Tehran (26 Oct): Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, described the talks as “very good”. “I feel that a new atmosphere is emerging in the region,” he told Iranian state television, adding that regional security “should be achieved by the countries themselves”.
Riyadh (26 Oct): The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the purpose of the visit was to open channels that would “prevent the return of military escalation”. Deputy minister Rayed Krimly said the visit backs the mediation led by Qatar and Pakistan.
Islamabad (26 Oct): The Foreign Office reaffirmed Pakistan’s “firm commitment to the Makkah Alliance” and to the defence of Saudi Arabia.
Makkah pact, Iran and the Gulf
The four-way talks in Tehran closed without a concrete announcement. According to Iranian media, the sides “agreed to continue discussions”.
Iran’s line: President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed Iran’s readiness “to take steps towards regional cooperation and the settlement of disputes”. Rezaei said the discussions centred on Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, southern Syria, Gaza and the West Bank.
Yemen: Citing two unnamed regional officials, AP reports that Yemen and the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia were also on the table.
Next round: No date has been set.
Overnight, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at the Eastern Region and four drones directed at the south. Civil Defence alerts were issued for the Eastern Region and Kharj and later withdrawn. The interception figures come from the coalition itself and have not been independently verified.
Pakistan
Afghanistan: Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan dismissed the Afghan Taliban’s claims of civilian casualties from Pakistani operations as “baseless and unsubstantiated”. He said Pakistan acted “in exercise of its right to self-defense… directed only and exclusively against terrorists and their logistical support bases in Afghanistan”, and pointed to “more than 3500 casualties in 2026 alone” from attacks launched from Afghan soil.
Saudi Arabia: The Foreign Office condemned the Houthi missile attacks on the Makkah and Madinah regions. The Houthis had earlier called the claim that they targeted Mecca and Medina a “huge lie”.
China: The third Pakistan–China Spokespersons’ Dialogue, between Sajjad Haider Khan and his Chinese counterpart Mao Ning, took place in Islamabad. It focused on strategic communication and public diplomacy.
Kashmir: In his Black Day message, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar urged the international community to “play its due role”.
India
Addressing the Navy’s Swavlamban 2026 seminar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called for “Aatmanirbharta 2.0”, a second phase of India’s defence self-reliance push. He wants a time-bound roadmap for critical technologies, stronger research and development, and resilient supply chains.
Israel’s election
Polling runs from 10:00 to 01:00 PKT, with exit polls released at the close. Official results are due on 4 November. The final polls leave both blocs short of the 61 seats needed for a majority:
Channel 13: change bloc 54, Netanyahu’s camp 50, Arab parties 16.
Channel 12: 56, 50 and 14.
Kan: 52, 50 and 14.
Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party leads Likud in all three. Yohanan Plesner of the Israel Democracy Institute says “an indecisive outcome is the most likely outcome”.
Missiles, drones and space
Korean Peninsula: At a Seoul forum on 26 October, former South Korean UN ambassador Kim Hyung-jin argued that North Korea could accept a summit with the US to seek sanctions relief as the Ukraine war winds down. He suggested it could happen around the APEC meeting in Shenzhen next month. This is his own analysis, not an official signal.
Ukraine’s deep strikes: Ukrainian outlets report overnight drone hits on a rocket-fuel rubber plant in Samara, a chemical plant in Voronezh and a plant in Perm. Local channels identify the Perm facility as titanium producer Avisma. These reports remain unverified.
What to watch
Israeli exit polls at 01:00 PKT.
Whether the Makkah pact states and Iran fix a second round.
Further Houthi salvos and coalition strikes.
India’s flight-trial windows off Baleshwar on 29–30 October.
SAT Commentaries, a collection of insightful social media threads on current events and social issues, featuring diverse perspectives from various authors.
Where each side stands on stopping the Iran war from restarting
Tehran (26 Oct): Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, described the talks as “very good”. “I feel that a new atmosphere is emerging in the region,” he told Iranian state television, adding that regional security “should be achieved by the countries themselves”.
Riyadh (26 Oct): The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the purpose of the visit was to open channels that would “prevent the return of military escalation”. Deputy minister Rayed Krimly said the visit backs the mediation led by Qatar and Pakistan.
Islamabad (26 Oct): The Foreign Office reaffirmed Pakistan’s “firm commitment to the Makkah Alliance” and to the defence of Saudi Arabia.
Makkah pact, Iran and the Gulf
The four-way talks in Tehran closed without a concrete announcement. According to Iranian media, the sides “agreed to continue discussions”.
Iran’s line: President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed Iran’s readiness “to take steps towards regional cooperation and the settlement of disputes”. Rezaei said the discussions centred on Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, southern Syria, Gaza and the West Bank.
Yemen: Citing two unnamed regional officials, AP reports that Yemen and the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia were also on the table.
Next round: No date has been set.
Overnight, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at the Eastern Region and four drones directed at the south. Civil Defence alerts were issued for the Eastern Region and Kharj and later withdrawn. The interception figures come from the coalition itself and have not been independently verified.
Pakistan
Afghanistan: Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan dismissed the Afghan Taliban’s claims of civilian casualties from Pakistani operations as “baseless and unsubstantiated”. He said Pakistan acted “in exercise of its right to self-defense… directed only and exclusively against terrorists and their logistical support bases in Afghanistan”, and pointed to “more than 3500 casualties in 2026 alone” from attacks launched from Afghan soil.
Saudi Arabia: The Foreign Office condemned the Houthi missile attacks on the Makkah and Madinah regions. The Houthis had earlier called the claim that they targeted Mecca and Medina a “huge lie”.
China: The third Pakistan–China Spokespersons’ Dialogue, between Sajjad Haider Khan and his Chinese counterpart Mao Ning, took place in Islamabad. It focused on strategic communication and public diplomacy.
Kashmir: In his Black Day message, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar urged the international community to “play its due role”.
India
Addressing the Navy’s Swavlamban 2026 seminar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called for “Aatmanirbharta 2.0”, a second phase of India’s defence self-reliance push. He wants a time-bound roadmap for critical technologies, stronger research and development, and resilient supply chains.
Israel’s election
Polling runs from 10:00 to 01:00 PKT, with exit polls released at the close. Official results are due on 4 November. The final polls leave both blocs short of the 61 seats needed for a majority:
Channel 13: change bloc 54, Netanyahu’s camp 50, Arab parties 16.
Channel 12: 56, 50 and 14.
Kan: 52, 50 and 14.
Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party leads Likud in all three. Yohanan Plesner of the Israel Democracy Institute says “an indecisive outcome is the most likely outcome”.
Missiles, drones and space
Korean Peninsula: At a Seoul forum on 26 October, former South Korean UN ambassador Kim Hyung-jin argued that North Korea could accept a summit with the US to seek sanctions relief as the Ukraine war winds down. He suggested it could happen around the APEC meeting in Shenzhen next month. This is his own analysis, not an official signal.
Ukraine’s deep strikes: Ukrainian outlets report overnight drone hits on a rocket-fuel rubber plant in Samara, a chemical plant in Voronezh and a plant in Perm. Local channels identify the Perm facility as titanium producer Avisma. These reports remain unverified.
What to watch
Israeli exit polls at 01:00 PKT.
Whether the Makkah pact states and Iran fix a second round.
Further Houthi salvos and coalition strikes.
India’s flight-trial windows off Baleshwar on 29–30 October.
SAT Commentary
SAT Commentaries, a collection of insightful social media threads on current events and social issues, featuring diverse perspectives from various authors.
SAT Commentary
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