Delegations Hold Talks in Iran         10/26 06:13

   High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey were in Tehran 
on Monday for meetings with Iranian authorities to try to avert renewed 
fighting between Iran and Israel and the United States, Iran's Foreign Ministry 
said.

   CAIRO (AP) -- High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey 
were in Tehran on Monday for meetings with Iranian authorities to try to avert 
renewed fighting between Iran and Israel and the United States, Iran's Foreign 
Ministry said.

   The talks come as many in Iran are anxious about a possible return to 
all-out war. Israeli and American leaders have been sharpening their threats 
ahead of elections in both countries, while Iranian leaders have remained 
defiant.

   Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal 
Asim Munir and Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkey's intelligence service, were 
to meet with Iran's top security officials and negotiators to push for a deal 
between Tehran and Washington.

   The war in Yemen and strikes by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels against Saudi 
Arabia were also topics of the talks, according to two regional officials who 
spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to 
reporters.

   Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in the 
Iranian capital that the agenda for the meeting was not set, but the talks 
would "undoubtedly address the most pressing threats to regional security."

   Saudi Arabia said in a statement that the delegations hoped to find "ways to 
de-escalate tensions, enhance regional security and promote its stability."

   Qatari mediators also traveled to Tehran on Sunday, working in coordination 
with the U.S., as part of efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, according 
to a regional official speaking on condition of anonymity due to the 
sensitivity of the talks.

   Pakistan and Qatar helped broker an agreement in June aimed at having Iran 
fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, ending a U.S. blockade of 
Iranian ports and opening negotiations on a broader settlement addressing 
Iran's nuclear program. The deal unraveled quickly, however, as both sides 
renewed attacks.

   Iran and Israel trade accusations 

   With worries about renewed fighting ahead of Israel's election on Tuesday 
and the Nov. 3 midterm elections in the U.S., Baghaei on the weekend said 
Tehran had not closed the window of diplomacy and that messages were being 
passed to the U.S. via intermediaries.

   With negotiations long stalled, he said that the U.S. appears to be 
persisting in unilateral demands and that President Donald Trump and U.S. 
officials repeatedly use the phrase "complete surrender," which Baghaei said no 
Iranian accepts.

   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meantime, repeated his warning on 
Sunday that Iran or its proxies could attack ahead of the close elections to 
disrupt the vote, citing intelligence.

   "The (military) is ready both to defend and to strike," he said in a video 
statement, adding: "You will suffer disproportionate blows far greater than you 
can imagine."

   Israel's Channel 12 reported Sunday night that Netanyahu and his military 
chief of staff clashed over an instruction by Netanyahu to carry out an 
"action" that the army believes could quickly trigger a resumption of the 
conflict with Iran.

   Netanyahu's office later described the report as "fake news." In a post on 
X, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that reports about "rifts between the 
political leadership and the IDF concerning Iran are completely baseless and 
false."

   "I state unequivocally that there has been no intention by Israel of 
initiating an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel," Katz said. "We 
made it clear that should Iran attack Israel, we would respond with great 
force."

   In Tehran, when asked whether Iran was planning attacks, Baghaei on Monday 
only said that "the Israeli regime is highly skilled at carrying out false-flag 
operations."

   "The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent 
right to self-defense to protect Iran's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and 
independence," he said.

   Front in the Iran war widens 

   Yemen has become a widening front in the Iran war that began in February, 
with the Houthis increasingly launching attacks on Saudi Arabia because it 
supports Yemen's internationally recognized government battling the rebels.

   The conflict has intensified since forces from the internationally 
recognized government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on 
Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, shattering a 2022 ceasefire 
deal that largely stopped the fighting in the country's civil war.

   Early Monday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the rebel group 
had fired ballistic missiles at military gatherings and weapons depots 
belonging to Saudi-backed government forces in Aden and Lahj provinces. He 
claimed the attacks destroyed military equipment and caused casualties but did 
not provide evidence. The Associated Press couldn't independently verify the 
claims.

   Meantime, residents in Houthi-held Sanaa and on the Red Sea coast reported a 
series of explosions.

   Houthi media said airstrikes targeted a solar power system and a water well 
in Sanaa, but offered no proof. In the port city of Mokha, recently seized by 
the Houthis, residents said rockets hit several buildings including a hospital.

   Houthi-run al-Masirah channel also reported strikes in Saada, in northern 
Yemen, and in southwestern Taiz province, where the rebels and Saudi-backed 
government forces have been fighting for weeks.

   The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said an operation in 
Houthi-controlled territory destroyed five tunnels used for storing ballistic 
missiles, four ballistic missile launchers and another missile storage.