Middle East

A Rapid Support Forces strike killed at least 40 people in Sudan’s Blue Nile state as a Houthi missile attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed 12 and wounded more than 300 in the deadliest strike on Saudi Arabia in over a decade, prompting Washington to say it is weighing direct involvement in the war against the Houthis. Verified developments, 9–11 October 2026.

A Panamanian-flagged tanker was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz, injuring a dozen crew, as Yemen’s government opened a new front at al-Waziyah to secure Mocha and the Bab al-Mandeb corridor, Russia set dates for its October Africa summit, and Sudan’s UN arms embargo neared a contested deadline. Verified developments, 6–7 October 2026.

An Omani co-pilot’s attempted hijacking of a Dubai–Tel Aviv flydubai flight forced an emergency diversion to Saudi Arabia, as Washington sanctioned 13 entities tied to Iran’s weapons-procurement network and Iran weighed a Qatar-mediated truce proposal. Ethiopia’s pro-government forces held their claimed gains at Alamata. Verified developments, 30 September–1 October 2026.