Trump says Iran wants to talk, predicts conflict will end 'very soon'

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Friday with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to discuss regional issues, including Iran, Sudan and Yemen, the State Department said.

They met on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta.

"They discussed bilateral cooperation on a number of regional issues, including in Iran, Sudan, and Yemen," the State Department said in a statement.

"Secretary Rubio also signed the Expo 2030 participation contract, formalizing U.S. participation in Expo 2030 Riyadh, where we will showcase American innovation, expand opportunities for U.S. businesses, and strengthen our partnership with Saudi Arabia," the statement added.

Iran's political establishment is showing signs of divisions over how to end the country's prolonged conflict with the U.S. and Israel as diplomatic efforts intensify, according to Iran International.

Reformist and moderate figures have pushed for renewed negotiations with Washington, while conservatives and hardliners have emphasized military deterrence and maintaining Tehran's demands, the outlet reported.

The debate follows a reported call from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to end the war, while maintaining that any agreement must meet Iran's conditions, according to Iran International.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for negotiations, arguing that prolonged uncertainty is hurting Iran's economy.

Hardliners, meanwhile, have argued that Tehran should strengthen its military position and economic resilience.

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that President Donald Trump has been "very upfront" with Americans about the impact the war with Iran is having on fuel prices, calling the increase a "short-term consequence."

"If you also look at what the president has done for our energy industry, he is bringing down the price of gasoline and diesel," Leavitt said during an appearance on "The Story with Martha MacCallum."

"Of course, he's been very upfront with voters in Iowa and all across the country about what the war in Iran is doing," she said. "It's a short-term consequence. But overall, his energy policy will bring gas prices and diesel costs down again."

Leavitt contrasted Trump's energy agenda with Democrats' policies.

"If you look at it in contrast to what the Democrats want to do, they want to completely shut down and phase out our country from fossil fuels, which will jack up energy costs, which will not be good for anyone in rural America or anywhere in America," she said.

Yemen's government said Friday that Iran-aligned Houthis launched ballistic missile attacks targeting Aden International Airport and the presidential palace complex in the city.

A spokesperson for Yemen's armed forces said the Houthis targeted the airport and the Maashiq presidential palace complex, according to Reuters.

Officials did not immediately provide details on casualties or damage, or say whether the missiles struck their intended targets.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Streamer Hasan Piker compared pro-Israel Jewish voters in Michigan to the Ku Klux Klan during a livestream Thursday.

Piker made the comparison while discussing campaign volunteers for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed canvassing a Jewish neighborhood outside Detroit.

He called it "the wildest door-knocking operation of all time," saying volunteers were trying to convince "one of the more Zionist, wealthy districts in the country to vote for a Muslim anti-Zionist."

"Brave soldiers — all of 'em," Piker said.

“This is the equivalent of going to that, like, Klan, KKK neighborhood to stump for like a Black candidate,” he said. “... The supremacist attitude underlying in their worldview is identical.”

He added, “If you are pro-Israel to the degree that you are making a big fuss about never voting for Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim anti-Zionist, yes, it is the equivalent. ... It’s racial supremacy. It’s Jewish supremacy.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday that ongoing global crises threaten energy and food supplies, trade and freedom of navigation as G20 foreign ministers gathered in Atlanta.

"We are tasked, on behalf of the nations that we serve, to work together with one another to coordinate responses to emerging crises and to protect our shared interests," Rubio said in opening remarks, according to Reuters.

"We can help set the context for expanded geopolitical stability and the broader economic prosperity agenda that our leaders will tackle."

The meeting comes as the ongoing war with Iran has raised concerns about global energy supplies and shipping.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Germany's Foreign Office said Friday that most G20 nations agree that Iran must return to negotiations.

"Most of the [G20] share our view: [Iran] must come to the negotiating table, the [Houthis] must cease their attacks, and [Russia] must stop driving global [food security] towards collapse with its attacks in the Black Sea," the account wrote on X.

The statement came as G20 nations gathered amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran wants "to talk" as the war stretches into its eighth month.

"They want to talk. They keep talking," Trump told reporters.

The president claimed that Iran is struggling to pay its security forces as the conflict continues.

"Look, they're not paying their soldiers, they're not paying their police. They're, you know, they're in a lot of trouble," he said.

The president also described the conflict as "not a typical war" and said Washington is spending "very little money, relatively speaking."

Trump also defended the cost of the U.S. campaign, saying the money was spent "in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon," while arguing U.S. actions in Venezuela have more than offset the expense.

"Any money we've spent in Iran, we've more than made up for with what we did in Venezuela," he said.

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh on Friday again warned Americans in Saudi Arabia to exercise extreme caution around airports amid ongoing Houthi attacks and travel disruptions.

In its latest security alert, the embassy reiterated that non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members were ordered to leave Saudi Arabia effective Oct. 23 due to "safety risks."

"Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions. The hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area," the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh wrote on X.

U.S. citizens were also warned of potential attacks on airports, airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruptions.

"Please take extreme caution if you choose to use airports in Saudi Arabia," the post added.

October saw the highest number of reported maritime incidents in the Strait of Hormuz region since the U.S.-Iran conflict began, according to data released by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

The UKMTO report shows incidents across the Strait of Hormuz, Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman climbed to their highest monthly level in October, with 144 total events reported since Feb. 28.

