President Donald Trump has said 'there will not be a strike today' on Iran, according to live reporting of the latest Middle East developments, as the United States tightened security guidance for its personnel in the Gulf. US officials told staff not to use Saudi airports without 'special authorisation', a restriction that signals acute concern about the safety of transit hubs in a region braced for further escalation.

Why the guidance tightened

The restriction follows a US intelligence warning, reported by Reuters, that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel, with lethal plotting described as having reached advanced stages in the Middle East and certain other countries. The warning, in a memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton dated 23 October, came after Washington scaled back staffing at its mission in Saudi Arabia in response to intensified attacks by Iran-allied Houthi forces.

Wider Gulf picture

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones and missiles over its capital Riyadh and southern areas on Sunday, according to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, and Saudi civil defence authorities issued emergency alerts for Riyadh, Abha and Khamis Mushait before announcing minutes later that the danger had passed. The United States has also updated travel advisories for more than a dozen countries across the Gulf and Middle East, citing an increased threat from Iran-aligned Houthis.