Trump Promises Not to Resume Strikes Before Midterm Elections
By Frank Andrews
What to know about the Iran war:
- President Trump promised Thursday the U.S. would not attack Iran before the midterm elections, tempering rising crude oil prices. He also touted “productive conversations” with Iran, though he did not provide specifics.
- The Houthis claimed Thursday to have hit Saudi Arabia’s main airport with a ballistic missile, the third time this week the Iran-backed rebels have claimed an attack on the facility amid Yemen’s escalating civil war.
- New videos obtained exclusively by CBS News show Iranian attacks on a major U.S. military base in Kuwait as the war with Iran kicked off seven months ago. U.S. forces faced ballistic missiles, drones and what witnesses described as Iranian F-5 fighter jets.
USS Lincoln returns home to San Diego for first time in over 10 months
The USS Abraham Lincoln and its more than 4,500 sailors returned home to San Diego on Thursday for the first time in 321 days, a jubilant homecoming after a long deployment that included months in the Middle East.
Braving the heat, hundreds of family members and friends waited for hours in the sun to greet their loved ones. As the ship pulled into the harbor, a roar of cheers erupted from a pier. Sailors stood at attention on the deck for the aircraft carrier’s long approach, and after they were released, smiles and waves broke out as sailors took out their phones to call people on the pier.
In one such reunion, McKenzie Adkins held her 10-week-old son Declan as she waved to her husband, Alexander, on the ship’s deck, before the new father met his son for the first time.
The Lincoln carrier strike group had been deployed for more than 10 months, including more than 250 uninterrupted days at sea this year. Much of that time was spent in the Middle East, where the aircraft carrier and its escort ships supported the U.S. war against Iran. It left the region in late August.
Read more here.
Putin tells Iran leader he will “do everything” to help end war
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday and promised to “do everything” to help end the Middle East conflict, Russian news agencies reported.
“We are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation,” Putin said ahead of a regional summit in the Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan, adding Iran had made “real efforts to end the war” since U.S.-Israeli attacks started on Feb. 28.
Putin noted the “positive evolution” in relations between Iran and Russia.
The two have reinforced diplomatic and military links since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, becoming increasingly reliant on each other.
Ukraine and Western countries have accused Iran of supplying Russia with Shahed drones and short-range missiles for use in the military campaign.
Russia has been accused of supplying targeting data to Iran for its strikes on U.S. interests in the Middle East.
The meeting came as talks between Tehran and Washington appear to be at an impasse. Pezeshkian said this week negotiations with Washington were “meaningless.”
Iran war has damaged or destroyed 81 aircraft from U.S., congressional report shows
At least 81 U.S. military aircraft and drones have been lost or damaged in the war with Iran, according to a Congressional Research Service report updated this week.
The downed aircraft include what the military has publicly acknowledged as lost — like those destroyed as part of the rescue mission to recover two downed aviators in Iran — as well as dozens of drones that the military has refused to discuss.
Among the 81 damaged or destroyed aircraft were 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones, 12 F-15E Strike Eagle jets, seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft and an F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, the report says.
U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia issues new security alert over airport attacks
The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia is warning Americans to “exercise heightened vigilance” if they are traveling through King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh due to attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group.
“The Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including against civilian airports, and the military conflict has the potential to escalate,” the embassy wrote on X. “U.S. citizens should be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions.”
The Houthis have launched attacks on the airport, hundreds of miles into interior Saudi Arabia, four times this week. Three people were killed at airports on Oct. 6 and 7 in Saudi Arabia, including one at King Khalid International Airport, according to the country’s aviation authority.
The embassy had already warned citizens not to travel near the Yemeni border. U.S. government employees are banned from traveling within 20 miles of the border. On Thursday, the embassy also said government officials now require special authorization to travel through King Khalid International Airport.
U.S. imposes sanctions targeting 17 vessels of Iran “shadow fleet”
The United States imposed sanctions Thursday targeting “the remnants of Iran’s shadow fleet” of tankers used to transport oil products to foreign markets — the latest move to ramp up pressure in its war against Tehran.
