Iran threatens strikes on US bases in Europe

Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei has threatened to strike US bases beyond the Middle East, including in Europe, if they are used for attacks against the Islamic republic.

"If American aircraft take off from an American military base, even one located in a European country or some other distant region, to bomb Iran, we will strike those bases as well," Mr Rezaei told Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV in an interview broadcast today.

He also said that Iran's response to renewed US attacks would "target America's more distant military installations - including the ones we have not yet attacked", without specifying.

"We may even strike certain islands that they assume are beyond the reach of our missiles," he added during the interview, which was conducted in Tehran.

The Middle East war broke out on 28 February with US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran responded by launching missiles and drones at countries across the region, while the militant groups it backs in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq also entered the fray.

Diplomatic efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan have been under way to negotiate an end to the war.

Tehran insists that Washington accept a raft of demands including unfreezing assets and lifting sanctions in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the vital energy conduit it has blockaded since the start of the conflict.

The US and Israel have repeatedly cited Iran's nuclear programme as part of their justification for the war, but Mr Rezaei said the nuclear issue was "not currently" part of the talks and that Tehran had already established red lines, including that it would "not send even a tiny amount of the enriched material outside Iran".

Iran's nuclear programme - and its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60%, close to the 90% threshold needed for an atomic bomb - has been at the centre of tensions for years.

Yesterday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was no need to attack Iran again, citing what he described as successful efforts to undermine its economy.

Washington has appeared to taper down recent threats of renewed strikes after the defeat of President Donald Trump's Republican party in recent midterm elections, in part due to the unpopularity of the war on Iran.

Trump defends Iran war in Veterans Day address

Mr Trump used a US Veterans Day commemoration today to defend the war.

"The bravery and skill of our amazing American warriors has absolutely been incredible," he said in an address at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington.

"When this conflict is over, and it will be soon, the entire world will be a much safer and better place, more peaceful place, and a place without the kind of danger that we had to suffer."

The war has so far cost the lives of 23 US service members and wounded several hundred more, according to the latest Pentagon figures.

Mr Trump said in his remarks that the conflict was started not by Washington but by Tehran, which "has been waging war on America since 1979."

He stressed that US forces were acting in order to halt Iran's capacity to build a nuclear weapon.

During his speech before troops, veterans and top officials in his administration, Mr Trump namechecked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was in attendance, saying he had "done a fantastic job."

Republicans in the US House of Representatives on yesterday blocked an effort - launched by an outgoing Republican member of the House - to impeach Mr Hegseth for allegedly waging war without congressional authorization and abusing his powers as Pentagon chief.

Mr Trump, 80, attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a sacred symbol for America's lost service members.

During his remarks, he brought up the issue of the 250-foot-tall (76 metres) triumphal arch he hopes to build just outside the cemetery, saying it would be dedicated "soon."

Yesterday, the family of John F Kennedy asked a court to prevent its construction, arguing the massive structure would block views of and cast shadows over the gravesites of the slain president and other Kennedy relatives buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The project also faces lawsuits from a group of veterans, the city of Washington and the state of Virginia.

Cruise missiles fired at Riyadh

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis has said that it shot down three cruise missiles fired at Riyadh, which has been targeted for weeks by the Iran-backed group.

"Air defenses intercepted and destroyed 3 cruise missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia toward the Riyadh area," coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki posted on X.

The latest incident comes after the Houthis damaged a skyscraper belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco in the capital's gleaming financial district on Sunday.

Riyadh's international airport has also been targeted repeatedly, with deadly attacks forcing it to close for two weeks last month.

Saudi Arabia formed an international coalition to fight the Houthis in 2015, after the group's takeover of Yemen's capital Sanaa.

After years of an uneasy truce, the conflict reignited in July.