Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

RTX secured a five-year US Navy contract to accelerate production of SM-6 missiles as Washington seeks to replenish weapons stockpiles amid Iran war

The US military is dispatching roughly 9,000 troops aboard a group of ships to the Middle East, a US official said Thursday. The bolstering of the American military presence comes as President Donald Trump warned that new strikes against Iran could be on the horizon. The troop movement, which includes a third aircraft carrier, underscores the rapidly evolving dynamic of Trump's war against Iran as he ponders his next move, with midterm elections in the United States looming large and new signs that the nature of the conflict may be becoming more complex. Trump has threatened that a post-midterm election escalation - despite his initial promises to Americans of a campaign that would last a matter of weeks - remains a viable option. Further complicating matters, Trump told reporters Thursday that early indications suggest that Iran is linked to the FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday. In an exchange with reporters at the Whi

Brent was near $98 a barrel after rising about 14% in September, while investors weighed stalled US-Iran peace talks and signs of a recovery in West Asia oil exports

Iranian officials indicated Wednesday they have received an official US response to Tehran's latest proposal to end the seven-month war, which US President Donald Trump had publicly rejected just days earlier. The officials did not say what the response contained and whether it was a rejection. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented the US response to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told the state-run IRNA news agency. "We will make every effort to bring the agreement to fruition and will firmly stand up for the rights of the Iranian people," Pezeshkian said. "The agreement must now be based on a win-win strategy." The Cabinet meeting followed Araghchi's return to Iran after travelling to New York for last week's UN General Assembly, where officials held indirect talks with US officials and also met with Qatari and Pakistani mediators on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders. Araghchi briefed

Araqchi is expected to ​discuss the US response in Tehran on Wednesday

The 26-page letter by the Guards, urges Americans to use their political power to remove current leaders from office and reject US support for Israel and military intervention abroad

Medication prices are soaring in Iran and some treatments have become hard to find, leaving patients and their families scrambling as a US blockade and stepped-up sanctions squeeze the country's pharmaceuticals industry. Some medicines have more than tripled in price, further squeezing Iranians' finances seven months into the country's war with the United States and Israel. Prices for food and other goods have skyrocketed even as unemployment has risen and the currency, which hit a record low this week, has lost half its value. The war has become an economic endurance test. Iran has tried to push world energy prices higher with attacks on the region's oil shipping routes; the United States, in turn, has aimed to wreck Iran's economy by blockading its ports since June and slapping it with increasingly tough sanctions. Iran's pharmaceutical industry is vulnerable because of its reliance on imports. So far there has been little sign of major shortages of medicines at Iran's hospitals,

Trump rejected reports that he was willing to ease sanctions and release frozen Iranian funds in exchange for concrete steps on Tehran's nuclear programme

Any further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran ‌presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations ​General Assembly

When asked specifically whether military strikes could resume before the upcoming midterm elections, Trump declined to take the option off the table

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said only a negotiated solution can resolve the conflict with the US and Israel after Donald Trump rejected Tehran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Saudi air defences intercepted two Houthi drones targeting Riyadh and a ballistic missile aimed at Khamis Mushait as hopes fade for a US-Iran ceasefire

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told aides he expects US bombing of Iran to resume after November's midterm elections

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Washington would need to complete required steps within four to five days, with the strait reopening on the sixth day

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected genocide allegations over Gaza at the UNGA, defended Israel's military actions and praised US President Donald Trump for backing Israel

The two countries, which have both refused to make similar agreements in recent months, were making a push for a breakthrough Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly

Brent crude fell 0.9% to $102.13 a barrel after a 4% rise a day earlier as Tehran reviews Washington's response to proposals on the Strait of Hormuz