live US Withdraws Bombers From UK Base Amid Reports Of Iran Plot

Two members of Iran's UN delegation have been "kicked out" of the United States after they ignored an order to leave the country, the State Department said on October 3.

"Two more members of the Iranian delegation were found still in [New York] long after the United Nations General Assembly had passed. They have now been kicked out of the US," a US official told AFP, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "means business."

US media reports said the State Department had told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and his delegation to leave the country and resorted to expelling the two members after learning from Iran's UN mission that they were still in the country as of October 2.

One member left late on October 2, while the second departed early on October 3, Axios reported.

Talks between Washington and Tehran to end their conflict and reopen the important Strait of Hormuz have appeared to reach an impasse, with no new discussions scheduled at this time.

With reporting by AFP and Axios

Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels reportedly exchanged air strikes on October 3, with the Western journalists spotting flames and smoke billowing from multiple sites.

The Houthis claimed an attack on an oil facility near the Saudi capital, Riyadh and accused Saudi forces of striking the rebel-held Yemeni capital, Sanaa, dozens of times.

The bitter enemies have exchanged strikes since the Houthis seized all of Yemen's Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandab strait in a September offensive.

The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV reported that "Saudi enemy aircraft" hit Sanaa with 26 strikes, and two AFP journalists in the city reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles at multiple sites.

The internationally recognized -- and Saudi-backed -- government of Yemen is now based in the city of Aden after the rebels captured Sanaa in 2014.

Meanwhile, an AFP journalist in neighboring Saudi Arabia reported seeing flames and smoke at an Aramco oil facility south of Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm the attack on the Aramco site. The ‌Houthis last week said they had attacked Aramco facilities in Yanbu ⁠with missiles and drones.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Two separate counterterrorism investigations in Britain involving Iranian nationals have raised questions over alleged plots targeting Jewish and military sites.

Two Iranian men, Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, were charged in London on October 3 over an alleged plot to target Manchester's Jewish community with a homemade bomb.

Prosecutors allege they obtained instructions to make a chlorine bomb, acquired components for an improvised explosive device and carried out reconnaissance of potential targets, including Heaton Park synagogue and Manchester's Jewish Museum.

The men, who arrived in Britain by small boat, were arrested in Manchester on the eve of the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.

Prosecutors allege they were directed by an Iranian individual believed to be in Iran. Both were remanded in custody.

Separately, a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual national arrested over a major incident near the RAF Fairford air base was released on bail, police said.

Five other men arrested in connection with the incident were also released on bail.

Police were called after reports of suspicious vans near the Gloucestershire air base, which is used by the US military. No explosives were found.

British officials have cited possible Iranian involvement, while Tehran has rejected the allegations.

Iran has executed Siavash Jamshidi, who was arrested during the deadly January protests.

The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency on October 3 said Jamshidi was convicted of “mohrebeh” -- or waging war against God -- for allegedly carrying and firing a firearm, as well as “assembly and collusion against national security.”

The report claimed that Jamshidi had a criminal record and opened fire on security forces in Shahrekord on January 8, the height of the protests, before fleeing. He was arrested two days later. His death sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court, Mizan said.

The report provided no details about the timing of his trial, due process, or whether he had access to a lawyer of his choice.

His execution came days after 46 countries condemned Iran’s continued use of the death penalty in a joint statement to the UN Human Rights Council, citing concerns over unfair trials, torture, and executions used to suppress dissent.

Iran has acknowledged executing more than 30 people detained during the protests. Rights groups say dozens more remain at risk of execution. UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato has called for an immediate halt to executions.

UK police said in a statement released on October 2 that two Iranian men had been charged with plotting a terror attack on Manchester's Jewish community in September.

The statement identified the suspects as Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, and Rahman Salehi, 34, of Salford, adding that they were allegedly in contact with an overseas third party, possibly in Iran, in connection with the plot.

In a separate incident last week, five British men in their 20s were arrested on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences near RAF Fairford, an airbase in western England used by the US military to target Iran. They were released on bail as the investigation continued.

British counterterrorism detectives said there was no connection between the latest case and the one involving the Fairford base.

"While this incident and the investigation into the RAF Fairford incident are not connected in any way, I want to reassure the public that CTP, working with our national security partners, are using the full range of our capabilities to protect the UK from any hostile acts," Counter Terrorism Policing Counter Terrorism Policing coordinator Vicki Evans said,

With reporting by Reuters

WASHINGTON -- As the conflict between the United States and Iran reverberates across the region, Iraq is facing growing pressure from the war's economic and security fallout, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told RFE/RL in Washington.

Iraq has been hit by attacks, disruptions to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, and the risk of being drawn deeper into a confrontation between Washington and Tehran. Hussein said Baghdad wants the United States and Iran to return to negotiations and is prepared to facilitate talks if both sides approach Iraq.

At the same time, Hussein described the end of the US military mission in Iraq as “a new chapter” in Iraqi sovereignty and in the relationship between Baghdad and Washington, saying the two countries plan to strengthen ties.

