs, said the vessel was an unarmed training ship carrying trainees and that it was hit about 1,200 miles from the battlefield.

"Just this one point is enough to establish that striking it was militarily unnecessary," he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in June that Iran was collating documents related to the incident for what state media described as "legal follow-up," but Tehran has not specified a court in which it intends to file its legal action.

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it had intercepted a drone targeting Riyadh, as well as a missile it previously said was taken down.

Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, said on X that a drone had also been intercepted and destroyed, without specifying who was believed to have launched it. 

The bulletin came after the country's Civil Defense said earlier that people in the Riyadh area should "avoid crowds or going to dangerous areas, and refrain from taking photos" in a post on X, before saying the danger had passed.

Shortly after, Al-Maliki said a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis at Riyadh had been "intercepted and destroyed."

French President Emmanuel Macron has secured the delivery of an additional 200,000 tons of diesel per month from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain during a tour of the Persian Gulf, the French presidency said Tuesday.

He obtained commitments for around 100,000 tons per month from the UAE, and an additional 100,000 tons from Bahrain, the French Elysee presidential palace said, according to the AFP news agency.

With the addition of deliveries from Saudi Arabia, France has commitments for 295,000 tons per month, representing just over 10% of its consumption, the statement added.

Macron is undertaking a tour of key energy suppliers in the Gulf in an effort to secure oil and diesel and bring down prices in France after a weekend of violent protests over soaring living costs and other social issues.

The G7 countries, chaired this year by France, agreed in early October to release up to 100 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to ease pressure on global fuel supplies amid the U.S.-Iran war.

The shipments for France will be sent overland via Oman, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, the French presidency said. Experts have questioned whether the deliveries will have an impact on prices in France, however, given the risk of renewed fighting in the region.

CBS/AFP

Iran's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces warned Tuesday that Tehran would not wait for the U.S. midterm elections before retaliating to any new U.S. attack.

Maj. Gen. Abdollahi said Iran "has not waited, nor will it wait, for the results of the U.S. congressional elections" to respond to any new attack. 

He blamed regional insecurity on the presence of U.S. forces and warned countries hosting American troops to remain vigilant.

"Countries hosting the United States in the region should also know that the main cause of insecurity in the region is the presence of the terrorist U.S. military," he said.

The U.K. government announced Tuesday that it is expanding military support for Saudi Arabia as it faces ongoing attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, including "defensive" air patrols by British Royal Air Force jets over the kingdom.

Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Royal Air Force Typhoon jets would "conduct defensive counter-air operations over Saudi Arabia, helping to protect Saudi cities, civilian populations and critical national infrastructure from Houthi attack."

He said British planes would not strike Houthi targets in Yemen.

The U.K. will also send a military transport plane and an unspecified number of military advisers to Saudi Arabia, Streeting said.

The announcement follows Britain's decision last month to offer in-air refueling of Saudi planes operating against the Iran-backed rebels. That mission is being extended by another 90 days, Streeting said.

CBS/AP

The death toll from a Houthi missile strike on a government military camp in southern Yemen rose to 73 people Tuesday, making it the deadliest strike since fighting in the country began escalating three months ago, a senior Yemeni government official said Tuesday.

The recruits were all aged between 18 and 20, and some were still missing a day after the Iran-backed Houthis hit the al-Alam camp in the southern province of Shabwa with ballistic missiles, according to provincial governor Awad Ibn al-Wazir.

Negotiations between Iran and the United States are ongoing despite rising tension and repeated statements from President Trump that the U.S. could resume major strikes on Iran next month, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday.

"The negotiation is ongoing. We are seeing engagement from the parties," al-Ansari, who also serves as an adviser to Qatar's prime minister, said at the Global Security Forum in Doha on Tuesday.

Al-Ansari did not offer any further information on the negotiations, including whether there have been any recent direct contacts between Iranian and U.S. officials or if the talks are being conducted entirely via mediators.

He said discussions were continuing with regional partners and expressed hope that diplomatic efforts would eventually lead to an agreement, while cautioning that conditions on the ground were becoming increasingly difficult.

"Escalation left unchecked will mean that we are spiraling towards a regional war that will expand beyond the borders of our region," he warned.

Iran's military said Tuesday morning that it had destroyed another U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone and attacked two more tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, causing fires on the unnamed ships.

In a statement, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have struck and destroyed an MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz. 

