Day 241 of the WarMonday, October 26, 2026

Day 241 — CNN: U.S. Forces Ready to Launch Operations Against Iran Within 96 Hours of a Trump Order; Mecca Pact Officials Meet Pezeshkian; Katz: Israel Had No Intention of Attacking Before the Vote

Washington · Middle East · IsfahanTehran (Saadabad) · Riyadh · DohaIsraelStrait of Hormuz · Riyadh · Yemen · Cairo · LebanonTehran · Kermanshah · Ahvaz · Isfahan

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin Meet Pezeshkian, Rezaei and Araghchi at Saadabad, per BBC Persian; Riyadh Says the Talks Aim to Prevent Escalation and Pave the Way for an Agreement, While a Senior Iranian Official Tells Reuters Iran Will Not Discuss Its Nuclear Program, per Iran International; Baghaei Confirms Qatar's Mediation, and The New York Times Reports a Qatari Draft for a Five-Day U.S.–Iran Deal, per Iran International

Iran

At Saadabad in Tehran, President Pezeshkian, SNSC secretary Mohsen Rezaei and FM Abbas Araghchi met Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin; Pezeshkian urged managing differences and focusing on shared interests, per BBC Persian.source
Saudi Arabia said the talks aimed to prevent escalation and pave the way for an agreement, per BBC Persian, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran would not discuss its nuclear program there and the U.S. must first meet Tehran's conditions for a permanent end to the war, per Iran International.source
SNSC secretary Mohsen Rezaei told state TV the participants agreed regional security must be 'endogenous,' without 'foreign intervention,' and that Israel must leave south Lebanon, south Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, per BBC Persian; his deputy Ali Bagheri claimed all four sides named Israel the source of insecurity, per Fars.source
Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed a Qatari delegation's visit, linking it to Qatar's mediation between Iran and the U.S., per BBC Persian; The New York Times, citing two diplomats, said Qatar is drafting a five-day deal in which Iran would reopen Hormuz and the U.S. lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, per Iran International.source

AP Reports Some Tehran Residents Are Stockpiling Food and Medicine and Preparing to Leave for Northern Cities as Rice and Beef Prices Soar, per Iran International; Kermanshah's Fire Chief Says a House Explosion Injured 10, per Iran International, and Gas Explosions Are Reported in Ahvaz and Tehran, per Akhbar-e Fouri; a Source Close to Executed Protester Alireza Raeisi's Family Tells Iran International That Knives From His Workplace Were Used as Evidence Against Him

Iran

AP reported that, amid fears of a new round of war, some Tehran residents are stockpiling food, medicine and essentials and some are preparing to leave for safer northern cities; rice is up over 60 percent and beef over 150 percent since the war began, though there is no widespread food shortage yet, per Iran International.source
Kermanshah's municipal fire chief said a house explosion in the Jafarabad neighborhood left 10 injured, per Iran International; the IRGC-affiliated Fars later reported, on 27 October, that an excavator had struck a gas pipe, destroying several buildings and leaving four dead and 14 injured.source
A Khuzestan news channel relayed by Akhbar-e Fouri said a gas explosion in a five-story building in Ahvaz's Kuy-e Mellat damaged cars in a neighboring repair shop, and Tehran's fire department spokesman said a blast and fire in a residential building on Ayat Street was caused by a gas leak, with no deaths.source
A source close to the family of Alireza Raeisi, a 21-year-old protester executed in Isfahan, told Iran International that five knives from the poultry shop where he worked were used as evidence against him; he was sentenced to death for 'moharebeh' and buried in the Anarak desert without his family's knowledge.source

CNN, Citing Two U.S. Officials, Reports That U.S. Forces in the Middle East Are Ready to Launch Potentially Major Operations Against Iran Within 96 Hours of a Trump Order, That CENTCOM and Pentagon Leaders Have Been Developing a Target List Including Energy Infrastructure, Military Sites and Nuclear Facilities, and That Trump Has Not Made Up His Mind but Appears to Lean Toward Major Action After the Midterms; Bessent Urges Iranians to Stop Paying Taxes, per Iran International; an IRGC Official Claims a U.S. Operation Near Isfahan Failed, per Iran International Citing ILNA