“Today’s action effectively neutralizes the vast majority of Iran’s remaining shadow fleet network,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.
The aim is to deprive Tehran of funds needed to “wage war in the region,” added Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Thursday’s move takes aim at 17 vessels said to have moved millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil, alongside petroleum and petrochemical products, to markets across South and East Asia.
The Treasury Department designated companies that own these vessels, accusing them of operating in the petroleum or petrochemical sectors of the Iranian economy.
Crude oil tanker struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, maritime monitor says
Another crude oil tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz this week, according to a U.K. navy maritime monitor. It said the incident happened Tuesday.
In a post on X Thursday, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the tanker was “struck by an unknown projectile” and that there were no casualties, though the damage to the vessel is unknown.
Several other vessels have been struck in the waterway recently, according to UKMTO.
Trump says U.S. won’t attack Iran before midterms, touts oil coming through strait
President Trump has promised the U.S. would not attack Iran before the midterm elections, which take place on Nov. 3. He also touted “productive conversations” with Iran, though he did not provide specifics.
“I want to make it clear to everybody that, while Iran is in very bad condition, both Economically and Militarily, and while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, with Oil flowing in Record Numbers of Barrels through the Hormuz Strait (22 Million Barrels, last night alone, with not one barrel coming from, or going to, Iran!), we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Several outlets reported on Thursday that Mr. Trump was considering new strikes on Iran before the midterms.
The Trump administration has consistently provided numbers for the millions of barrels being escorted out of the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. military protection. Moving out 22 million barrels of oil in one night would mark a total similar to prewar levels.
Brent crude, the international standard, was up to $105 a barrel, about a 4% increase from close Wednesday, before Mr. Trump’s post on social media. After the post, it dropped to $103 a barrel.
Saudi kindergarten hit by interception debris
CBS/AFP
The Saudi civil defence agency said in a post on X that a kindergarten and a medical complex in Riyadh were damaged by debris from a missile interception on Thursday, after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they had targeted the capital’s airport.
Saudi Arabia leads a pro-government coalition fighting against the Houthis in Yemen’s civil war, and the Iran-backed group has repeatedly targeted Riyadh since the conflict roared back to life, vowing to hit critical infrastructure and disrupt Saudi airspace.
The conflict in Yemen had lain dormant since 2022 but erupted again in July, and the scale and frequency of the attacks on the Saudi capital since then have been unprecedented in the eight months of wider war in the Middle East.
Riyadh’s airport has been repeatedly targeted by the Houthis in recent days as the group ramps up its attacks on the kingdom, including its oil facilities and cities close to the Yemeni border.
On Thursday, the group warned workers to evacuate Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, having days before hit a major refinery south of the capital.
Around the same time, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had intercepted two missiles fired towards Riyadh.
Shortly after, the kingdom’s civil defence agency said “interception debris” had damaged a kindergarten and a medical complex in the city. It did not say if there were any casualties or provide details of the damage.
Admissions by Saudi authorities of civilian targets being hit are relatively rare, with officials issuing few statements on Houthi attacks in recent weeks.
Houthis tell employees at Saudi oil facilities to evacuate, say lives are at risk
The Houthis told employees at Saudi oil facilities to evacuate Thursday, saying their lives were at risk.
“The armed forces warn all employees, including experts, engineers and workers at all Saudi oil facilities, against being present in locations that represent targets for our forces, so as not to put their lives at risk,” Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree wrote in a post on X.
He also renewed previous warnings to aviation companies, passengers and workers, about operating in Saudi airspace, which the Houthis have said they now see as a theater of war.
Houthis claim another attack on Saudi capital’s airport
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the group’s forces targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile, claiming the missile struck its target and caused damage and disruption to air traffic.
“Our armed forces, with the help of God, managed to target King Khalid Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile this afternoon, which successfully hit its target and caused damage and disruption to air traffic at the airport,” he wrote in a post on X Thursday.
If true, it would be the fourth time the group has targeted the airport this week.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting with the Yemeni government said Thursday it had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis towards Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
In a brief post on X, coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki gave no further details.
