Morning update

3 November 2026 08:14 GMT Good morning Middle East Eye readers, Here are the latest developments: An Iranian military spokesperson has warned that any renewed attacks by the US will be met with a "harder and broader" response compared to Tehran's past retaliations. He said that if a new war broke out, then the "geography of the conflict will not remain limited to the West Asia region", adding that US "facilities, equipment, personnel, and interests in any location within reach could become targets". Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the US said that the ball was in Washington's court to "prevent war". "The countries of the region should know that, just as the Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready for battle with its finger on the trigger, it has also given the American side a powerful and rational response," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a televised speech. Explosions were heard overnight in southern Iran's Qesh Island and Bandar Lengeh. Later, reports confirmed that the US military was responsible for the strikes. The strikes come despite US president Donald Trump's remarks saying he would not launch attacks against Iran after the midterms. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated that talks between Tehran and Saudi Arabia are ongoing. "In my interview with Al Jazeera network, I affirmed that we harbour no hostility toward the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and we appreciate the positive role played by Qatar and Oman, and we continue the dialogue with Saudi Arabia," he said in a post on X. US President Donald Trump said that Washington may need to "go after" a suspected underground nuclear complex in Iran, known as Pickaxe Mountain, if there is no deal reached. "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. Trump also did not rule out the possibility of resuming the war on Iran. The Yemeni army said that it launched 951 operations targeting Houthi positions over the past 24 hours as part of Operation Dawn of Yemen. Army spokesperson Majed al-Nuzaili claimed in a post on X that the operations had "neutralized" around 332 Houthi field commanders and fighters. One Indian was killed after an attack on a commercial vessel near Limah in Oman, the Indian foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Among the 14 Indian nationals on board the MSV AL JUSUFI, 13 were rescued after the incident occurred on Monday.