US / Coalition

CNN, citing two U.S. officials, reported that U.S. forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch new, potentially major military operations against Iran 'within 96 hours of receiving' an order from Trump, that sufficient forces are now deployed, and that the scope would likely go beyond 'mowing the lawn.'source
Per CNN, CENTCOM and Pentagon leaders are developing a wide-ranging target list including Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites and nuclear facilities; officials said Trump has not made up his mind on what he will do after the midterms but appears to lean toward major action, though he has backed off at the last moment before.source
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Iran International in an exclusive interview that Iranians should stop paying taxes and stockpile fuel before winter arrives, and predicted that Iran's economy will be more than 25 percent smaller by March 2027.source
Hossein Boroujerdi, the IRGC's political deputy in Qazvin province, claimed that 250 U.S. troops entered the Isfahan area in what he called an operation that failed through 'divine assistance' after a U.S. aircraft's nose wheel fell into a pothole, per Iran International citing ILNA.source

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdollahi Claims the Strait of Hormuz Is 'Completely Closed' Outside Iran's Designated Routes, per Iran International, After CENTCOM Said More Than 95 Percent of Ships Had Passed Safely, per BBC Persian; Cirium Data Show About 90 Percent of Riyadh Flights Cancelled as the Houthis Claim New Attacks, the Saudi-Led Coalition Says It Destroyed Houthi Launchers and Egypt's Parliament Authorizes Support for Saudi Arabia, per BBC Persian; Reuters Says Iran Gave Hezbollah Tens of Millions of Dollars, per BBC Persian

Gulf & Naval

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Ali Abdollahi claimed the Strait of Hormuz is 'completely closed' to vessels outside Iran's designated routes and that violators risk 'serious damage,' per Iran International; on Sunday CENTCOM said over 95 percent of ships crossing in recent months passed 'in complete safety,' per BBC Persian.source
Flight-data firm Cirium found 4,071 of 4,736 scheduled Riyadh flights, about 90 percent, were cancelled between 8 and 25 October amid Houthi attacks, per BBC Persian; the Houthis claimed new attacks on Riyadh airport and pumping stations of Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, with no Saudi response yet.source
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said strikes destroyed four Houthi ballistic-missile launchers, a missile depot and tunnels, and Egypt's parliament authorized the army to support Saudi Arabia, with Sisi having said support would be limited to defending Saudi territory and exclude attacks on Yemen, per BBC Persian.source
Reuters, citing an informed source and a person close to Hezbollah, said Iran gave the group tens of millions of dollars to strengthen its military, beyond $200 million for displaced families, per BBC Persian; Lebanese security sources said it spent three months preparing for a possible renewed war with Israel, per Iran International.source

Israel's Defense Minister Katz Calls Reports of a Rift With the Army Over Iran 'Completely Baseless' and Says Israel Had No Intention of Attacking Iran Before the Election, per Iran International, and the Prime Minister's Office Calls Reports That Netanyahu Unsuccessfully Pressed Trump for New Strikes 'Fake,' per BBC Persian; Army Radio Publishes Details Similar to Channel 12's, CNN Reports Trump Did Not Agree to a Joint Pre-Election Attack, and Haaretz Says Netanyahu's Plan Split the Mossad's Leadership, per Iran International and BBC Persian

Global

Defense Minister Israel Katz called reports of a rift between Israel's political leadership and the army over Iran 'completely baseless and false': 'Israel had no intention whatsoever to launch an attack on Iran before the election, but if Iran attacks Israel we will respond with great force,' per Iran International.source
The Prime Minister's Office called reports that Netanyahu unsuccessfully pressed Trump to launch a new wave of strikes 'fake,' while his main rival, former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, accused him of inflating the Iran threat when it is politically useful, with polls showing a close race, per BBC Persian.source
Army Radio, citing two senior security officials, published details similar to Channel 12's report that Netanyahu ordered an action defense officials feared could lead to a rapid clash with Iran, per Iran International; CNN said Trump did not agree to Netanyahu's request for a joint pre-election attack, and Netanyahu denied both.source
Haaretz reported that Netanyahu's 'plan to attack Iran before the election' split Israeli intelligence, with Mossad chief Roman Gofman backing it and other senior Mossad officials opposed, per BBC Persian; Axios's Barak Ravid said Netanyahu keeps pushing for overt or covert action against Iran, calling the situation 'very dangerous.'source

Sources