Aramco tower damaged in Riyadh; Iran-backed Houthi missiles intercepted

An Iraqi delegation delivered a message from the United States to Iranian officials during a visit to Tehran, Al Hadath reported Sunday, citing unnamed sources.

The broadcaster said the delegation's visit followed a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, as well as a visit to Baghdad by US envoy Tom Barrack.

Trump and al-Zaidi spoke on November 5, the same day Barrack met Iraqi officials in Baghdad for talks that included regional tensions and efforts to prevent further conflict. The contents of the reported US message to Tehran were not disclosed.

Russia is prepared to explore a new cooperation framework between Iran and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a regional organization comprising former Soviet republics, a Russian official said Sunday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told TASS that Moscow welcomed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's proposal for a "CIS + 1" format, which would allow Iran to expand cooperation with the bloc.

Pankin said Pezeshkian became the first Iranian president to attend a CIS leaders' summit when he participated in the October 9 meeting in Turkmenistan. He said the proposal had attracted considerable interest in Moscow and other CIS capitals.

The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed two ballistic missile launchers used by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis to attack Riyadh in Yemen's northern Saada province, Reuters reported Sunday.

Two attacks on vessels were reported in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 72 hours, as IRGC harassment of commercial shipping continued, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said.

In its November 8 update, JMIC said reports received by UK Maritime Trade Operations included an explosion at the waterline of an outbound tanker on November 5. It was the fifth reported attack off Oman's Musandam coast since November 1.

The advisory said IRGC activity included drone overflights, surveillance of merchant ships and occasional radio warnings, reflecting continued Iranian pressure on vessels using the strategic waterway.

Commercial shipping through the strait remained well below 2025 levels, with independent tracking showing single-digit to low double-digit daily crossings. US military data indicated an average of about 30 US-assisted transits per day from November 5 to 7.

Democrats and Republicans share the same goal of overthrowing the Islamic Republic, differing only in their methods, an Iranian lawmaker said Sunday.

Ruhollah Motefakker Azad, a member of parliament's presidium, told ICANA news agency that the two US parties operated under essentially the same political framework in their approach to Iran.

He also said President Donald Trump had failed to maintain Republican control of Congress, arguing that Iranian resistance contributed to his domestic political defeat.

Up to 50 million Iranians are struggling to obtain enough food, while eight million face absolute poverty and malnutrition following the mishandling of a subsidy reform, a senior lawmaker said Sunday.

Ali Babai Karamani, head of parliament's Social Affairs Committee, told Didban Iran that the removal of the preferential exchange rate of 285,000 rials per dollar was intended to preserve access to subsidized essential goods.

Babai Karamani said poor implementation had left large sections of the population unable to obtain enough food to meet their daily calorie needs.

Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen said on Sunday they targeted King Khalid International Airport, Saudi Aramco oil storage tanks and a financial center in Riyadh.

An adviser to the commander of the IRGC aerospace force said on Sunday that Iran was continuing to reverse-engineer enemy military equipment.

Ali Balali also said Iran had enough weapons in reserve to defend itself for years and warned that any move by the adversaries would draw a “devastating response.”

He added that Iran’s armed forces had “their fingers on the trigger.”

Iran’s oil and energy ministries are coordinating plans to manage electricity and fuel consumption this winter, state power company Tavanir CEO said on Sunday.

Keeping gas and electricity networks stable during the cold months will depend on public cooperation, Mohammad Allahdad said.

Joint meetings and working groups bringing together electricity and gas officials have been formed to coordinate any potential fuel and power restrictions within a managed timeframe, he added.