TOP STORIES
Iran Turns to Guerrilla Tactics in Bid to Reassert Grip on Strait of Hormuz | Wall Street Journal
“Iran is using everything in its arsenal to try to stop the flow of oil leaving the Strait of Hormuz, resorting to guerrilla tactics to shore up the regime’s fast-eroding position in the conflict and pile pressure on the Trump administration in deadlocked negotiations. Tehran has launched bomb-laden undersea drones, fired rocket-propelled grenades and deployed crews to attach limpet mines to ships over recent weeks, part of an asymmetric campaign targeting vessels that shuttle oil out of the Persian Gulf to waiting tankers, according to regional officials, security firms and analysts.”
Trump: Iran War Partially to Blame for GOP Midterm Losses | The Hill
“President Trump partially blamed the ongoing war with Iran for the GOP’s sweeping midterm losses in the midterms—but said he would have done it again.”
Israeli Claims of Iranian Chemical Weapons Divide U.S. Officials | New York Times
“Israel has shared intelligence with the United States asserting that Iran is considering the use of chemical weapons against its adversaries, information met with alarm by some American officials and deep skepticism by others, according to U.S. and regional officials. . . . In recent years, the United States has publicly asserted in its annual unclassified intelligence assessments that Iran ‘likely aims’ to continue its research and development of chemical weapons.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran’s Industrial Point-to-Point Inflation Reaches 147.3% | IranWire
“The Statistical Center of Iran announced that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the industrial sector reached 774.7 in the summer of 2026. According to the center’s report, industrial point-to-point inflation reached 147.3 percent, while annual inflation stood at 97.3 percent. Compared to the spring, these two rates increased by 38.3 and 26.4 percentage points, respectively.”
Oil Ministry Confirms 25% Reduction in Iran’s Gas Production Capacity | IranWir
“Iran’s acting Minister of Petroleum stated that U.S. and Israeli strikes on gas infrastructure have knocked out one-quarter of the country’s gas production capacity. Hamid Bourdoz warned that getting through the upcoming winter will require a 20 percent reduction in gas consumption across both residential and industrial sectors. Concurrently, gas supplies to cement factories were completely cut off in late October, while National Iranian Gas Company officials warned of potential energy supply distress across 11 provinces.”
Premium Gasoline Returns to Iran Gas Stations at High Price | IranWire
“The distribution of domestically produced premium gasoline has commenced across Iranian gas stations. The Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) announced the price at 103,000 tomans per liter, noting that over 70 stations have been equipped to supply it. Meanwhile, the Commercial Director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) stated that the final price at the pump will range between 103,000 and 110,000 tomans, depending on transportation costs.”
MILITARY MATTERS & SHIPPING
US Has No Immediate Plan to Strike Iran, Trump Tells FT | Financial Times
“US has no immediate plans to strike Iran, Donald Trump has said, as the president played down speculation that he was preparing to escalate his conflict with the Islamic republic after the midterm elections. In an interview with the FT on Tuesday, the US president suggested he was content with the state of the stand-off with Iran—even as he signalled he was prepared for more war if necessary.”
Iran Exempts India, China, Iraq, and Qatar from Strait of Hormuz Restrictions | IranWire
“Ahmad Hayat-Moghaddam, Vice Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, announced on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, that vessels from India, China, Iraq, and Qatar have been granted exemptions from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz and can navigate the waterway without limitations. Speaking at a meeting reviewing economic and security conditions, Hayat-Moghaddam stated that the Islamic Republic has designated exemptions for these four nations, allowing their ships to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz. He added: ‘The Americans do not interfere with them either.’”
Iran’s IRGC Says Four Tankers Ablaze After Hitting Mines near Strait of Hormuz | Reuters
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said four oil tankers were destroyed after striking naval mines while trying to traverse a route described as prohibited south of the key waterway of the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement, the elite corps said the tankers were still ablaze, and added that two other vessels had been seized.”
“Two explosive-laden drones attacked the Iranian Kurdish opposition in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah and east Erbil on Wednesday, security sources said. Iran has repeatedly struck the bases of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, accusing the groups of carrying out attacks in Iran.”
“Iranian lawmakers have threatened missile strikes on European countries hosting US military bases, as state-run media warned on Wednesday that any renewed confrontation with the US could reach ‘the heart of Europe.’”
TERRORISM & PROXY WARS
Yemen: 21 Foreign ‘Experts’ from Iran’s IRGC, Hezbollah Operating with the Houthis | Asharq al-Awsat
“The Yemeni Ministry of Interior revealed Tuesday the presence of 21 foreign experts working with the terrorist Houthi militia, including 14 operatives from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and seven from the Lebanese Hezbollah, threatening the security of Yemen and international marine navigation and undermining regional and international security.”
PROPAGANDA
Iran’s Khamenei Says US Hostility Will Persist Regardless of Party in Power | Reuters
“Washington's hostility towards Tehran will not change through partisan shifts or any concessions to the US, and those who believe otherwise are ‘greatly mistaken,’ Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Wednesday, following the Republican Party’s defeats in the US midterm elections. Khamenei warned that Iran’s response to any renewed US aggression would be on a much greater scale, adding that Tehran’s destruction of US bases in the region and its management of the Strait of Hormuz had been part of a campaign against US hegemony.”
Iran’s Chief Negotiator Says Americans Voted ‘No to War’ | BBC News
“Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US has said that Americans have ‘said NO TO WAR,’ after President Donald Trump’s Republican Party suffered a stunning defeat in the midterm elections. ‘We endorse this message,’ parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X. ‘If the US [government] betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,’ he warned.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Internet Disruptions Hit Iran amid Prospect of Renewed US Strikes | Iran International
“Internet users in Tehran and several other provinces reported outages and unstable connections Tuesday amid uncertainty over renewed US military action, after the New York Times reported that Washington could launch strikes on Iran as early as Wednesday.”