At least 24 American MQ-9 Reapers, two MQ-1 drones and an MQ-4C Triton have been lost since the U.S. began its war with Iran, representing a loss of more than $800  million, according to a report released by the Congressional Budget Office in September.

The IRGC also claimed two oil tankers trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's permission, using a southern route endorsed by the Trump administration but not recognized by Tehran, were hit by sea mines laid by the IRGC, forcing them to halt due to fires on board.

Iran has routinely targeted vessels in and near the strait for months, challenging Trump administration assertions that the vital shipping lanes are open to commercial traffic and that the U.S. military has complete control of the waterway. 

At the end of August, President Trump himself declared the strait mine-free, saying U.S. forces had "totally cleared the strait of mines … Any boat goes through with a mine, we take it out."  

The U.S. Navy has also struck vessels in the region as part of its own blockade of Iranian ports and associated vessels.

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir, a central figure in the country's efforts to mediate between Iran and the U.S., was expected to return for a new visit to Tehran on Tuesday, but Iran played down any hope for new wider peace talks.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said talks with Munir "relate to issues concerning the negotiations, but they are mainly focused on bilateral relations and strengthening interactions and cooperation."

The visit comes a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made his first visit to Tehran since the U.S. launched its war with Iran. 

Lavrov said his visit was "aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war," and he called the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran illegal.

CBS/AFP

Saudi forces intercepted a ballistic missile that was targeting the kingdom's capital, a military spokesman said Tuesday, after authorities issued a warning for people in Riyadh to take shelter.

The kingdom "intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh," Turki Al-Malki said in a post on X.

Riyadh has been targeted repeatedly by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen for weeks. Attacks on two major airports, most of them directed at Riyadh's King Khalid International, killed 20 people in one week earlier this month.

The Israeli military accused the Lebanese army on Tuesday of working with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in the country's south.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said the Lebanese army "assisted efforts to prevent, delay, or thwart enforcement operations and enabled Hezbollah to prepare in advance to remove and transfer weapons from the area."

The Israeli military cited a weapons storage "asset" in Kfarra, in southern Lebanon, which it said was identified in December 2025 and flagged to Lebanese forces. The IDF said several months later, Hezbollah was still operating at the site, despite the Lebanese army claiming to have "addressed" it.

The IDF cited a 2024 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that called for the Lebanese army to act "against the presence of weapons and military infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon."

Under that agreement, Israel was to begin transferring control of "pilot zones" in the south to Lebanese state forces in July.

The plan faced early issues, with Lebanon accusing Israeli forces of firing at its troops, while Israel said it only fired warning shots.

After a shaky start in late July, President Trump's senior Middle East adviser, Massad Boulos, told reporters "things are progressing" with the pilot zone plan, which he called a "brilliant concept." 

There has been little indication of meaningful progress on the transfer of territory occupied by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon - in a "security zone" that stretches about six miles into Lebanese territory - back to Lebanese forces since the summer.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Russia and Iran have never worked so closely, as Moscow seeks to present itself as a possible mediator in the Middle East war.

Araghchi hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Iran on Monday — the veteran Russian diplomat's first visit to Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on the Islamic republic at the end of February, sparking the war.

"We covered everything from Europe to West Asia, including Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine and Yemen. Also focused on expansion of economic and nuclear cooperation," Araghchi wrote on X. "Never in our history have Iran and Russia worked as closely as now."

Lavrov said ahead of his visit that Moscow's efforts were "aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war," with talks stalled between the United States and Iran.

On Sunday, President Trump said in a Truth Social post that "Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Mr. Trump has in recent weeks controversially eased U.S. sanctions against Russia, imposed over Moscow's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in a bid to bring down fuel prices for Americans.

CBS/AFP

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quietly visited Israel on Monday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a senior U.S. military official who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. 

The unannounced visit came just over a week before Netanyahu's party faces elections. It also comes as President Trump floats resuming military operations against Iran after next month's U.S. midterm elections.

Hegseth confirmed in an X post that he was in U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility on Monday, sharing a photo of himself addressing American service members who he said were "on a historic mission." He did not specify his location or mention Israel.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the visit.

Axios was first to report Hegseth's visit.

Read more here.

Iran's top security official called for stronger cooperation with Russia to bolster regional security after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tehran on Monday, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said.

Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said that cooperation could include joint economic projects, such as the completion of transportation corridors. Lavrov, meanwhile, condemned the U.S.-Israeli military attacks on Iran as illegal during his first visit to Iran since the U.S. launched its war with Iran almost eight months ago.

