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The National reported that attacks on commercial vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz reached their highest monthly level of the Iran-US war in October, with more than 30 incidents reported, according to UKMTO; the number of reported attacks in the strait, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf was more than double September's total and surpassed March, the first full month of the conflict, when 30 attacks were recorded. Since the war started, UKMTO has reported 145 incidents, and the paper noted the actual number could be higher because the agency includes only incidents reported by verified vessels. The data, it added, contrasts with repeated US announcements that the waterway is widely open and has been secured by US forces. On Friday a crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while completing an outbound transit of the strait, UKMTO said, advising vessels to transit with caution; the IRGC Navy claimed that four oil tankers had caught fire and exploded.

Oman's Ministry of Defence said on Friday that the Royal Navy of Oman had evacuated 25 crew members from the commercial vessel RITI after it came under attack and caught fire near Musandam, in coordination with the Maritime Security Centre, and that the Royal Air Force of Oman separately flew an injured Indian national from a vessel targeted in the strait from Khasab Hospital to Khawla Hospital in Muscat; The National described RITI as Indian-flagged. On Saturday evening, per Reuters as carried by Al Arabiya, Iran's navy said a tanker had caught fire after striking naval mines while sailing in what it described as a prohibited area east of the strait, Reuters adding that Iran has tightened restrictions on shipping through the strait, seeking to control which vessels can pass and under what conditions. In Atlanta the same day, per Arab News, Prince Faisal bin Farhan's meetings with the German, Japanese, French and Brazilian ministers "highlighted concerns over threats to maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab Al-Mandab".

The National's Nada AlTaher reported from Manama that Shaibani said Syria sees Gulf security as part of its own and has been in "negotiations" about whether to join the Makkah agreement: "Regarding Makkah pact integration, there are some negotiations on this issue and regardless of whether it is in the pact or not, or any other pact, Syria is part of the security of this region and it'll stand by any organisation that protects the security of this area." He highlighted Syria's "very special" relationship with Turkey, a pact member, and their economic and military collaboration. Daily Sabah, with agencies, quoted him that "discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria's entry into the Mecca alliance" and recorded that no formal application or final decision has been announced.

Daily Sabah set out the instrument Damascus is asking to join: signed August 7 in Mecca by the Crown Prince, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, its central provision treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all three under Article 51 of the UN Charter, with intelligence sharing, joint exercises, counterterrorism coordination and defence-industrial cooperation including potential joint production and technology transfer; a Strategic Political and Defence Committee oversees it and a permanent secretariat sits in Riyadh, with Pakistan's retired Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood as first secretary-general for three years. Membership is open to other countries with the unanimous approval of the founders; Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have completed ratification and Türkiye's is under way. The paper recorded that renewed Houthi attacks in October prompted an emergency meeting in Riyadh at which the alliance agreed to deploy previously agreed forces and capabilities to the Kingdom, that Shaibani first acknowledged interest in late August in Islamabad, that President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Riyadh on October 6, and that Bangladesh and potentially Egypt have expressed varying interest. The same pact's envoys were in Tehran on Monday: The National quoted Pakistan's ISPR chief Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry that Field Marshal Asim Munir had been there twice this month, most recently alongside Saudi and Turkish officials, and that the military is "cautiously optimistic" about its mediation while "powerful spoilers and detractors" remain.

Arab News, citing SPA, reported that Prince Faisal bin Farhan held talks on Saturday with Germany's Johann Wadephul, Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi, France's Jean-Noel Barrot and Brazil's Mauro Vieira on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, reviewing bilateral relations and regional developments; the talks "highlighted concerns over threats to maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab Al-Mandab, and their potential impact on energy security, global trade and supply chains", the meetings with Japan and France also addressed continued Houthi attacks on Saudi territory, Saudi Arabia and Japan condemned the attacks, and Ambassador Princess Reema bint Bandar attended the Japanese and French meetings. Japan's foreign ministry readout timed its meeting at 12:15 local on October 31 for 30 minutes, with Motegi conveying sympathy over "the expanding damage" from Houthi attacks, respect for Saudi efforts on Yemen, a commitment to restoring free and safe navigation through Hormuz, and progress on a comprehensive cooperation plan to strengthen the economic and energy resilience of the GCC, to which Prince Faisal explained the Kingdom's latest response on Yemen and "the outlook for the situation surrounding Iran, including the talks between the United States and Iran". Moscow's press release on the Friday Lavrov meeting was two sentences: the international agenda, with an emphasis on regional security. The Saudi foreign ministry's own statement on the Rubio meeting, quoted by The National, spoke of "strengthening the Saudi-US strategic partnership" and regional developments, and did not name Iran.

The Crown Prince's Thursday calls, per Arab News Japan citing SPA, brought condemnation of Houthi attacks on civilian facilities from South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung and from Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who affirmed Spain's "full solidarity", with the Crown Prince offering condolences for the 69 people killed in Wednesday's train collision south of Madrid; the call with Romania's President Nicusor Dan covered regional and international developments. The decision Riyadh is waiting on moved to Doha: Reuters, carried by Arab News, reported that Iranian negotiators held talks with Qatari mediators in the Qatari capital on Saturday after more than 12 hours of discussions in Tehran on Friday, coordinated in regular contact with Washington; the Qataris had brought a seven-day plan of daily trust-building steps to Tehran a week earlier, which a senior Iranian official said was not deemed satisfactory, while Iran's own seven-day plan, proposed since September and so far rejected by Trump, calls for lifting the port blockade, unfreezing assets and approving an Iranian-backed route through Hormuz before the strait reopens. Rubio told reporters in Atlanta that Trump has not decided on new strikes but "would prefer to solve it diplomatically", that "there are multiple talks. Talks have actually never stopped", and that he had set no timeframe; Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered an "immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response" to any threat and said commanders reported high readiness around Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.

