Iran USA Conflict Live Blog / Updates

06:01 3m ago

Iran examining Qatari proposals on nuclear dispute with US, Reuters reports

Iran is examining proposals from Qatar, the main mediator, aimed at bridging differences with the US over its nuclear programme, Reuters reports, citing two Middle Eastern sources on Friday 6 November, as relayed by Newsbeep.

Bloomberg, also cited by Newsbeep, quotes a diplomat familiar with the talks as saying Tehran is showing a willingness to discuss nuclear issues it had previously refused to negotiate.

The New York Times, as cited by World Israel News, reports that five officials described "concrete proposals" on the nuclear programme under consideration in Qatari-mediated talks in Doha. One of the officials is American and two are Iranian. The report gives no detail of what the proposals contain. Qatari representatives are also said to have met Iranian officials in Armenia.

If accurate, the reports would mark a shift from Tehran's public position, according to Newsbeep, which is that nuclear talks can begin only after the war ends. Trump insists the nuclear issue must be part of any deal. None of the reports has been independently checked.

The reports follow Axios's account of Vice President JD Vance's role in indirect talks with Iran, and Qatar's denial that negotiations had failed.

06:01 3m ago

Israeli army keeps readiness for possible Iran strike, Yedioth Ahronoth reports

The Israeli military is maintaining its readiness for a possible major operation against Iran while it waits for Washington's next move, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday 6 November.

According to the paper, as reported by Kurdistan24, a strike on Iran remains possible after the Israeli and US elections. It says the IDF is refining its procedures in the meantime.

Yedioth Ahronoth also reports that Israeli defence officials are trying to understand whether fighting will resume and what its objectives would be. It says no dramatic changes have been detected in the build-up of US forces in the region.

This is a newspaper report rather than an official statement. Its claims have not been independently checked.

03:46 2h ago

Iranian state media report explosions on Qeshm and in Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas

Iranian state media report explosions on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and in the cities of Jask, Sirik and Bandar Abbas, according to Al Jazeera's live blog for 8 November.

The cause of the blasts has not been established. The reports do not attribute them to the US, and they have not been independently checked.

The reports come after Trump confirmed "minor strikes" on Qeshm on 6 November.

03:46 2h ago Breaking

US aircraft disables cargo ship M/V Huda in Gulf of Oman over Iran blockade

A US military aircraft has fired precision munitions at the stern of the St Kitts-flagged cargo ship M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command (CENTCOM) says. According to CENTCOM, the vessel was trying to breach the US blockade of Iran.

CENTCOM says the strike took place on Saturday 7 November, after the civilian crew had been warned to leave the targeted areas. It says the ship had visited an Iranian port and was trying to leave regional waters.

CENTCOM has also released running totals for the blockade. It says US forces have redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied with blockade orders since July. It says they have disabled five merchant ships that refused to comply.

It adds that US forces previously destroyed 10 Iranian commercial oil tankers. CENTCOM says these belonged to what it called the IRGC's multibillion-dollar shadow network.

Separately, UK Maritime Trade Operations says it received a report of an incident involving a bulk carrier and military forces about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan, UAE.

CENTCOM's figures have not been independently checked. The strike has been reported by Iran International, The Hill and Gulf News.

03:46 2h ago

IRGC says two oil tankers hit mines in and near the Strait of Hormuz

The IRGC Navy says two oil tankers struck mines and caught fire on Saturday 7 November after using what it called unauthorised shipping routes.

In a statement reported by Iran International, the IRGC Navy says one tanker was in the eastern part of the strait and the other inside the waterway. It accuses both of repeatedly violating Iranian shipping regulations and switching off their navigation and positioning systems.

The mine claim has not been independently confirmed. Straits Daily Brief says no maritime authority has confirmed it.

Separately, Al Jazeera reports that the UAE says it rescued 22 people from a cargo ship that caught fire.

Straits Daily Brief says the UN has counted 25 seafarers killed in Strait of Hormuz incidents since 28 February. It also cites IMF PortWatch data showing one vessel transited the strait on 1 November. The pre-crisis baseline was 85 a day.