Also in Tehran on Monday, Iran summoned Germany's ambassador over what it called baseless accusations, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said. Germany had summoned Iran's ambassador in Berlin the same day after a court sentenced two men with ties to Iran's intelligence service for plotting to kill the leader of a Jewish organization in Germany.

President Masoud Pezeshkian also said Iran is willing to resolve tensions through dialogue, blaming U.S. interference for divisions in the region, state-run IRNA reported.

Pezeshkian made the remarks during Monday's meeting with Lavrov, saying the presence of U.S. military bases in neighboring countries had only increased tensions, instability and insecurity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video on Monday of a phone call between him and President Trump, in which the two leaders traded praises and suggested they may again attack Iran together. 

Netanyahu shared the call one day after Mr. Trump endorsed his reelection bid. In it, the U.S. president could be heard telling the prime minister on speakerphone: "I think you're going to have a tremendous victory, actually."

"You're the man I want by my side, Bibi," Mr. Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.

Netanyahu hailed Mr. Trump for joining Israel in attacking Iran in late February.

"Donald, we have a job to finish," a beaming Netanyahu said. "We'll finish it together. We'll finish it, and no one else will do it."

Netanyahu did not elaborate but again described Iran's clerical state, which remains in power nearly eight months after the joint attack, as "the greatest danger."

CBS/AFP

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement Monday that the group had carried out six military operations in Saudi Arabia over the previous 48 hours, amid a sharp escalation in hostilities between the Iran-backed group and the kingdom. 

Saree said the attacks targeted military sites, airports and oil infrastructure, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Aramco facilities in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, and the Shaybah oil field near the border with the United Arab Emirates.

Other strikes hit Abha International Airport, radar installations, Khamis Mushait air base in southwestern Saudi Arabia, a Saudi naval force camp, and a separate radar site in Bir Askar in the kingdom's south, according to Saree. 

He described the attacks as retaliation for more than 200 Saudi strikes and missile attacks on Houthi-held areas over the previous 48 hours, saying the Houthis would pursue a policy of "escalation for escalation" until attacks on Yemen cease. 

On Sunday, the Houthi-run Health Ministry blamed Saudi-led forces for airstrikes that killed or wounded more than 30 people in Yemen's rebel-held territory over the weekend, including one in the northern province of Saada that left at least nine dead. Five children and two women were among those killed, according to the rebel group.

AP/AFP

At least 53 soldiers were killed and another 200 recruits were injured at a military camp on Monday, when Houthi rebels struck Yemeni forces with ballistic missiles, Yemeni military officials said. The targeted camp is in the southern province of Shabwa. The provincial government there also acknowledged the strike, as did the Iran-backed rebel group.

The attack was one of the deadliest since fighting resurged between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces this summer, as a widening front in the Iran war that began in February.

The provincial government in Shabwa said the death toll from Monday's attack could rise. 

"This bloody, treacherous attack targeted new recruits in the training and preparation phase and is considered an extremely critical military escalation and a blatant aggression on the security and stability of Shabwa province," the provincial government said in a statement, which also called on Yemen's president, the Saudi-led coalition and the government to expedite air defense and early warning systems to reinforce Shabwa's capabilities.

The head of Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, promised a "firm response" and said the attack reflects the Houthis' "approach of resorting to cowardly terrorist attacks whenever they face pressures or their Iranian-backed sabotage plots falter."

One Yemeni military official said the missiles struck while recruits were lining up in formation for a training session. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

CBS/AP

Residents of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital city, received alert messages from authorities on Monday that warned of "a hostile aerial threat." AFP journalists received the alerts, too, which were sent to their phones, according to the outlet. 

"A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Riyadh City to alert of a potential danger," Saudi Arabia's civil defense agency said in a statement on X. The agency also reported that the same warning had been issued for the nearby Kharj area.

A woman in her thirties living in northern Riyadh said she heard the sound of explosions, telling AFP: "we got used to this."

The warning, which often signals incoming Houthi attacks, was lifted shortly after the defense agency's announcement. But it came as attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have intensified in Saudi Arabia. Hours later, the Houthis claimed a series of missile and drone attacks on Riyadh's international airport and other targets across the kingdom over the past two days.

CBS/AFP

A major Saudi investment conference has been postponed to next year, its chief executive officer said on Monday, as the kingdom comes under repeated attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.

Maha Al Saud, the CEO of the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, said the event, which was scheduled to take place in Riyadh from Oct. 26 to 29, would instead happen in 2027 in a statement posted on X. She said organizers wanted to ensure the gathering's 10th anniversary edition delivered the "full scale" and "extraordinary quality" participants expected.