The National reported on Friday that oil prices rose and were on track for a fourth monthly gain as traders braced for a potential escalation in the US-Iran conflict after the midterm elections, with Brent up 2 per cent at $117.14 a barrel and WTI up 1.9 per cent at $103.94. Its Saturday lead carried the structural reason: UKMTO's October count of more than 30 incidents, the highest of the war, against repeated US statements that the strait is open and secured. On the same day Iran's navy, per Reuters, described an area east of the strait as prohibited and said another tanker had struck its mines there.

The diplomacy that would change the price is now a contest of calendars. Reuters reported that the Qataris brought a proposal to Tehran a week ago for a seven-day plan under which the US and Iran would take daily steps to build trust ahead of broader peace talks, which a senior Iranian official said on Friday was not deemed satisfactory; Iran has been proposing its own seven-day plan since September, so far rejected by Trump, calling for Washington to lift the blockade of Iranian ports, unfreeze assets and approve an Iranian-backed route through the strait, after which the strait would reopen. Araghchi, in remarks reported by Al Jazeera, said Iran was studying the Vance letter and that the Iranian plan was the only proposal on the table to reopen the strait; in his Al Jazeera interview quoted by The National he said "we see no need to meet with the Americans at present" and that mediators are continuing consultations on Iran's conditions. Rubio in Atlanta said direct and indirect contacts were under way with no timeframe. The seven core OPEC+ producers meet on Sunday; Tokyo's readout had Prince Faisal explaining "the outlook for the situation surrounding Iran, including the talks between the United States and Iran" to Motegi hours before the Doha round began.

Shafaq News reported on Saturday that Saudi Arabia has given preliminary approval to revive a long-idle oil export pipeline with Iraq, but that the project would require a replacement line with Baghdad covering part of the cost, according to informed sources. Iraq has repeatedly raised the proposal with Riyadh, which the sources said expressed willingness to update the bilateral agreement once joint technical committees are formed. The pipeline has been out of service since 1990, and the sources said disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have renewed interest in the route; Saudi Arabia favours building a replacement because rehabilitating the existing line would cost nearly as much as constructing a new one. Riyadh has repurposed the section within its territory to carry Saudi crude from the east to the Red Sea, so any revival would require Iraq to rebuild its own section and the two countries to reach a political understanding, and the 2001 Saudi confiscation of the Iraqi section leaves ownership and legal rights to be resolved. The line runs about 1,568 kilometres from Zubair in Basra to Yanbu; on August 29 Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi called for accelerating a crude export pipeline project to diversify export routes and expand capacity.

The report lands in a month in which the East-West line, the Saudi section of that same corridor, has been the Kingdom's answer to the strait and the Houthis' chosen target: Al Jazeera's Saturday account recalled the September strikes on three pumping stations, PS8 at Afif, PS9 at Al-Dhekra and PS11 at Al-Mesba'ah, in the line's high-elevation western section, which the AURORAH study said were preceded by Russian satellite observation. Whatever Riyadh has told Baghdad, the Saudi condition as described, a new pipe paid for in part by Iraq, means the Kingdom is pricing the Red Sea outlet as a strategic asset rather than sharing it as a favour.

Japan's foreign ministry readout listed six points from Saturday's meeting. Motegi said Japan attaches importance to cooperation with Saudi Arabia as "a cornerstone of the region" and found it encouraging that close communication has continued; he conveyed sympathy over the expanding damage from Houthi attacks, respect for Saudi efforts toward stabilising Yemen, and deep concern over the escalation and the humanitarian situation there, pledging diplomatic efforts so that the Houthis return to the UN-led political process; he said Japan will work with the international community including Saudi Arabia to resolve the situation surrounding Iran, including restoring free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz; and he explained the progress of a comprehensive cooperation plan Japan is formulating to strengthen the economic and energy resilience of the GCC countries. Prince Faisal, in response, explained the Kingdom's latest response on Yemen and the outlook for Iran including the US-Iran talks, and said Saudi Arabia would like to work closely with Japan on GCC resilience; both agreed to keep working toward medium- to long-term peace and stability in the Middle East.

The Saudi account of the same day, per Arab News citing SPA, framed all four Saturday meetings around maritime navigation in Hormuz and Bab Al-Mandab and "their potential impact on energy security, global trade and supply chains", with the ministers stressing stronger international cooperation to protect maritime routes and ensure the continued flow of global commerce; with the German and Brazilian ministers the talks also covered international coordination on regional challenges. Neither readout gives the Japanese plan a value, a timetable or a list of projects, and neither mentions crude volumes; what it establishes is that the largest Asian buyer of Saudi oil in the G20 room has chosen "resilience" of the Gulf's economies, rather than security guarantees, as the thing it can offer.