Today's Briefing: November 3, 2026

The big picture

Three threads run through today's news. In the Gulf, Washington and Tehran are trading strikes and proposals at the same time, and the US election may decide which wins out. In Ukraine, the killing continues even as a new round of talks is scheduled for next week. And from Russian refineries to Sudanese power stations, the energy that keeps ordinary life running has become the main target of modern war.

Iran and the Gulf

US forces struck Iran's Qeshm Island, beside the Strait of Hormuz, late Monday. It was the first attack on the island since June. A US official told the AP the strikes were aimed at Iranian units firing surface-to-air missiles at American aircraft, and they followed a Revolutionary Guard claim that it had shot down a US MQ-9 drone. The Wall Street Journal reported the attack was one of several limited strikes the US has carried out in recent weeks.

Diplomacy has not stopped. Qatari mediators led by Ali Al Thawadi flew to Tehran to discuss a draft US–Iran agreement that has been under negotiation for eight days. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said the strait could reopen within two days if Washington accepts Iran's terms. President Masoud Pezeshkian said the supreme leader had handed the government new authority over the talks. Still, a senior Iranian official told Reuters the two sides remain "far from a deal," and President Trump told Axios he is "in no rush" about restarting the full air campaign. Oil fell more than 7 percent on Monday on hopes of a settlement, then rebounded after the strike.

In Yemen, the Houthis have pushed to within about 50 miles of Aden, the government's temporary capital, their closest approach since 2015, Reuters reported.

Russia and Ukraine

Russian bombs struck an aid distribution center in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region, killing at least 29 people and injuring 10, with 48 more reported missing, according to the regional governor. President Zelenskyy called the attack "utterly horrific." Ukraine, for its part, hit Russia's Yaroslavl oil refinery with drones overnight and set it on fire, a Russian governor said.

Zelenskyy has warned that Russia may use the US election to launch a massive strike on Ukraine's energy and transport networks. On the diplomatic side, US envoy Steve Witkoff says American, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. Britain and France, meanwhile, are leading a rehearsal in Poland with nearly 3,000 troops from 12 European countries to test how a peacekeeping force could deploy to Ukraine if a deal is reached.

Israel, Gaza and Lebanon

Israeli strikes killed at least four people across Gaza on Monday, and a fifth died of earlier wounds, Al Jazeera reported. Gaza's health ministry says at least 1,593 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began in October 2025. The Board of Peace's high representative, Nickolay Mladenov, arrived in Israel seeking permission to bring in tents and speed up reconstruction.

In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes hit southern towns and drones flew low over Beirut on Monday, Arab News reported. A Lebanese official said there has been no progress in direct talks with Israel and that diplomacy is in an "election-related" freeze, with votes coming in both the US and Israel.

Sudan

Sudan has filed complaints with the UN Security Council and the African Union accusing the Rapid Support Forces of launching drone attacks from inside Ethiopia, which Ethiopia denies. According to a Sudanese government report cited by Al Jazeera, drones launched from Ethiopian territory carried out 70 attacks between February and October, and more than 90 percent of the power stations in Sudan's cities are now out of service. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called himself "appalled by the use of drones in the war."

Asia-Pacific

In Taiwan, experts speaking in Taipei said Xi Jinping's sweeping purge of China's military has probably delayed any planned invasion, but raised the danger of a war started by accident or miscalculation, the Taipei Times reported. One analyst said only six of more than 40 top generals and admirals remain in their posts. North Korea's Kim Yo Jong denied any role in a recent crypto exchange hack the FBI blamed on Pyongyang.

The Americas, Africa and Europe

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Venezuela's foreign minister about reforms meant to lay the groundwork for future elections. In Colombia, an attack on a military base in Tolima killed four civilians, including a two-month-old baby. In Ethiopia, the head of the World Health Organization warned that attacks in Tigray and Amhara are pushing health systems toward collapse, and in northwestern Nigeria gunmen killed at least eight security officers in an ambush.

In Europe, refrigerators in supermarkets in at least six EU countries went offline in what the EU is treating as a cyber incident, and Britain's cyber chief warned that AI-powered attacks on critical infrastructure are likely within a few years.

Afterlight read: what it means for you

Look at the targets in today's news: refineries, power stations, a water-short island in the Gulf, supermarket cooling systems. The wars of 2026 are aimed less at front lines than at the systems that keep food cold, lights on and fuel flowing. That is why our advice stays the same this week: keep a full tank and a stocked pantry, store water, and have a way to get news if the power goes out. The next briefing is on November 6.