"This decision comes from a deep commitment to our partners, members, speakers and delegates," her statement said, adding: "A decade of partnership and shared vision deserves nothing less than our absolute best."

New conference dates will be announced soon, while current registrations and partnerships will remain valid, according to the statement.

For nearly a decade, the conference has served as a showcase for Saudi Arabia's efforts to attract global investors, business leaders and heads of state. The postponement dealt a blow to the kingdom's ambitions to draw foreign capital, diversify its oil-reliant economy and push its reform agenda.

Three sources familiar with the matter had earlier told AFP the conference would be postponed.

CBS/AFP

Egypt's parliament on Monday postponed its debate on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's request to authorize military support to Saudi Arabia, which has faced mounting attacks from Yemen's Houthis, Egyptian state media reported. The debate has been delayed until next week, according to the report.

"House Speaker Hisham Badawi has adjourned the second parliamentary session dedicated to discussing authorization for taking necessary measures to support and assist the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with discussions set to resume on October 26," Egypt's state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

The postponement concluded a second day of parliamentary sessions in which Egyptian lawmakers weighed Sisi's request to approve support for Saudi Arabia, if requested by the kingdom. An emergency session on Sunday also ended without a decision. 

Two lawmakers told AFP on Sunday that most parliamentarians supported the proposal, and a decision wasn't reached during that first session in order to "give all lawmakers the opportunity to speak and express their views."

The Egyptian Social Democratic Party, an opposition party with nearly a dozen seats in parliament, said it had instructed its parliamentary bloc to abstain from voting.

Although it described its solidarity with Saudi Arabia as "firm," the party said any deployment of Egyptian forces abroad should be guided by "specific objectives, clear information" and "an accurate assessment of the potential risks to the lives of our soldiers."

CBS/AFP

Yemen's Saudi-backed government claimed Monday to have killed 558 Houthi fighters over the past 24 hours. In a post on X, Col. Majed Al-Nazili said Yemeni forces had carried out 1,164 operations against the Iran-backed rebels. 

"The operations resulted in neutralizing (558) militia elements, including field commanders," he wrote. 

A major Saudi investment conference is set to be postponed, three sources briefed on the matter told the French news agency AFP on Monday, amid repeated attacks on the kingdom by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

One source said the event "won't happen on time" and that organizers "won't announce a new date soon." A second source, who confirmed the event would be postponed, told AFP: "Who would be willing to risk flying to Riyadh these days?"

Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute hosts an annual forum often referred to as "Davos in the desert." The event typically draws foreign leaders and business titans, and this year it is  scheduled to be held in Riyadh from Oct. 26 to 29.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the conference would either be held online or postponed.

CBS/AFP 

Iran's top diplomat on Monday accused the United States of being responsible for the insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz that has left the nearly-eight month conflict sparked by joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran unresolved, despite the cessation of major military operations.

"The war imposed by the United States and the Zionist regime [Israel], combined with the economic blockade [on Iran's ports], constitutes the principal source of insecurity in our region," said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, echoing many similar statements by himself and other senior Iranian figures.

He made the remark Monday during a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in Tehran earlier Monday for his first visit since the outbreak of the war, as Russia tries to frame itself as a potential mediator despite close ties with the Iranian regime.

Lavrov was also scheduled to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit, according to Russia's foreign ministry. The veteran Russian diplomat said Moscow's efforts were "aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war," with talks between Tehran and Washington at a standstill.

CBS/AFP

Iran's Acting Oil Minister Hamid Bovard met Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, in Doha on Monday to discuss energy relations and cooperation between the two countries.

According to Iran's official news agency IRNA, al-Kaabi confirmed the meeting, which focused on bilateral energy ties and opportunities for cooperation.

The death toll from a Houthi missile strike on a camp in Yemen's government-controlled Shabwa province rose to 50 on Monday, a government official told the French news agency AFP, after military sources earlier put the toll at more than 30.

The Iran-backed rebels fired ballistic missiles at the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa.

"The death toll has risen to at least 50, with more than 100 people injured, some of them in critical condition," said Fahad al-Khalifi, deputy governor of Shabwa.

He added that hospitals in the province were overwhelmed and had been forced to transfer the most seriously wounded to facilities in neighboring Hadramout and Aden.

CBS/AFP

Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 20 soldiers, two Yemeni military officials said.

