By Federica Marsi and Stephen Quillen
- The United States military has carried out “limited defensive” strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz following surface-to-air missile threats against US assets, according to the Associated Press.
- US Vice President JD Vance says Washington has made “progress” in indirect peace talks with Iran, while Tehran insists the US must lift its naval blockade and meet its demands before any agreement is reached.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says two crude oil tankers caught fire after hitting sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz as Gulf nations condemn Friday’s attack on a Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.
- Yemen’s internationally recognised government forces say one soldier has been killed and 14 others wounded while repelling a Houthi attack in the governorate of Taiz.
Al Jazeera correspondent released in West Bank after hours in detention
Al Jazeera can confirm that Israeli occupation forces have released its correspondent Montaser Nassar after detaining him for several hours in Dura, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
Nassar was detained earlier during military raids across the Hebron governorate alongside 21 other Palestinians.
Iran executes 2 men over killings of police officers during January protests
Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency has reported the executions of two men convicted of involvement in the killings of four police officers in the central city of Isfahan during nationwide protests in January.
Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi were hanged after judicial proceedings and confirmation of their sentences by the Supreme Court, Tasnim reported.
It added that the two men participated in January 8 attacks on citizens and security forces with a group of rioters using firearms, incendiary devices and other weapons, resulting in the deaths of four unarmed officers and widespread destruction of public and private property.
Iran blames US and Israeli ‘mercenaries’ for police officer killing
An Iranian police officer has been killed in an armed attack in the city of Saravan, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The officer, named Hojjat Vafakardeh, was killed while leaving his home.
Tasnim blamed “mercenaries” affiliated with the US and Israel for the killing, which it called a “terrorist attack”.
Al Jazeera correspondent among 21 Palestinians arrested in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have arrested 21 Palestinians from the town of Dura, southwest of Hebron, following raids on their homes, the Wafa news agency has reported.
Among those arrested was Al Jazeera’s correspondent Montaser Nassar.
Israeli forces also raided the town of al-Burj, in the southern part of the Hebron governorate.
The Palestinian news agency reported separate raids in the al-Fara refugee camp and the town of Tammun, in the Tubas governorate.
![Al Jazeera’s West Bank correspondent Montaser Nassar [Al Jazeera]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/image-1793677898.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C433&quality=80)
Al Jazeera’s West Bank correspondent Montaser Nassar [Al Jazeera]
Iranian military warns US of ‘harder and broader’ response to aggression
An Iranian military spokesman warns that any renewed US aggression will meet an immediate and broader response, expanding beyond West Asia, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.
Spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said any future US military venture would face an attack “harder and broader than in the past”. He warned that if a new war broke out, “the geography of the conflict will not remain limited to the West Asia region.”
Akraminia added that Iran’s armed forces were actively updating their target bank to attack all forms of enemy assets. In the event of renewed conflict, he said, US “facilities, equipment, personnel, and interests in any location within reach could become targets.”
He also claimed that enemies had attempted to establish a ground front along Iran’s western borders by equipping antigovernment groups based in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. However, he said the deployment of Iranian military units and “preemptive operations against these groups’ positions” successfully thwarted their plans.
If you’re just joining us
Here’s what happened overnight:
- The United States has conducted “defensive” strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, officials tell US media, following reports of blasts on Iran’s Qeshm Island.
- US President Donald Trump says the US “might have to go after” a suspected underground nuclear complex in Iran, known as Pickaxe Mountain.
- Oil prices rose in early trade on Tuesday following a report that the US has struck Iran’s Qeshm Island. Brent crude futures gained 48 cents, or 0.5 percent, to reach $105.25 a barrel as of 01:04 GMT.
- Israeli forces have detained Al Jazeera correspondent Montaser Nassar following a raid on his home in the town of Dura, southwest of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.
- Yemen’s internationally recognised government has urged the UN Security Council to take greater action to stop Iran from transferring weapons to the Houthis.
- US Vice President JD Vance says there was “progress” in indirect peace talks with Iran, but Tehran insists Washington must lift its naval blockade and meet its demands before any agreement can be reached.
1h ago (04:45 GMT)
Beijing steps up Middle East diplomacy in Iran and Oman talks
China is stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, including over the US-Israel war on Iran, following a lapse in activity.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met a senior Iranian security official in Beijing on Monday, while Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq for a landmark state visit.
Wang told Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, that dialogue and negotiation remained “the only viable path forward” as conflicts in the region “drag on and risk further spillover”.
Beijing steps up Middle East diplomacy in Iran and Oman talks
China is stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, including over the US-Israel war on Iran, following a lapse in activity.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met a senior Iranian security official in Beijing on Monday, while Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq for a landmark state visit.
Wang told Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, that dialogue and negotiation remained “the only viable path forward” as conflicts in the region “drag on and risk further spillover”.
Read more here.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq shake hands following a signing ceremony during the sultan’s state visit to China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 2, 2026
US carried out ‘defensive’ strikes in Strait of Hormuz: Here’s what we know
Iranian media have reported explosions on Qeshm Island after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have downed two US drones in the Strait of Hormuz, as US officials confirmed American military strikes on the island.
Here is what has been reported so far:
- Five explosions were heard on Iran’s Qeshm Island, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
- The IRGC said in a statement that it brought down two US MQM-170 drones, which it described as reconnaissance aircraft, south of Qeshm Island and a US MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.
- The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that the United States military carried out air attacks against Qeshm Island.
- US officials told the Journal that the action was part of a series of limited strikes Washington secretly carried out against Iranian targets in recent weeks.
