BREAKING: Iran’s IRGC Navy now announces that it struck four oil vessels in the northern Persian Gulf and that three more hit naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz, bringing the total to seven vessels reportedly targeted in a single night, as Brent crude surges above $111 per barrel, nearing $112, per the IRGC statement. The IRGC says the four vessels were hit simultaneously while conducting ship-to-ship oil transfers and caught fire, while the other three allegedly struck mines west of the Strait. Meanwhile, oil markets are under mounting pressure, with Brent crude climbing above $111 per barrel toward $112, with further increases expected as Trump reportedly weighs a preemptive strike on Iran.

BREAKING: Iranian officials now believe a joint U.S.-Israeli attack is imminent and instructing the country’s armed forces to directly activate the decentralized “Mosaic Defense” doctrine, with commanders reportedly receiving extensive lists of U.S. economic and political targets to strike if war erupts, per Fars News. A senior Iranian security official warned that U.S. political assets and infrastructure in countries participating in the conflict could be directly targeted. The doctrine disperses military command across 31 provincial commands, designed to allow Iran to continue fighting even if its central leadership is attacked.

BREAKING: Donald Trump has now shifted his position in the past few hours and is now reportedly considering a major preemptive strike on Iran, after giving significant weight to intelligence and assessments presented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, per Haaretz’s correspondent in the Israeli Knesset. Comes days after Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel earlier this week and held talks with Netanyahu. Meanwhile, the US just ordered the complete evacuation of its embassy staff and families from Saudi Arabia, with families in the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, and Bahrain also ordered to leave immediately.

BREAKING: The U.S. is now ordering the complete evacuation of its embassy in Saudi Arabia, with all American staff and their families instructed to depart immediately, according to a diplomatic source cited by AFP. The evacuation order reportedly extends to the families of embassy staff in the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, and Bahrain, signaling a major escalation.

BREAKING: Iran now announces that any attack, joint or separate, by the U.S. or Israel will be treated as an all-out war, with a senior security official saying that Tehran has made a “definitive decision” to respond “without any limits or restraint” and has placed its military on the highest alert, per Press TV. The warning comes as Netanyahu reportedly continues pushing for a strike on Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure before Israel’s October 27 election, despite Trump halting a planned multi-day bombing campaign at the last minute to avoid a wider war ahead of the U.S. midterms. Israeli media reports that Netanyahu is now weighing an attack without Washington’s backing. Tehran is making its position clear: if Netanyahu launches a unilateral attack, Iran says it will treat it as a joint U.S.-Israeli operation and retaliate without limits or restraint.

BREAKING: Israel almost launched a multi-day bombing campaign against Iran’s military, nuclear, and energy infrastructure, but the operation was halted at the last minute because Trump opposed starting a major war before the U.S. midterms, per the Financial Times. The IDF was fully prepared to strike on the weekend of October 10, with targets including civilian infrastructure, nuclear sites, and decapitation strikes. Netanyahu, trailing in the polls, wanted the strikes to rally his base before Israel's October 27 election, while Trump blocked it to avoid an energy price surge that would hurt Republicans on November 3. Reports also suggest Netanyahu might attack Iran as early as this week before the election without Trump’s approval.

BREAKING: Iran has rejected U.S.-backed Pakistani proposals for negotiations, with SNSC Secretary Mohsen Rezaei ruling out talks until Washington fulfills Tehran’s seven conditions, per the Tehran Times. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf delivered the same blunt message to Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir during his mediation visit to Tehran: “We have no new message.” Reports of a US-Iran diplomatic breakthrough are completely false and designed to manipulate the oil market — and that actually worked.

BREAKING: Iranian officials are deliberately dragging out negotiations with Washington to completely crush Donald Trump’s hopes of a diplomatic victory ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, per senior Iranian officials cited by Reuters. Tehran believes keeping the conflict unresolved and refusing major concessions could intensify political pressure on Trump as the war drives up energy prices. “Iran is preparing for renewed Israeli and US attacks, not for a deal with America to end the war,” one Iranian official said. Iran also says its military remains at the highest state of alert, preparing for the possibility of renewed attacks.

BREAKING: The U.S. and Israel are now signaling preparations for another potential wave of attacks on Iran as the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth secretly flew to Israel today to meet Benjamin Netanyahu and Emirati officials at Ovda Air Base, discussing a possible resumption of major combat operations against Iran just eight days before Israel's election, per two sources cited by Axios. The meeting took place at the base where US refueling aircraft, fighter jets and personnel are deployed. Meanwhile, the IDF has ordered a military-wide leave suspension starting Thursday and raised alert levels to the highest state, with command centers staffed at wartime strength.

BREAKING: Iran now announces it has shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz, with the IRGC saying the aircraft was the 54th American MQ-9 destroyed and was intercepted by a new advanced air defense system under the country's integrated air defense network, per ISNA. The announcement came as anti-ship missiles and drones were launched from Hormozgan Province toward the Strait of Hormuz, with explosions reported in the waterway. Heavy GPS jamming has also returned to the Persian Gulf, while local reports from Bandar Abbas described two massive explosion waves and seismic tremors around 04:10 and 04:12 local time.‌‌

BREAKING: Iran's IRGC is now threatening to completely cut off the world's internet, with spokesman Hossein Mohebi saying seven major cables run under the Strait of Hormuz that global data depends on, warning: "we are reminding them of this so that the enemy knows," per Fars News. The threat follows Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf's announcement of a "Persian Gulf Data Authority" and SNSC Secretary Mohsen Rezaee's warning that over $2 trillion in data centers would be destroyed if war resumes. The significance is the target itself. These cables carry roughly 99% of intercontinental data and trillions in daily financial transactions. A successful strike could wipe out 70% to 90% of the Gulf's internet connectivity, crippling global commerce. Iran is making it clear: if the US strikes its energy infrastructure, the next target will be the digital backbone of the global economy.