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Iran denies backing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia amid fresh missile, drone interceptions
Iran on Friday denied any connection with strikes by Yemen’s Houthis, a day after Saudi Arabia accused Tehran of urging the group to escalate its recent attacks on the country.
Pro-Iran Houthis have launched numerous attacks on Saudi targets since Yemen’s civil conflict reignited in July, including Red Sea ships, oil facilities and Riyadh’s international airport, where 13 people died in one incident last week.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government has been supported by a Saudi-led military coalition for almost a decade. On Friday it reported intercepting more missiles and drones as the monarchy came under relentless attack from the Houthis.
A Saudi foreign ministry official alleged a day earlier that Iran had “encouraged” the escalation, a charge Tehran denied.Iran denies any allegations it has helped in the (Yemeni) Houthi operations,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement.But the Yemeni armed forces behave according to their own interests and assessments, and such allegations are not plausible for those who are familiar with the connections between Iran and its friends. But Iran does not think escalation of hostilities would be in the interests of any party,” he said.
Saudi official Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Dr Rayed Krimly said the Houthis had turned down an offer to meet in Oman at the start of the latest round of hostilities.
But Baqaei repeated Tehran’s offer to intervene between the two parties, adding that Iran “has always been ready to use its good offices to help end the hostilities”.
The Saudi-led military coalition said on Friday it had “intercepted and destroyed three drones in the southern area and Riyadh… and two cruise missiles over the Red Sea,” a spokesman for the alliance said.
And “in the past hours we intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile over Yanbu”, a city on the Red Sea coast that is the end of a major oil pipeline, he said.
Houthi attacks have grown since the group’s rapid advance in Yemen in September, when it seized critical territory controlled by government forces along the Red Sea coast overlooking a vital chokepoint for global shipping.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is facing rising pressure at a time when global energy markets are already in turmoil due to Iran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the broader Middle East war in February.
Airports strike
On Thursday, the UN Security Council “condemned in the strongest terms continued and escalatory Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, as well as their “attacks and threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb” Strait, the southern gateway to the Suez Canal.
The Security Council also condemned the group’s “irresponsible attacks” on the airport in Riyadh, which the Saudi-led coalition says have attacked the airport at least 20 times so far this month.
On Thursday, Saudi foreign ministry official Krimly accused Iran of continuing “to arm, train and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions”.
Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi air support, have launched a counteroffensive to reclaim territories held by the Houthis, but so far have failed to reverse their advances.
On Friday, the local security office in Aden, the government’s interim capital, said two missiles had fallen inside the boundary of the city’s airport “in the second incident of its kind in less than a week,” and no one was injured.
A military source stated in a statement that the Houthis had targeted “the command headquarters of the Saudi forces” and a weapons stockpile.
The day before, the organization launched a fatal missile attack on the presidential palace in Aden, killing five people and wounded 16, the health minister said.
Yemeni Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani condemned the “cowardly” conduct on X, saying it was a “continuation of (the Houthis’) criminal pattern”.
One minister of the government, who declined to be named, claimed the Houthis had gone after command centers for Yemeni and Saudi coalition forces at the palace complex.
Media loyal to the Houthis stated the attack targeted “the headquarters of military operations, led by Saudi officers, at the Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden”.
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Sindh rules out MQM rally on Shahrah-e-Faisal, says Sharjeel Memon
— Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will not be allowed to hold a rally at Shahrah-e-Faisal.
Memon told reporters after the Sindh Cabinet meeting that political parties should get permission from the relevant authorities and hold rallies peacefully and in accordance with the law. He said that no political party is allowed to hold rallies on King Faisal Day.
Memon said that the government will not allow an incident like May 12 to recur. He added that all political parties are free to conduct political activities within the scope of the constitution and law, but no political party can impose its decisions on the government. He said the government would not allow confrontation or riots. The senior minister said that the Pakistan People’s Party and the Sindh government have made their position clear on provincial autonomy and provincial rights. He said that no law or decision could supersede the Sindh Assembly, which had already taken a decision on the matter, stressing that the constitution and laws should prevail.
Memon said the cabinet had approved reducing the release price of government wheat from Rs5,000 to Rs4,500 per 40 kilograms. He said the new price had begun lowering flour prices by Rs17 per kilogram. The Cabinet also approved the registration of Lady Dufferin Hospital Trust under the Sindh Trusts Act, 2020.
It approved additional funds of Rs 50,240,000 for five development projects in Jamshoro district and Rs 299,300,000 for improvement of water supply and drainage scheme in Nawabshah city Shaheed Benazirabad district. Memon said a Cabinet committee has been constituted to resolve the issues related to Kutch abadis and formulate laws and proposals for single window operations.
