Iran’s oil minister resigns amid severe economic crisis
Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned as the country faces a severe economic crisis.
His resignation follows allegations that intermediaries handling Iranian oil sales abroad owed the state nearly $2bn in unpaid revenues, prompting a parliamentary inquiry.
The government is also facing growing pressure as teachers and nurses reportedly leave their jobs because wages cannot keep up with prices, while food inflation has reached 130 per cent.
Alireza Zakani, the mayor of Tehran, has announced that he is freezing the price of 12 basic items including sugar, rice, oil and detergent for six months.
Maroosha Muzaffar6 October 2026 08:30
Trump defends Iran war costs, saying ‘it’s a small price’
Donald Trump has defended the cost of the Iran war as a small price to pay to prevent a greater threat, arguing that Iran could otherwise potentially destroy a US city.
At a Republican campaign event in Nebraska, he said: “Remember, with the war, it’s just artificial. It’s a little bit high. It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe. They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles or San Diego. This is a very small price to pay. It’s essentially almost over with.”
Maroosha Muzaffar6 October 2026 07:30
UN chief arrives in Pakistan for talks expected to touch on Iran
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has arrived in Islamabad for a three-day visit, where talks with Pakistan’s leadership are expected to include Islamabad’s efforts to mediate between Iran and the US.
The UN says the visit will focus on Pakistan’s role in supporting negotiations between the two countries.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed Guterres’s arrival in a post on X, saying he was met by acting foreign secretary Nabeel Munir.
A UN spokesperson said the talks would cover Islamabad’s “diplomatic and mediation efforts” between Iran and the US.
The visit will be a chance to discuss Islamabad’s “constructive role in supporting negotiations between the two countries”, the statement said.
Maroosha Muzaffar6 October 2026 06:30
Iran-backed Houthis say they targeted Riyadh airport, Aramco refinery
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen say they have launched attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the international airport in the capital Riyadh, an Aramco refinery and several sites in the south.
The attacks involved drones as well as ballistic and cruise missiles, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said, The Times of Israel reported.
He said the strikes targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Aramco refinery in Rabigh, and military installations and smaller airports in southern Saudi Arabia.
Maroosha Muzaffar6 October 2026 05:30
US moved dozens of B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford after alleged ‘threats’
US officials reportedly ordered dozens of US B-1 bombers to be moved from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire over concerns that Iran was planning a complex drone attack at the base, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited American and European officials familiar with the situation.
The reported threat comes after six London men were arrested last week over a suspected terror plot targeting the base, where US bombers that had carried out strikes on Iran were stationed.
Trump has not confirmed that Iran launched or planned a drone attack against Britain, but acknowledged the bombers were moved because of “a threat”.
“I cannot confirm whether Iran launched a drone to Britain, and if it did so, it will suffer devastating losses.”
He later said: “I think we can say that. They didn’t fly out by accident.”
“No, but there were some threats and rather than tempting the enemy, we’ll capture the enemy and beat the enemy. But why should we keep them there? So we moved them around a little bit, not very far.”
Maroosha Muzaffar6 October 2026 04:30
Tanker hit by projectile in Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO says
A tanker was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging its engine room, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The crew is reportedly safe, but it is not yet known who launched the attack or exactly when it happened.
The incident comes as shipping and energy flows through the Strait remain below prewar levels.
The US Centcom has said that its forces redirected 130 commercial vessels as of 5 October during the “strict enforcement of the ongoing naval blockade against Iran”.
Maroosha Muzaffar6 October 2026 03:56
US retreated ‘1000km from Iran’s border’, claim Revolutionary Guards
A top Revolutionary Guards commander has claimed that US forces have “fled” and moved back to positions at least 1,000km from Iran’s borders.
Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said that for the first time since the conflict began, there were no US vessels in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman or even the northern Indian Ocean, claiming US warships were “100 per cent vulnerable” to Iranian strikes.
Earlier, Iran’s influential parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said his country would keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until the conditions it laid out in an interim agreement in June are met, according to Nournews.
James Reynolds6 October 2026 03:00
This is how much more expensive gas and electricity are than in 2025
Gas, diesel and utility costs have soared in the past year but new research puts a dollar and cents figure on just how bad the increases have been.
U.S. drivers who fill their tanks with unleaded gas now spend an average $66.86 more a month than they did in October 2025, according to national averages Monday.
The average diesel driver is spending $139.32 more a month than last year, according to data from motor club AAA and independent marketplace Electric Choice. Gas and diesel prices are up $1.23 and $2.83 per gallon compared to a year ago, respectively, according to AAA.
Natural gas was up $1.01 per thousand cubic feet of gas year-on-year in July, according to the latest price data from the Energy Information Administration. That’s about $44 a month based on average monthly household use.
“Energy prices continue rising, worsening the affordability crisis facing Americans,” stated an analysis, from nonpartisan energy and climate think tank Energy Innovation, last week.
James Reynolds6 October 2026 02:00
Iran executes two men arrested over January 2026 protests, Mizan reports
Iran executed two men arrested over January protests in Isfahan in connection with the deaths of four police officers, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported on Monday.
Mizan said Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raeisi were sentenced to death on charges including “membership in an armed rebel group, waging war against God through carrying weapons and creating fear and insecurity, corruption on earth and incitement to war and killing.”
It said the Supreme Court upheld their sentences and they were executed on Monday morning.
James Reynolds6 October 2026 01:00
US still confident in security of its bases, Rubio says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said that Washington still has confidence in the security of all of its bases, after five men were arrested near a British air base on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.
Rubio, asked about the US decision to remove its B-1 bombers from the British base, said that the Department of Defense constantly reallocates resources where they need to be and that he would not directly tie last week’s incident to the move.
He added that British authorities had been very cooperative on the case.
James Reynolds6 October 2026 00:00