Iran reviewing U.S. reaction to peace proposal, to respond “within a few days”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations with the United States are continuing through intermediaries Thursday, adding that Tehran is reviewing Washington’s response to an Iranian proposal described as a “seven-day plan.”
Speaking to the Students News Network, an official news agency, after attending a funeral ceremony in Tehran earlier today, Araghchi said: “The negotiating process is still continuing and, through intermediaries, messages are being exchanged.”
He said Iran had presented its proposal and had subsequently heard the U.S. position in response.
“We presented our plan, which was the plan referred to as the seven-day plan. We heard the Americans’ views in response. We are now reviewing them.”
“I think we will respond within a few days,” he added. “As I said, the negotiating process continues.”
Trump weighing whether to strike Iran before midterm elections, The Atlantic reports
The White House has asked the Pentagon to prepare strike options for a possible resumption of attacks on Iran before November’s U.S. midterm elections, according to The Atlantic.
Citing two administration officials, the magazine reported Wednesday that the magnitude and targets of the potential strikes were still under discussion, and that a wider operation could take place after the November 3 voting.
The Atlantic cited the officials as saying the preparations were a sign of how eager President Trump is to reduce gas prices and show progress in the conflict, as consumer prices weigh heavy on voters’ minds ahead of the midterms.
The plan’s proponents do not think the attacks will bring Iran to talks or see the Strait of Hormuz reopened, according to The Atlantic. The hope is that they might demonstrate U.S. strength leading into the vote, the report said.
“It would make the president look like he got a win and that gas prices would start going down,” a Republican familiar with the deliberations told the magazine.
The price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, shot up more than 4% Thursday after the story was published.
Asked by CBS News for comment on the report, a White House official said: “The Commander-in-Chief has all options available at any time. The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing. Iran has been decimated, and things will go one of two ways; the easy way or the hard way. President Trump holds all the cards and will do whatever is best for the United States.”
The U.S. hasn’t announced strikes on Iran for weeks, and Mr. Trump has threatened repeatedly to renew the attacks after the midterms. Last week he told TIME magazine he might order new strikes after the midterms, and he told reporters separately that he believed the U.S. would win the war “right after the election,” though he also said, “maybe before the election.”
Saudi-led coalition says two Houthi ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh intercepted
The Saudi-led coalition fighting with the Yemeni government said Thursday it had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis towards Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
In a brief post on X, coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki gave no further details.
The Houthis claimed Thursday, for the third time this week, to have struck the Saudi capital’s main international airport with a ballistic missile.
Earlier this week the Iranian proxy force said it had launched a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia, which killed three people.
AFP journalists heard several explosions in Riyadh on Thursday.
Along with the claims of repeated attacks on Saudi airports in recent days, Houthi weapons have also targeted critical energy infrastructure and military sites elsewhere in the kingdom.
EU backs extension of U.N. peacekeepers’ mandate in Lebanon
CBS/AFP
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday that the bloc favors extending the mandate of United Nations peacekeepers in south Lebanon. Israeli troops have occupied a large portion of southern Lebanon for months, after invading as part of Israel’s war with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which attacked Israel in the days after the Iran war started in late February.
On a visit to southern Lebanon, Kallas told French news agency AFP that EU member states “have been saying that there can’t be any security vacuum in southern Lebanon, so everybody is worried about the UNIFIL mandate ending,” using the acronym for the U.N.’s Lebanon peacekeeping mission.
She added that “it would be most welcomed if this mandate is extended, so that is the position of the member states.”
Last year, the U.N. Security Council voted not to renew the UNIFIL mandate after 2026, and its multinational forces – who have been in place since 1978 – are due to complete a draw-down in 2027.
Fighting in southern Lebanon has continued despite a three-way agreement signed in June by Lebanon, Israel and the U.S. on a framework that lays out provisions for the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and Hezbollah’s disarmament.
The Iranian-backed group has rejected the agreement, and progress on all aspects has largely stalled in recent months.
Dubai repatriation flights nixed after UAE pulls landing permit for Israeli carriers
Repatriation flights operated by Israeli airlines Arkia, Israir and El Al that had been due to bring Israeli nationals back from Dubai to Tel Aviv after the FlyDubai co-pilot’s alleged attack on a flight captain last week have been canceled a day before they were set to fly.
