Talks between the U.S. and Iran remain stalled despite the two countries signing a memorandum of understanding in June, aimed at ending the war that began with joint American-Israeli strikes on the country in February. The opening strikes killed a host of top Iranian officials and commanders, among them Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The two sides have continued to exchange strikes, though have not returned to the intense fighting seen in the early stages of the conflict. The U.S. says it is enforcing a naval blockade of the country’s Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman ports, while Iran claims control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz and continues to claim attacks on shipping transiting the waterway.
Meanwhile, intensified fighting between Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen has seen the latter repeatedly attack Saudi military, oil infrastructure and transport facilities.
See the most recent developments below.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday.
The president did not offer any detail on the call, beyond describing it as “good” and confirming they discussed the war with Iran.
“We had a very good talk,” Trump said.
-ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran is prepared for “both defense and diplomacy,” amid ongoing talks between Iranian and Qatari representatives over a possible peace deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war against the country that began in February.
“Our armed forces have a very specific mission, and by leveraging the lessons learned from the two previous wars, they are now significantly stronger than before,” Araghchi said, as quoted by the semi-official Mehr News Agency.
-ABC News’ Rashid Haddou
Iranian Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi warned in a statement on Sunday that Tehran is “committed to strengthening combat readiness and ensuring an immediate, effective and proportionate response to any threat, anywhere, without geographical limits.”
Akhlaghi’s statement — which was published by the semi-official Mehr News Agency — came amid concerns that the U.S. and Israel may soon resume strikes on the country amid stalled peace negotiations. President Donald Trump has said that the U.S. will not launch any new attacks until after the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
Several other top Iranian officials and commanders have issued similar warnings. In comments published by Mehr on Sunday, Mohsen Rezaei — the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a key military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — said any new strikes would be met with “devastating” retaliation.”
President Donald Trump said on Saturday during a Halloween event at Mar-a-Lago that the U.S. has no hard timetable regarding negotiations with Iran over a possible deal to end the ongoing war with Iran.
“We’re not in that much of a hurry from the standpoint that we’ve knocked out their navy,” Trump said. “We’ve knocked out their air force, we’ve knocked out their anti-aircraft, we’ve knocked out almost every piece of military equipment they have.”
Trump also said the U.S. had “knocked out” much of Iran’s manufacturing capability and nuclear sites. “We still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites, but we can do that in ten minutes.”
Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo – PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks at a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Oct. 31, 2026.
-ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr