U.S. President Donald Trump says it’s “possible” he may ramp up bombing of Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections and that he rejected Iran’s latest peace offer because it’s not good enough. Fighting between Houthi rebels and government forces overnight stirred fears that the Iran-backed rebels may be advancing toward Taiz City in southwestern Yemen. Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Thursday. Full coverage is available here Trump says Iran’s peace offer doesn’t measure up Trump said in a Time magazine interview published Thursday that he won’t now accept proposals from Iran that “he wouldn’t have approved a year ago.” He left open the possibility of resuming bombing Iran after the Nov. 3 election. He refused to offer details, telling journalists, “I can’t tell you that because look, you know, you’re asking, where are you going to bomb?” Trump rejects reports Israeli leader was warned about Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack The U.S. president told Time magazine that he only heard about those reports on the same day that the Sept. 28 interview was conducted with Time reporters, adding “I can’t imagine this.” Trump said had Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu been forewarned, “he would have done something about it” or ”would have had people at least alert.” An Israeli newspaper reported that Netanyahu was directly warned by the president of the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was planning a major offensive just days before the militant group attacked on Oct. 7, 2023. Netanyahu strongly rejected the report. Trump dodges question whether Netanyahu deserves reelection In the same Time magazine interview, Trump repeatedly avoided answering directly whether Netanyahu should be reelected in elections later this month. Trump said that he’s “not involved in politics anymore” and touted his own record on Israel. But he said Netanyahu shouldn’t be underestimated even if “people have written off Bibi many, many times, just like they’ve written off me many, many times.” Of Netanyahu’s opponent, Gadi Eisenkot, Trump said: “I don’t hear bad things about him.” U.S. takes aim at Iran’s automotive and rail industries The Trump administration on Thursday announced sanctions on Iran’s automotive and rail industries in attempts to get the country to capitulate, citing entities based in Indonesia, the U.A.E. and Germany, among other countries. Two of Iran’s largest auto manufacturers, Iran Khodro Co. and SAIPA Iranian Automobile Manufacturing Co., were sanctioned alongside several foreign companies that provide auto parts and raw materials. The actions by the U.S. Treasury come as Trump officials highlight how Iran’s currency has fallen to new record lows. The administration credits the continued erosion of the Iranian economy to its months-long economic campaign and has no plans to cease the financial penalties anytime soon even as negotiations between the two countries have restarted. Clashes raise fears that Houthi rebels are ready to make more gains Iran-backed Houthi rebels clashed with government forces overnight into Thursday in residential neighborhoods in eastern Taiz, located about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Mokha, which the Houthis seized last month. A main road linking Taiz and Aden was cut off due to the latest clashes. Al-Thawra Hospital, located a few kilometres from the clashes, received six bodies and 35 wounded people Thursday, according to hospital manager Abdelrahman al-Sabry. The official told The Associated Press by phone Thursday the number of dead and wounded was similar to those in early September, when fighting was intense before clashes de-escalated. Renewed violence in Yemen has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands. The Houthis captured the strategic city of Mokha and a number of Red Sea islands last month, extending their reach to the key maritime waterway of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It was the Houthis’ biggest land grab in years and ended a 2022 ceasefire that largely stopped major fighting in Yemen’s 12-year civil war. Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said Thursday the rebels targeted a power distribution station in the area of Medina two days earlier. The strike shut down a transformer, but didn’t affect the power grid. The Houthis have yet to respond to the claim. By Marzouk al-Jaberi and Fatma Khaled Iran admonishes U.K. for linking Tehran to air base sabotage plot Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Britain’s ambassador in Tehran on Thursday to “strongly protest” allegations by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham linking Iran to a sabotage plot at RAF Fairford, Iranian state television reported. The ministry dismissed allegations that Iran was connected to the alleged plot as “baseless” and called on the British government to provide an official explanation and change its approach toward Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had also posted on X that the U.K. was “barking up the wrong tree.” Netanyahu says FlyDubai suspect slipped through the security cracks Netanyahu told Fox News Thursday that the suspect in the FlyDubai incident was an Omani national who got through a loophole in Israeli constraints barring pilots from countries like Oman that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. He said both countries are “interested in making sure this doesn’t happen again” and warned that “it might be attempted again because we have indications that Iran and its proxies are trying to conduct attacks against Israel and Israelis right now in this election season.” FlyDubai passenger says pilots who landed plane were British Yaniv Hayoun, a passenger aboard the FlyDubai flight, said after arriving in Tel Aviv Wednesday night that the two British pilots who safely brought the aircraft in to land were sitting “one row in front of me, row six, and I was in row seven.” Saudi Arabia nixes popular Soundstorm music festival The Soundstorm music festival in Saudi Arabia has been cancelled for this year, and organizers said it will return in 2027. No reason was given for the cancellation. The festival, which in the past has featured international stars including Bruno Mars, Cardi B and DJ Khaled, is the latest major entertainment event in the kingdom to be cancelled this year. Organizers MDLBEAST had earlier announced the cancellation of the 1001 music festival in Riyadh, which was scheduled for the end of the month. A week ago, organizers postponed the sixth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival from December to the fourth quarter of 2027. ___ This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge. The Associated Press