The flights were canceled after the carriers’ permission to land in the United Arab Emirates was revoked on Wednesday, according to the Times Of Israel.
“Arkia has engaged with all relevant parties to regain authorization and operate the flights,” the airline said in a statement. “Unfortunately, these efforts have so far been unsuccessful, and we are therefore forced to cancel the flights.”
Israel had expected the repatriation flights to be completed by Thursday, according to the outlet.
Last week, an attempted attack by the co-pilot of FlyDubai flight 1073 as it approached Israel resulted in the carrier suspending all flights to Tel Aviv. That left an estimated 10,000 Israelis stranded in Dubai and other destinations with return journeys scheduled via the UAE, according to the Times Of Israel, though about 7,400 had managed to fly home from Dubai before the flight cancellations this week.
Passengers on the flight involved in the incident last week were repatriated the same day from Saudi Arabia, where the plane made a safe emergency landing.
Diplomats and students in Saudi capital take shelter, residents and diplomats tell AFP
CBS/AF
Diplomats were instructed to shelter in place in their respective embassies in the Saudi capital Riyadh Thursday, diplomats told the French news agency AFP, as residents said international schools were also taking precautions, with at least one facility sending children into a basement for safety.
The measures came after repeated blasts were heard in the city, in one of the loudest disturbances since the beginning of the Iran war.
Two people working in Riyadh’s business hub – the King Abdullah Financial District – also told AFP that some companies were evacuating staff from the area.
Yemen’s Houthis have announced attacks against the Saudi capital on a near daily basis in recent days, including claiming three strikes on the same airport in the capital, as fighting between the kingdom and the Iran-backed group continues to escalate.
U.K. navy sailor charged with spying for unnamed foreign power
CBS/AFP
A serving member of Britain’s Royal Navy has been charged with spying, police said Thursday, adding the case was not connected to suspicious activity near an airbase used by the U.S. air force.
Teddy Young, 24, is accused of obtaining protected information between November 2024 and May 2025 which could benefit an unnamed foreign power, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement. He was to appear in court Thursday.
Young was arrested by counterterror police at his home in Bedfordshire north of London on Tuesday, police said.
He has been charged under section 1 of the National Security Act which covers principal espionage offenses, and under section 18, with the lesser offense of engaging in conduct “in preparation for committing an offense of disclosing protected information.”
“These are very serious charges against a serving member of the armed forces,” said Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, adding that “the arrest and charges are not connected to the recent investigation into the incident at RAF Fairford.”
The United States this week confirmed it had withdrawn all B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford, with President Trump citing unspecified threats against the base.
Oil prices surge and stocks sink on fresh inflation worries
CBS/AFP
Oil prices soared Thursday to around $105Â per barrel and equities tumbled on fresh inflation fears following a report that President Trump is considering resuming attacks on Iran ahead of next month’s U.S. midterm elections.
The selling tracked a retreat on Wall Street, where tech firms pulled back from recent gains, having weathered concerns over spiking borrowing costs and geopolitical uncertainty.
Crude oil prices started the week on the back foot thanks to signs that exports from the Middle East were heading back toward pre-war levels, and that G7 nations had agreed to tap their stockpiles.
But anxiety returned as figures showed Tehran had increased strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, Yemen’s Houthis rebutted claims they had lost key territory and top oil officials warned that global reserves were running worryingly low.
And on Wednesday, The Atlantic reported that the White House had asked the Pentagon to draw up options to hit sites in Iran ahead of the midterms, with the president’s Republicans in danger of losing both houses of Congress.
Both main crude contracts, international benchmark Brent Crude and U.S. staple West Texas Intermediate, jumped over 4% early Thursday.
News that International Energy Agency members were ready to tap more oil from reserves did little to assuage worried traders.
Iran says first flight by a foreign airline lands there since war began
The first commercial flight operated by a foreign airline to fly into Iran since the outbreak of the Middle East war landed on Thursday, state media reported, after the United States granted a sanctions waiver for Iraq’s national carrier to fly to the Islamic Republic.
