Day 239 of the WarSaturday, October 24, 2026

Day 239 — WSJ Says USS George Washington Is Readying for a Possible Iran Attack; Israeli Official Tells Channel 11 Final Plan Not Approved; Houthis Claim Saudi Pipeline Strike

Arabian Sea · Washington · Israel · FloridaTehran · Yazd · Kerman · Qazvin · Iraqi KurdistanRiyadh · Najran · Taif · Yanbu · Mecca · JeddahTehran · Pakistan · IraqTehran

Armed Forces General Staff Chief Ali Abdollahi Says Iran Will 'Under No Circumstances' Let U.S. Military Vessels Back Into the Persian Gulf, per BBC Persian; LiveIranNews Says IRGC-Affiliated Media Published a List of Regional Desalination Plants as 'Legitimate Targets'; Open Source Intel Reports Ballistic Missile Launches From Yazd, Kerman and Qazvin in IRGC Readiness Drills; Iranian Kurdish Party Komala Says an IRGC Shahed Drone Struck Its Headquarters Northeast of Erbil, per Iran International

Iran

Armed Forces General Staff chief Ali Abdollahi said Iran will 'under no circumstances and at no time' let U.S. military vessels enter the Persian Gulf, adding that the U.S. president 'must dream' of his forces returning there and that 'they will take this wish to the grave forever,' per BBC Persian.source
LiveIranNews reported that IRGC-affiliated media published an image of a list of desalination plants in regional countries, designating these facilities 'legitimate targets,' as millions of people in Gulf states rely on them for drinking water.source
Open Source Intel said Iranian forces carried out several ballistic missile launches from Yazd, Kerman and Qazvin as part of IRGC Aerospace Force missile-readiness drills held over the past few days; LiveIranNews published what it said were new images of IRGC missile tests in various parts of Iran.source
The Komala Party of the Toilers of Kurdistan of Iran said the IRGC struck its headquarters in the Allana Valley in Balisan, about 90 km northeast of Erbil, with a Shahed drone around 10 p.m. local time on Saturday, causing material damage but no casualties, per Iran International citing Rudaw.source

President Masoud Pezeshkian, per RadioFarda, Again Calls for an End to the 'Neither War nor Peace' Situation With the U.S., Saying Many Are Struggling to Put Bread on the Table, and Claims Ali Khamenei Had Ordered It Ended Before His Killing; Iranian Media Report a Mojtaba Khamenei Meeting With Judiciary Chief Mohseni-Ejei With No Image or Audio Released, per RadioFarda and Iran International; MP Fada Hossein Maleki Claims a U.S. 'New Scenario' of Proxy Ground Attacks and MP Mohammad Reza Ahmadi Sangar Claims Iran Kept Its Missiles and 400 kg of Enriched Uranium, per Iran International

Iran

President Masoud Pezeshkian again called for an end to the 'neither war nor peace' situation with the U.S., saying many people 'are struggling to put bread on the table,' and claimed Ali Khamenei had ordered before his killing that it be ended, without saying whether he meant talks or a new deal, per RadioFarda.source
Iranian media reported a meeting between Mojtaba Khamenei and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei that stressed the 'timely and deterrent implementation of rulings,' released without any image or audio, per RadioFarda; Iran International noted no new image or audio of him has appeared since the war began.source
MP Fada Hossein Maleki claimed to ILNA that Washington's 'new scenario' is ground attacks via proxy forces in Iran's west and east, citing 'the footprints of two Arab countries' in southeast unrest, per Iran International; he told RIA Novosti regional support for the U.S. would be deemed hostile, per RadioFarda.source
Rasht MP Mohammad Reza Ahmadi Sangar claimed 'we did not lose our missiles' and that Iran has 'firmly preserved' its uranium enrichment and 400 kilograms of enriched uranium, while saying Araghchi's 'understanding of the enemy is very weak,' per Iran International.source

The Wall Street Journal Says the USS George Washington Is Preparing in the Arabian Sea for a Possible Attack on Iran and Has Received Long-Range Missiles and Bunker-Busters, per Iran International, and That CENTCOM Moved Some Aircraft From Regional Bases, per Open Source Intel, While a Senior Israeli Official Tells Channel 11 That Israel and the U.S. Are Prepared for a New Operation but the Final Attack Plan Has Not Been Approved, per Iran International; Trump Says Tehran Can Avoid Another Attack With a Deal, and the U.S. Director of National Intelligence Warned Rubio About Progress in the Islamic Republic's Plans for Deadly Attacks on U.S. Officials and Citizens, per Iran International

