Fears grow of renewed US-Iran war

Seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight after being hit by Iran or striking naval mines, Tehran said Thursday, a markedly high number as tensions rise over concerns about a return to all-out war. 
With days before a close election in Israel in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lose power, and before next month’s US midterm election in which war-linked high prices have sparked voter anger, there are concerns that US-Israeli attacks on Iran could resume.
“Netanyahu wants to attack Iran, that’s not even a question,” Danny Citrinowicz, a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and a former Iran specialist in Israel’s military and intelligence services, told The Associated Press.
He accused Israel of rushing into another round with Iran without revamping its strategy. A clear Netanyahu victory in the 27 October election means an attack is almost guaranteed, he said.
Main opposition candidates are likely to focus on domestic issues first, but Citrinowicz said he believed the region is on the way toward “another kinetic escalation.”
Iranian state television reported the claims about the latest attacks on ships, which the AP couldn’t independently confirm. The report cited the Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, which again threatened to strike US military bases in the region if the US keeps helping to guide commercial ships through the strait.
The report didn’t mention casualties. Iran still asserts control over the waterway, a central point of leverage in any talks with the US over the war.
The Iranian Armed Forces are fully prepared for asymmetric warfare, the Army commander said, stressing that the Army has strengthened its capabilities in combat drones and other unmanned systems and is better equipped to counter potential threats. 
Speaking during a visit to one of the Army’s facilities for producing offensive combat drones, Major General Amir Hatami highlighted the Army’s current level of readiness and the agility of its forces, saying unmanned weapons, ranging from aerial and surface drones to micro-drones, have acquired a much wider range of applications and occupy a special place in Iran’s defense strategy.
“We assure the dear people of Iran that we are in a good position,” he said, adding that Army personnel maintain high morale and are continuing to produce the equipment required for their missions. 
Meanwhile, a late-night attack on Saudi Arabia's Dammam airport killed two people and injured eight others on Wednesday night, the civil aviation authority said on Thursday, as strikes by Yemen's Houthis intensify.
Two Bangladeshi expatriates were injured in the attack targeting King Fahd International Airport where an Indian national and a Saudi citizen were reportedly killed. Saudi media on Thursday reported that the injured also included two nationals each from India and Yemen, and one each from Saudi Arabia and Nepal. All the injured were admitted to hospitals, with several reported to be in critical condition.     
The two injured Bangladeshis have been identified as Sajal Chandra Das, from Ramchandrapur village under Bangra Bazar Police Station in Cumilla, and Mohammad Abdur Rahim, from Gobigallopur village under Noakhali Sadar Police Station. 
In a press release on Thursday, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment said the two were receiving treatment at Saudi German Hospital in Dammam. Separately, two people were killed on Wednesday after Saudi air defences intercepted a drone that was attempting to hit a facility at Aramco's Shaybah oilfield, which is located hundreds of kilometres to the southeast, the energy ministry said. 
Saudi Aramco 2223.SE has told staff to evacuate its Dhahran headquarters and work remotely, six people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, a day after two people were killed in an attack on a nearby airport. The move marked the first time Aramco had asked staff to evacuate its headquarters since the start of the Iran war. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US state department has ordered some diplomats and the families of US government employees to leave Saudi Arabia as the gulf kingdom faces a barrage of near-daily attacks, with at least three people killed at an airport and oilfield.
Attacks on “civilian airports and other critical infrastructure” by the Iranian-supported Houthis in Yemen were highlighted as the reason for the drawdown. The state department spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, said: “The safety and security of department personnel and their families remain our highest priority.” Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it downed drones in the areas of Riyadh and the holy city of Medina, as Yemen's Houthis carry out daily attacks on the kingdom.
"Interception and destruction of four drones in the regions of Riyadh and Medina," said Turki Al-Malki in a post on X, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed group.