US Preparing for Prolonged Conflict with Iran

The United States is preparing for a prolonged conflict with Iran and could maintain a naval blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has said. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is considering fresh large-scale military strikes against Iran after the US midterm elections.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Waltz said Washington still wanted Tehran to resume negotiations over its nuclear programme and reach a meaningful agreement. However, the United States was prepared to maintain the blockade even if no deal was reached or shipping through the Strait of Hormuz failed to return to pre-war levels.

“The president and the US Navy are capable of maintaining this blockade for the foreseeable future,” Waltz said.

He added that Washington would not consider its objectives achieved until Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile was dealt with and an agreement was reached on domestic uranium enrichment.

Meanwhile, The Atlantic reported that Trump was considering several days of air strikes on Iran’s missile and drone facilities, energy infrastructure and nuclear installations after the midterm elections. US officials said no final decision had been made on further attacks before the November 3 election.

The report suggested that Washington was keeping its next move uncertain to maintain political and economic pressure on Tehran.

Earlier, Trump claimed at a campaign rally in Iowa that more oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz last week than before the war, attributing the increase to the US naval blockade. Iran rejected the claim.

IRGC Navy commander Ali Ozmaei, according to Iranian media reports, claimed that US forces had been pushed hundreds of kilometres away from the Strait of Hormuz and no longer had a presence in the Persian Gulf. The claim could not be independently verified.

Iran Threatens Retaliatory Strikes on Oil and AI Infrastructure

Iran has threatened to target oil facilities, undersea internet cables, data centres and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure across the Gulf if the United States and Israel launch fresh attacks.

Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei issued the warning, according to reports published by The Guardian and other media outlets on October 22. Iranian officials said Tehran’s retaliation would extend across a wider area if a new war broke out.

The officials warned that there would be no “red lines” if Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched further attacks.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also claimed to have attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Rising tensions along the vital shipping route have raised concerns about global energy supplies.

Iranian officials have warned that a renewed conflict could lead to retaliatory strikes across a wider geographical area, potentially targeting oil facilities, data centres, AI infrastructure and undersea communication cables in Gulf countries.

US Orders Non-Essential Personnel to Leave Saudi Arabia

The United States has ordered non-essential government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia amid rising security threats linked to the conflict involving Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Four people were killed in separate attacks on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and the Shaybah oil field, according to Saudi authorities. Two people, a Saudi citizen and an Indian national, were killed in the airport attack. At Shaybah, debris from an intercepted drone killed two people from the Philippines and Nepal.

The incidents also left several people injured, including foreign nationals.

Amid fears of further attacks, Saudi state oil company Aramco ordered employees at its headquarters in Dhahran to work from home. Some staff had already been moved to remote working arrangements following earlier attacks.

A building in the area housing the company’s operations centre in Dhahran was reportedly hit. The full extent of the damage has not been confirmed.

Foreign Ministers of Eight Countries Meet in Istanbul

Foreign ministers from eight countries met in Istanbul on October 23 to discuss regional security, the Strait of Hormuz, the Yemen crisis, the Palestinian issue and wider international conflicts.

Hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the meetings brought together representatives from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Britain, France, Germany and Italy. The talks brought the R4 group- Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia together with European counterparts.

Britain and France pledged cooperation to protect Saudi Arabia and regional waterways.

Fidan said lasting solutions could not be imposed from outside the region, stressing that regional countries themselves must take responsibility for ensuring security.

Oil Prices Hit Four-Year High

Crude oil prices rose to their highest levels in more than four years amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and fears of further disruption to global energy supplies.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, reached $116.20 a barrel on October 23, its highest level since June 2022. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to $102.50 a barrel, its highest level in five weeks.

The sharp rise in oil prices has raised concerns about renewed inflationary pressure in countries dependent on energy imports. Emerging economies in Asia could be particularly vulnerable to the impact.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Gulf News, Reuters, AFP, Financial Times and The Guardian.