US / Coalition

The Wall Street Journal said the USS George Washington is preparing in the Arabian Sea for a possible attack on Iran and has received long-range missiles and bunker-busters, per Iran International; citing the WSJ, Open Source Intel said CENTCOM moved some aircraft from regional bases to limit possible losses if hostilities resume.source
A senior Israeli official told Israel's Channel 11 that Israel and the U.S. have prepared for a new operation against the Islamic Republic, but that the final attack plan has not yet been approved, per Iran International.source
Trump raised the possibility of an operation similar to 'Epic Fury' against the Islamic Republic and said Tehran can prevent another attack with a deal; at a Republican campaign event in Florida he said Iran's leaders would start serious talks if they were wise, but voiced doubt they would, per Iran International.source
The U.S. Director of National Intelligence warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a letter about progress in the Islamic Republic's plans for deadly attacks on U.S. officials and citizens, and U.S. media reported threats against U.S. officials and a cut in U.S. diplomats in the region, per Iran International.source

Saudi Civil Defense Activates Alerts in Riyadh, Najran, Wadi al-Dawasir, Taif, Yanbu, Mecca and Jeddah as the Saudi-Led Coalition Says It Destroyed a Drone in the East and Two Houthi Ballistic Missiles Fired at Taif and Yanbu, per BBC Persian; Houthi Spokesman Yahya Saree Claims Attacks on the East-West Pipeline, Aramco in Yanbu, the Rabigh Refinery and Several Airports, With No Saudi Comment; Riyadh's King Khalid Airport Says Flights Resume Sunday as the Houthis Warn It Remains a 'Military Target,' per BBC Persian

Gulf & Naval

Saudi civil defense said early-warning systems were activated before dawn on Saturday in Riyadh, Najran and Wadi al-Dawasir and declared the danger over minutes later without explaining the threat, while the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a drone in the Eastern Region, per BBC Persian.source
The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles fired at Taif and Yanbu on Saturday after brief alerts there and in Mecca and Jeddah, and civil defense warned that filming interceptions or sharing details of them and of crash sites exposes people to prosecution, per BBC Persian.source
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and pumping stations, an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery and airports in Riyadh, Dammam and Najran, with no Saudi comment; the Saudi Defense Ministry said debris of two intercepted Houthi missiles fell in Mecca, per BBC Persian.source
Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport said domestic and international flights would resume from two terminals on Sunday after weeks of disruption from deadly Houthi attacks, while the Houthis warned airlines, staff and travellers early Sunday that it remains unsafe and a 'military target,' per BBC Persian.source

Saudi Broadcaster Al Arabiya, per Open Source Intel, Reports That Iran Offered via Pakistan to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. Lifts Its Blockade of Iranian Ports, While IRGC-Affiliated Tasnim, per Iran International, Calls the Report 'a Lie and Fabrication' and Says Tehran Holds to Its Seven Conditions; Russia's Embassy in Tehran Denies Evacuating Its Diplomats and Bushehr Plant Specialists, per BBC Persian; the Wall Street Journal, per Iran International, Says Iraq and Pakistan Are Restricting Iran's Land Trade by Closing Some Border Crossings

Global

Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya, citing its own sources, reported that Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its blockade of Iranian ports, and that Tehran passed the proposal to Washington through Pakistan, per Open Source Intel.source
IRGC-affiliated Tasnim quoted an informed source calling Al Arabiya's report 'a lie and fabrication,' saying Tehran made no new proposal to Pakistani mediators, will not trade reopening Hormuz for lifting the blockade, and that insecurity there will persist until its seven conditions are met, per Iran International.source
Russia's embassy in Tehran denied reports that its staff and Russian specialists at the Bushehr nuclear plant were being evacuated, saying 'activities continue as normal' and that contrary claims are false information 'whose origin is well known,' per BBC Persian.source
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iraq and Pakistan are restricting Iran's access to land trade routes by closing some border crossings, deepening economic pressure from the U.S. naval blockade and airline sanctions, and said diplomacy has been stalled for months despite regional mediation, per Iran International.source

Sources