- The strikes were “limited” with no immediate plans to escalate, officials told The New York Times, adding that previous operations targeted empty cruise missile launchers after the IRGC shot down an American drone and missed two US fighter jets flying over the Strait of Hormuz.
- A US official told the Associated Press news agency that the US conducted “defensive” strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Axios reported, citing a US official, that a US fighter jet destroyed an Iranian surface-to-air missile launcher after the IRGC fired at a US aircraft from Qeshm Island.
- Another source told the US-based outlet NewsNation that the US military struck radar detectors and missile launchers on Qeshm Island.
Yemeni government urges action to stop weapons reaching Houthis
Yemen’s internationally recognised government has urged the UN Security Council to take greater action to stop Iran from transferring weapons to the Houthis.
The appeal came during a briefing submitted by Yemen’s envoy to the UN, Abdullah al-Saadi, to the UN secretary-general and the Security Council regarding the ongoing military escalation by Iran-backed Houthi forces and their repeated targeting of civilians, vital infrastructure, and state institutions.
Al-Saadi urged states to take action after a ballistic missile attack on a health centre in Lahij killed five people on Monday, warning that it was indicative of a “serious and systematic pattern of Houthi attacks on civilians.”
He also condemned a Houthi ballistic missile attack on Aden’s airport on Friday, adding that it was the seventh such attack in the space of a month.
Al-Saadi called for “more decisive and effective international action that goes beyond statements of concern and condemnation”.
![Smoke rising after a missile targeted Yemen's Aden airport, October 28, 2026 [AFPTV/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/afp_6ae274862a95-1793225862.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Smoke rises after a missile targeted Yemen’s Aden airport, October 28 [AFP]
‘Civilians in Yemen are paying a brutal price’, UN relief chief warns
UN relief chief Tom Fletcher warns that civilians in Yemen are paying a brutal price as escalating conflict forces nearly 300,000 people from their homes and starves key cities of essential supplies.
Writing on X, Fletcher, who serves as the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, demanded an immediate end to road blockades and the detention of aid personnel. “Civilians in Yemen are paying a brutal price for this conflict. We have food and medicine ready to move into Taiz. Open the roads. Let aid in. Release humanitarians,” he said.
In a fuller statement, Fletcher highlighted the catastrophic collapse of basic services in Taiz, where water production had halved, food prices had soared by at least 50 percent and hospitals had run out of fuel and medicines. He said he had spoken with Yemen’s foreign minister, Afrah al-Zouba, about securing full access for humanitarian teams, who have reached nearly 260,000 displaced people despite mounting obstacles.
Fletcher expressed outrage over the death of UN human rights colleague Mohammad al-Shami in Houthi custody and called for the immediate release of 70 UN staff and dozens of other detained humanitarians, stressing that aid workers “are not bargaining chips”.
Civilians in Yemen are paying a brutal price for this conflict. We have food and medicine ready to move into Taiz. Open the roads. Let aid in. Release humanitarians. https://t.co/dBaVEETtRh
— Tom Fletcher (@UNReliefChief) November 2, 2026
Arab parties offer backing for Eisenkot amid Israel coalition talks
Israel’s Arab parties, which won a record 19 seats in last week’s general election, are set to back opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc, further denting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances of leading another government.
The main Jewish opposition bloc, which includes four parties, fell short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, but joining forces with the two main groups that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel could help avoid a political deadlock and another election.
Already, the “Change” opposition bloc has pledged not to join forces with Netanyahu, citing security failures that led to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial.
But taking support from the Arab parties – whether as part of the ruling coalition or as outside support – also poses a challenge for Eisenkot from the right, at a time when leaders and parties, including Netanyahu, have been openly deploying anti-Arab racism to woo Jewish voters.
Read more here.
A pedestrian walks past campaign billboards for the Ra’am party, left, and the Joint List of Arab-led parties, right, in the Bedouin city of Rahat, southern Israel, on November 1, 2026
Israeli forces release Syrian man detained in southern Syria
Israeli forces have released a young Syrian man detained in southern Syria’s Quneitra province, near the occupied Golan Heights, according to Syrian state television.
Israeli troops took him into custody on Sunday at a checkpoint on the road connecting Khan Arnabah and Ofania, according to the report.
![An Israeli tank stands in position near the ceasefire line between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, on its Israeli side [Ayal Margolin/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026-08-20T145844Z_607844057_RC2B2NAKHJYC_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-SYRIA-1791858363.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
An Israeli tank stands in position on the Israeli-occupied side of the ceasefire line between the Golan Heights and Syria on August 20, 2026.
Trump says US ‘might have to go after’ Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain if no deal
US President Donald Trump says the US “might have to go after” a suspected underground nuclear complex known as Pickaxe Mountain.
“We might have to go after Pickaxe. We can do that in one hour, as soon as we want, at any time we want,” Trump told Fox News.
The US president did not rule out the possibility of war with Iran reigniting. “It could happen if they don’t make a deal, but they want to make a deal very badly and there is a very good chance we make a deal,” he said.
“If I can make a deal, I would rather do it, [it would] save a lot of lives,” Trump added.
Trump’s remarks came shortly after the United States military carried out “limited defensive” strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz following surface-to-air missile threats against US assets, according to the Associated Press news agency.
US President Donald Trump delivers a speech on the eve of the midterm elections at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, on November 2, 2026 [Mandel Ngan/AFP]
Original source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/11/3/iran-war-live-vance-sees-progress-in-talks-tehran-says-ball-in-us-court