The rebels fired ballistic missiles at the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa in an attack that left at least two dozen more troops wounded, the officials said.

The military officials with the internationally recognized government of Yemen spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Yemen's decade-long civil war has intensified and become intertwined with the wider regional conflict sparked by the U.S. war with Iran over the last few months, as the Houthis, considered one of Iran's most potent proxy forces, attack the government's Saudi backers on their home turf. 

Houthi strikes on Saudi infrastructure, including civilian airports, have killed more than 20 people in recent weeks, and President Trump has said he's considering joining Saudi operations against the rebels. The Houthis have warned that if the U.S. does intervene, it would prompt a  "swift and painful" retaliation against U.S. personnel and interests across the region.

CBS/AP

Oil prices were down early Monday, with Brent crude, the international standard, falling 2.5% to $107.16 per barrel and benchmark U.S. crude dropping 2.2% to $96.84 per barrel.

The prices fell after President Trump late Friday signed an executive order to put new U.S. sanctions against Russia on hold just days before they were to come into effect, drawing disappointment from Ukraine, with the move likely resulting in more energy exports from Russia.

Mr. Trump's decision came not long after he said earlier this month he had reached a diesel deal with Russia in an attempt to bring down elevated U.S. fuel prices ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

But despite Mr. Trump's controversial efforts to ease energy costs for Americans, oil prices have remained much higher compared to before the Iran war, due in large part to the ongoing risks to the supply chain caused by the crisis in the Middle East.

On Friday the price of Brent crude hit nearly $110 a barrel, its highest level since mid-May.

CBS/AP

A tugboat traveling near the Strait of Hormuz was struck by two unknown projectiles, a British maritime monitoring agency said Sunday.

The U.K. navy's Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) said in a statement that a tugboat traveling southbound off the coast of the United Arab Emirates "reported being struck by two unknown projectiles."

"The tug has sustained damage but is continuing on its route," the agency said, "one minor casualty has been reported."

Last week saw 10 attacks on commercial vessels in and near the strait, according to the UKMTO, which said October has already become the worst month for attacks on shipping in the strait since the early days of the war in March. 

The U.S. issued a security alert on Monday urging Americans in the Middle East to "exercise heightened vigilance."

"Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions," the statement said.

It added that hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly and that groups backed by Iran may target U.S. interests overseas "or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world."

At least 20 people, including one American, were killed in one week in October when Houthi rebels attacked Saudi airports.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was expected to pay his first visit to Iran on Monday since the U.S. and Israel sparked the ongoing war with the Islamic Republic by launching joint strikes on Feb. 28.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Sunday that the two sides would discuss "regional and international developments," while Lavrov said his visit was "aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war."

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart in early October that Moscow was prepared to contribute to mediation efforts.

Iran presented a seven-day ceasefire proposal in late September that called for an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a return to direct negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program. President Trump rejected the proposal, which Iran says remains on the table.

CBS/AFP

Conflict raged between the Houthis and the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Iran-backed rebel group on Sunday, as both sides traded strikes. 

In Riyadh, where intensifying violence has disrupted life for residents, the landmark Kingdom Centre skyscraper ordered "mandatory" remote working for office tenants until further notice. Although a reason for the order wasn't provided, it followed a security alert and two drone interceptions around the capital city, in addition to a number of attacks by Houthis on Saudi targets in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition, which backs the internationally-recognized government in war-wracked Yemen, has launched repeated air raids on regions of the country that Houthis control. One alleged Saudi airstrike in northern Yemen  killed at least nine people and wounded 16 others on Sunday, the Houthis' Saba news agency reported.

The coalition said Sunday that two pilots were killed when their helicopter crashed in Najran, near the Yemen border, blaming a "technical malfunction" for the incident. The Houthis said they "downed an Apache helicopter belonging to the Saudi enemy" in the same area.

CBS/AFP

Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that Tehran's conditions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have not changed, but that its proposal for a limited ceasefire with the U.S. to reopen the vital waterway remains on the table.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Sunday that Tehran is still reviewing "comments" from the U.S. on the Iranian proposal for a seven-day ceasefire that was first presented in September, but rejected by President Trump.

"If they comply with our conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen on the sixth day, and negotiations will begin on the seventh day," Araghchi said, referring to the timeline proposed by Iran, which calls for the U.S. to lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and to ease sanctions on the country, among other concessions. 

"Our conditions are fair, and if the United States is willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, it can meet them within a few days," Araghchi said.