RFE/RL: After two decades, the US military mission in Iraq has ended. What does this historic moment mean for Iraq?

Fuad Hussein: It is a new page in our political situation, because the Americans were there from 2003 in Baghdad. I am talking about Baghdad until 2011. Then they left, and because of the attacks of the terrorists and [Islamic State, also known as ISIS] terrorist groups, once again the Americans came back -- but not only the Americans. Many allies came back to Iraq to fight and destroy the terrorist organization. We worked together. We fought together. We are, in the first place, thankful to the American people, to the American government, and to other allies who were with us when we were in need, and we fought together, we destroyed ISIS.

So this is important in our history. And now they left. That doesn't mean we are going to have a different policy, different relationship. We are going to strengthen our relationship with the United States, but in different other fields, of course: economy, energy, political. But also, we are planning to start discussions with the American side, so that we can have a security agreement on a bilateral level.

Read more here

Forty-six countries submitted a joint statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council on September 30, condemning Iran's escalating use of the death penalty.

The signatories expressed particular concern over the execution of people arrested during the January 2026 protests and called on Iran to immediately halt executions.

The statement, supported by all European Union members except Poland, as well as 20 other countries including Britain, Canada, Ukraine, and Switzerland, was delivered by Liechtenstein's representative, Daniel Batliner.

"No one should be subjected to execution for exercising fundamental rights such as freedom of expression or demanding to be heard," the statement said.

Citing findings and reports by United Nations experts, including the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, the signatories said Iran's use of the death penalty against protesters was aimed at "instilling fear, suppressing dissent, and deterring peaceful expression and assembly."

The countries also expressed concern about the lack of fair trials consistent with international standards, the use of torture and ill-treatment, coerced confessions, and enforced disappearances. They called on Iran to end those practices, particularly executions of protesters.

The statement said at least 31 people had been executed in connection with the protests, with dozens more sentenced to death or at imminent risk of execution.

UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato welcomed the statement, saying: "The need for a moratorium pending abolition has never been greater."

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran also called on Iranian authorities in July to immediately halt executions and move toward a complete moratorium on the death penalty.

The flow of crude from the Persian Gulf has recovered to near-prewar levels, but the latest data shows that much of the oil is reaching markets through routes and shipping arrangements that did not exist before the war, raising the question as to whether Iran is losing its leverage in the Strait of Hormuz.

At least 16.5 million barrels per day of crude left the region between September 1 and 28, matching the prewar average when Iran is excluded, according to commodity analytics firm Kpler.

But while crude levels have risen, the refinery bottleneck that has caused a global spike in diesel prices persists. European Union figures published on October 1 showed diesel pump prices at record levels. Prices have also surged in the United States despite the recovery in oil exports.

The route, meanwhile, has changed dramatically.

Read more here

WASHINGTON -- US authorities designated the A7 financial network as a "significant transnational criminal organization" in the latest step by Western authorities to try and choke the sprawling Kremlin-backed scheme to evade sanctions.

The move, announced by the US Treasury Department on October 1, comes as A7 -- backed by a fugitive Moldovan oligarch and a major Russian Defense Ministry-linked bank -- continues to grow, by some expert accounts, exponentially.

Treasury said the A7 network of companies, known as subagents, disguised payments involving sanctioned entities as legitimate commercial transactions, helping Russian and Iranian entities move money outside traditional banking channels, including to facilitate Iranian oil sales and weapons procurement.

"Treasury is dismantling the financial infrastructure that allows Iran and other adversaries to evade sanctions, move illicit funds, and undermine the integrity of the global financial system," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

To read the full report, click here.

The United States is reinforcing its military presence in the Middle East as tensions with Iran remain high and President Donald Trump weighs whether to resume large-scale military operations against Tehran.

The US military has recently deployed additional Patriot air-defense systems to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to protect key energy facilities from possible Iranian attacks, Axios reported, citing US officials and a regional source. One battery was sent to protect an oil facility in Saudi Arabia and another to protect a natural-gas facility in Qatar.

The United States is also sending additional naval forces to the region, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious ready group. The deployments could bring the number of US carrier strike groups in the region to three, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal reported.

Iran has meanwhile warned that a renewed US attack could trigger a broader response. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Iran would change the "geography of war," weapons, and targets if hostilities resumed.

Iranian Army spokesman Mohammad Akrami-Nia said the armed forces had used the cease-fire to update their "target bank," optimize equipment, and introduce new equipment.

Reuters reported on October 1, citing three senior Iranian officials and an insider familiar with the discussions, that Iran was preparing a "broader and more forceful response" if the United States resumes large-scale attacks. Iranian commanders were reviewing plans to expand potential targets beyond US-linked assets to countries supporting US military operations and potentially locations outside the Middle East.

Two officials said Iran had also instructed allied groups in Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq to prepare for a coordinated response. No final decision had been made, Reuters reported.