"UKMTO reports only incidents verified through primary sources; additional incidents are known but cannot beindependently verified," the agency noted.

An Iranian lawmaker has called for Tehran to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and change its nuclear doctrine amid the ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel.

Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of Iran's parliament, said the country has already paid a "heavy" price through war and sanctions.

"Now that we have paid the heavy costs of war and sanctions, it is time for the Iranian nation to withdraw from the NPT treaty and change the nuclear doctrine," Nabavian wrote on X.

Pakistan's military said Friday it is "cautiously optimistic" about efforts to mediate between Iran and the U.S. after its army chief made his second visit to Tehran this month.

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief and a key mediator in efforts to de-escalate the Iran war, traveled to Tehran on Monday alongside senior Saudi and Turkish officials, according to Reuters.

"Why would the Field Marshal be going twice if it is not for some positivity? So yes, of course," military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said when asked whether Munir's visits were a positive sign, the outlet reported.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it destroyed two weapons storage facilities used by the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group, as well as at least six of its members. 

The IDF said the facilities were "used by Hamas' military wing in the Al-Bureij area and in the Gaza City area" of the Gaza Strip, and stored dozens of weapons including "RPGs, explosive devices, rockets, Kalashnikov rifles, grenades, magazines and additional combat equipment." 

Two strikes on Wednesday in Khan Younis and Rafah left four Hamas members dead, according to the IDF. 

It also said Friday that it killed "Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya, a squad commander in Hamas’ military wing who was involved in holding numerous hostages in Hamas captivity at the beginning of the war," and "Ibrahim Gihad Muhammad Abu Oshaiba, a platoon commander in Hamas’ military wing." 

U.S. Central Command leader Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video released Friday that he recently flew over the Strait of Hormuz and observed no presence of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). 

"Earlier this week, I visited some of the more than 50,000 service members supporting operations across the Middle East, including our mission in the Strait of Hormuz," Cooper said. "When I flew over the strait, I saw dozens of commercial vessels transiting, all types — cargo, crude oil, liquid natural gas, or LNG — and I also saw our U.S. assets in the air and on the water, including a squadron of advanced sea drones that were on patrol supporting a defensive layer. 

"Here's what I didn't see. I didn't see the IRGC out there at all," Cooper added. "They patrolled the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters for decades, harassing and threatening and seizing commercial vessels at will. But they were not out there because Iran's navy is all at the bottom of the sea. 

"After we sank Iran's navy earlier this year, we also successfully cleared the strait's internationally recognized primary transit routes of Iranian sea mines," Cooper also said. "And today, U.S. forces remain highly vigilant and present to ensure that all primary transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz remain free and clear." 

Cooper added that this week, "we reached a significant milestone, having now assisted Gulf partners in exporting more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since summer." 

A military court in Lebanon charged 13 people Friday in connection with a seized truck carrying explosives belonging to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist group, a report said. 

The truck was stopped at a checkpoint on the main highway linking Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley earlier this month, according to The Associated Press. 

It carried 1,720 pounds of explosives, including 550 pounds of TNT and 550 pounds of C-4 plastic explosives, the AP reported, citing judicial officials. 

Two defendants were arrested when authorities seized the shipment earlier this month and remain in custody. The other 11 remain at large and were charged in absentia. 

Hezbollah has acknowledged owning the explosives, saying they were intended for use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, according to the AP. It said it had asked Lebanese authorities to return the shipment and release the two detainees.

The Associated Press contributed to this post. 

President Donald Trump said Friday that the war against Iran will end "very soon."

"Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and they won't have a nuclear weapon," Trump said during an interview with Kansas City's KCMO radio station. 

"And one way or the other, it's going to end very soon," he added.

Yemen Foreign Ministry called on immediate United Nations actions to halt mine laying activity from Houthis in the region in a Friday post on X.

It also called on the UN Development Program to expand mine clearance programs, decontaminate affected areas, and assist victims of Houthi explosives.

"The Ministry strongly condemned, in a memorandum addressed to the UNDP Resident Representative in Yemen, the militia's continued intensive and indiscriminate planting of mines, particularly in villages and populated areas, and held it fully responsible for the humanitarian repercussions arising from these practices," the Friday post read.

Houthi terrorists, the Foreign Ministry charged, have laid camouflaged land mines across Yemen, in mountains, roads, and even in people's homes. It also claimed that women and children were among the near-daily casualites from the bombs.

"The Ministry affirmed that Yemen is among the most mine-contaminated countries in the world due to the militia's ongoing planting of anti-personnel mines, which, along with unexploded ordnance, pose grave dangers to the lives, safety, and livelihoods of the population," the statement added.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Adm. Brad Cooper, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefed President Donald Trump on an array of military options in Iran during a Thursday meeting, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Top military brass met with Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday as the White House weighs resuming military strikes in Iran following the upcoming midterm elections.

“We may do another little Epic Fury,” Trump told a crowd at a rally last week, referring to the code name for the February joint Israeli-U.S. bombing on Iran that kicked off the now-months long war in February.

Trump officials have also briefed Arab allies to be prepared for a short but intense campaign following elections, the Journal reported.