He added that strict measures are being taken to ensure the enforcement of traffic rules. To improve the traffic system of the city, a traffic management authority would be established and a smart traffic management system would be implemented in Karachi.
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Iran war played a role in Republicans’ losses in midterm elections, admits Trump
President Donald Trump acknowledged that the war in Iran played a role in Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections, as Democrats prepare to take control of both the US House and Senate and challenge his legislative agenda.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said Democrats would send legislation to his desk that he considered “insane” and he would veto it. “They’re going to send some crazy stuff and I’m going to veto them,” he said. “After months of vetoes, they’ll call and say, ‘How do we get this done?’ We will work together.”
Trump said the Iran war has put pressure on Republican candidates, even as voters support his handling of the war. “I think part of it is Iran, but also people understand the importance of what I’m doing with Iran,” he said.
Protesters gather outside the White House to cheer the results of the midterm elections on November 4, 2026 in Washington, USA. – Reuters
Protesters gather outside the White House to cheer midterm election results in Washington, DC, the United States, on November 4, 2026. — Reuters
His remarks came as Democrats won majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, sweeping victories that cut into Republican strongholds as tens of thousands of voters lashed out at Trump. The size and breadth of the Democratic wave remains a focus, but the party has been winning in states long considered out of reach, including conservative strongholds like South Carolina, Texas and Iowa.
The Democratic surge reflects voters’ deep disillusionment with Trump’s economy and his February decision to go to war with Iran, which has sent natural gas prices soaring. In poll after poll, voters express dismay at the cost of living and anger at Trump’s handling of the issue.
In Kansas, megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat since the Great Depression nearly a century ago.
In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown claimed a seat that belonged to Vice President JD Vance two years ago, while Texas Democratic state Representative James Talarico withstood a barrage of outside spending to defeat scandal-plagued Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Both Ohio and Texas voted for Trump by a double-digit margin in 2024. In South Carolina, which Trump won by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024, pediatrician Annie Andrews defeated Republican Sen. Darlene Graham, who was appointed to the state after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Despite their clearly defined responsibilities, Trump promoted Paxton and Graham as better candidates. Paxton has been at the center of many controversies, including his 2023 impeachment and securities fraud charges, while Graham’s admitted lack of experience has drawn negative headlines.
Trump campaigned heavily for Paxton, Graham and Ohio Rep. John Husted in a late-election rally that included more than two dozen rallies, with the president repeatedly urging supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” in an effort to fire up his base. On Tuesday night, as it became clear that Republicans were in danger of losing their majority in Congress, Trump wrote on social media: “I was not at the polls, if I had been we would have won by a landslide! Thanks for the attention.”
Democrats picked up six GOP Senate seats and won a majority, though they failed to hold on to the hotly contested states of Michigan and Minnesota.
Democrats are also poised to take control of the US House of Representatives after picking up at least eight Republican seats in states including Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina, flexing their muscles even in deeply conservative districts. The party’s dominance extends to other ethnic groups as well. Three-term Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lost to Democrat Gina Hinojos, who also won governorships in conservative Iowa and Ohio. Winner says it’s a condemnation of Trump
“In a broad and decisive victory, the American people condemned the depravity, corruption and incompetence of President Donald Trump,” Georgia’s eventual winner, Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, told supporters at a victory party. In Florida, Republican Sen. Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Angie Nixon, but only by about 3 points in a state where Trump leads by 13 points in 2024, according to data compiled by Reuters and USA Today, showing that even staunchly Republican states are shifting rapidly to Democrats.
Democrats held on to three Florida House districts that were redrawn by Republican lawmakers earlier this year, all of which gave Trump support of at least 9 percentage points. Half of voters nationwide said they saw the 2026 midterm elections as an opportunity to reprimand the president, and three-quarters said they were “angry” or “disappointed” with the way the country is headed, according to polls conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of U.S. media outlets including major television networks and the Associated Press.
Additionally, 70% of voters said they want Congress to give the president more checks and balances.
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Joint meeting of opposition parties to be held in Islamabad today
A joint meeting of the opposition parties will be held in Islamabad at 5 pm today,
The meeting will be held at the residence of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) Ameer Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar, PTI leader Asad Qaisar, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai will also attend the meeting.
The participants of the meeting will review the current political situation of the country and other important matters.
They will also discuss the opposition’s activities inside the parliament and the resolution of internal differences. The meeting will discuss future courses of action to reduce political tension.
The release of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan will also be discussed during the meeting.
Sources said that invitations had been sent to all opposition leaders.
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