State TV broadcast a short video of the Iraqi Airways flight landing in Tehran from Iraq’s Najaf, a city holy to Shia Muslims, adding that it was a round-trip service.
“Operated by Iraqi Airways, the flight took off from Najaf Airport and landed successfully at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran,” state TV said.
Last month, Iraq’s transport ministry said the U.S. had granted Iraqi Airways an exemption to fly to Iran, with an official telling AFP it applied to pilgrims traveling between Iran and Najaf.
The Iraqi government also said last week that it had secured an agreement with the U.S. allowing Iranian airlines, except Mahan Air, to operate daily flights to and from Najaf, home to one of the most revered shrines in Shia Islam.
It came after Washington imposed restrictions on Iran’s aviation industry last month, vowing to take a hard line against companies that assist it.
As a result of the sanctions, major Iranian airlines were forced to cancel international flights after several countries implemented bans.
Yemen’s Houthis say they struck main airport in Saudi capital
Yemen’s Houthis said Thursday that they struck the Saudi capital’s main international airport with a ballistic missile, in another attack on the kingdom claimed by the Iran-backed group.
The claim came a day after the anti-government fighters launched a series of attacks in Saudi Arabia that killed three people, and after the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government announced a major counter-offensive against the Houthis.
The Houthis, who control most of the country’s northwest, are battling against the Yemeni government for territory after the civil war reignited in July.
“Our armed forces successfully targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile, which accurately struck its target and disrupted airport operations,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X.
This marks the third time this week that the group has claimed responsibility for an attack on the airport.
“We reiterate our call and warning — for the last time — to all international airlines against continuing to operate flights through Saudi airspace,” Saree added.
AFP journalists heard several explosions in Riyadh on Thursday.
Along with the Houthis claiming repeated attacks on Riyadh airports in recent days, salvos have been aimed at critical infrastructure and military sites elsewhere in Saudi Arabia.
New videos show Iran’s attack on a major U.S. base in Kuwait at the start of the war
New videos obtained exclusively by CBS News show Iranian attacks on a major U.S. military base in Kuwait as the war with Iran kicked off seven months ago. American forces faced ballistic missiles, drones and what witnesses described as Iranian F-5 fighter jets.
The footage obtained by CBS News was recorded by a person stationed on the ground at Camp Buehring, and captures the moments of impact and their explosive aftermath. Damage to buildings and military equipment can also be seen in the videos.
The attacks on Camp Buehring offer a window into the strain Iranian attacks placed on American forces during the opening days of the war. CBS News has learned that soldiers defending the base ran critically low on .50-caliber ammunition as some soldiers were repositioned into the Udari Desert in Kuwait. Two soldiers were injured by lightning there in late April, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.
Contacted by CBS News, U.S. Central Command, the primary unit which oversees American military operations across the Middle East, declined to comment.
Tanker in Persian Gulf reports hits from multiple projectiles, U.K. maritime agency reports
CBS/AFP
A tanker sailing off the north coast of Qatar reported being struck “by multiple projectiles,” causing an unspecified number of casualties, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Wednesday.
The incident took place 59 miles off the coast of Madinat ash Shamal, a coastal city in the Persian Gulf, the British maritime agency said, adding that authorities were investigating. It did not specify the ship’s origin.
“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” the agency’s statement said.
3 killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports, aviation authority says
Three people were killed and dozens more wounded in Houthi attacks on two airports in Saudi Arabia Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Saudi aviation authority.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been regularly targeting airports and oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia as they also battle Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces in the western part of Yemen.
Two people were killed and 28 injured in an attack on Abha International Airport, which is located about 40 miles north of the Yemen border.
A third person was killed at King Khalid International Airport, which is in the capital of Riyadh. Unlike Abha, Riyadh is located hundreds of miles into the interior of the country. There were also eight injuries in that strike, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
The Houthis had said earlier in the day they had targeted King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile, the latest in repeated salvos aimed at the site.
“Our armed forces have just targeted King Khalid Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile. The strike was accurate, by God’s grace, and led to a disruption of air traffic at the airport,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on X.
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