03:46 2h ago Quote

IRGC general says Iran has lifted its self-imposed limit on missile range

That restriction has been lifted for us.

Iran has lifted its self-imposed limit on the range of its ballistic missiles, according to a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Gen. Hossein Mohebbi made the announcement at a press conference in Tehran on 7 November, as reported by AP via ABC News.

He did not say whether Iran has missiles capable of going beyond the old limit. He said Iran would demonstrate its capabilities in practice.

The statement was also reported by Arab News. It is on the record, but there is no public evidence yet that Iran can strike beyond its previous range. That capability has not been independently checked.

03:29 2h ago Breaking

US Central Command sets up task force to cut Iran's land and Caspian supply routes

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has set up a new task force to stop Iran moving advanced weapons and other materials across its land borders and the Caspian Sea. The move widens the US blockade beyond Iran's sea routes.

Announcing it on Saturday 7 November, CENTCOM said the aim was "to prevent Iran from using ground routes to transport advanced weapons and other materials", Al Jazeera reports. CENTCOM's commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, said it would reinforce the "ironclad blockade" at sea.

The unit, Task Force Iron Gate, is based in Tampa, Florida, with about 20 civilian and military personnel, according to Kurdistan24. CENTCOM says it will coordinate with other US agencies on "advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue streams".

CENTCOM also says the naval blockade has stopped Iran exporting more than $25bn of crude in recent months. That figure has not been independently checked.

CBS News notes it is unclear whether any military force will be used. Michael Mulroy, a former US defence official, told Al Jazeera that any escalation would likely target economic and infrastructure sites.

Gulf News reports that the US is stepping up pressure on Iraq to shut Iran border routes. Dawn reports that Iraq's foreign minister said outside parties are using Iraqi territory to launch attacks on neighbours.

03:29 2h ago Breaking

Trump confirms 'minor strikes' on Iran, the first US strikes since the midterms

President Donald Trump has confirmed that US forces carried out “minor strikes” on an Iranian anti-aircraft system. CNBC and Al Jazeera report that these are the first US strikes on Iran since the midterm elections on Tuesday 3 November.

Speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach on Friday 6 November, he said:

“We do minor strikes, but they knock out. They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five.”

The strikes followed Iranian reports of two missiles hitting the Suza area of Qeshm Island. CNBC notes that Mr Trump did not explicitly name Qeshm.

He also told reporters: “We've made a lot of progress with Iran.” Al Jazeera reports that since the midterms he has swung between threats and hints that a resolution is near.

IRIB, citing an Iranian army statement, said air defences destroyed a US MQ-9 drone over Qeshm. The IRGC separately claimed an MQ-1, according to Al Jazeera. Neither Iranian claim has been independently checked. A CENTCOM official told Al Jazeera the situation was “relatively calm” and gave no further comment.

Mr Trump pledged in October not to strike Iran before the midterms, Time reported. That pledge did not hold. The US struck Qeshm on Monday 2 November, the day before polling, in what a US official called a “defensive measure”, according to CNBC.

03:29 2h ago

Vance leading indirect Iran talks, Axios reports, as Qatar denies negotiations failed

Vice President JD Vance has spent about two weeks personally involved in indirect talks with Iran aimed at a new ceasefire and a return to nuclear negotiations, Axios reports, citing two sources, as relayed by UNN.

Axios says Vance speaks almost daily with Qatar's Prime Minister, Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir and other mediators. About two weeks ago he wrote to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, proposing resumed direct talks. Axios sources describe progress as real but very slow.

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said at Oxford on Friday 6 November that diplomacy had slowed but not stopped. "We will never have a perfect peace deal but you can't wait for that perfect moment," he said, according to Bloomberg as quoted by The Tribune.

Shafaq News reported that he said the US and Iran had failed to reach a "comprehensive agreement". Qatar's International Media Office called reports that he said the talks failed "false and misleading". His remarks as reported by Iran International support the denial. He said engagement was less active after the election but had not stopped.

CBS News, citing a US official, reports that Trump phoned Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Friday to discuss ending the war. Trump said that day: "We are talking to them."