IRAN - In Tehran, discussions about Iran’s potential withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) are growing increasingly urgent. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has recently acknowledged that the issue is being seriously considered by Iranian officials. His statements lend significant political weight to the discourse around Iran’s potential withdrawal from the NPT: One can no longer downplay it as something proposed by hardliners or fringe groups. While Baghaei also reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to its membership in the NPT and the associated obligations, he made it clear that the possibility of exiting the treaty is being considered.

SAUDI ARABIA - Even an end to the conflict will likely bring little relief, with a fresh demand surge threatening to keep oil markets under strain, Aramco chief Amin Nasser has said. The US-Israeli war on Iran has caused an “unprecedented” shock to global energy markets, removing some 3 billion barrels of oil supply, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser has warned. The war launched in February effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil and LNG artery, sending crude prices up roughly 50%. Despite Gulf exports recovering to a reported 80% of pre-war levels, renewed attacks on vessels have kept markets on edge, with Brent hitting a five-month high above $112 this week. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping have compounded the crisis, threatening another vital trade chokepoint, the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

USA - The Pentagon and State Department reportedly made similar preparations before launching the war against Iran in February. The moves come as President Donald Trump considers launching a new wave of attacks on Iran, and the withdrawals resemble preparations made by the Pentagon and State Department ahead of the initial US-Israeli strikes in February, NBC reported on Wednesday, citing two US officials and two people familiar with the matter. US troops stationed in Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait are among those being relocated, according to the report. Washington reportedly intends to maintain a limited presence at its regional bases, including personnel responsible for air defenses and security.

SCOTLAND - A Scottish museum has removed its Egyptian mummy exhibition because it does not have “consent from the deceased individual”. Visitors to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow found signs explaining that managers had “removed human remains from this display as a mark of respect”. Murdo Fraser, a Tory MSP, told the Daily Mail: “This is woke madness at its most ridiculous. Even Egyptian mummies are now being cancelled by a society so obsessed with modern sensibilities that it has lost all sense of perspective.”

UK - Britain will be battered by two named storms in just 24 hours as the country faces damaging winds and travel disruption from Storm Austen followed by Storm Boelo. Forecasters issued an amber wind warning for the far South West ahead of Austen's arrival around midnight, as well as yellow warnings for much of the rest of England. The amber warning is in place from 1am to 10am tomorrow for Devon and Cornwall, where gusts of 60 to 70mph will develop with some exposed areas expecting 80mph. Power cuts may affect homes, while some buildings may be damaged and a 'danger to life' is likely from large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads. A yellow warning for wind is in place for a wider region of the South West as well as South Wales and along England's South Coast between midnight and 5pm tomorrow. Strong winds are expected to spread across southern England tonight and tomorrow, with gusts of 50 to 60mph likely and some exposed areas seeing 70mph or above. Another yellow wind warning has been issued for the South East including London, as well as the Midlands and parts of the North West, from 10am to 9pm tomorrow.

MIDDLE EAST - The Pentagon is sending the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East, two US officials confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday. This follows a US official telling The Jerusalem Post on October 1 that the aircraft carrier and a unit of US Marines would be sent to US Central Command (CENTCOM)'s sphere of operations. The USS Makin Island amphibious ready group also departed San Diego, carrying the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the Post reported at the time. According to Fox's report, the aircraft carrier group is due to arrive in the Middle East by the end of November. Currently, two other US aircraft carriers are deployed in the region, namely the USS George H W Bush, which arrived in April, and the USS George Washington, which arrived in August to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln.

ISRAEL - Israel is monitoring Iranian efforts to rebuild its military capabilities following the damage Tehran sustained during Operation Roaring Lion, with security officials warning that developments could force Israel to defend itself despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's desire to avoid escalation ahead of the elections, according to assessments discussed in recent Israeli security consultations. Intelligence indicating that Iran is working to restore its military capabilities following the blows it sustained during Operation Roaring Lion was examined during security discussions held in Israel. According to officials familiar with the discussions, "Netanyahu wants the elections to take place as planned and on schedule, something that would not be possible if Israel were in a state of emergency involving fighting against Iran."

UK - Mounting economic and political challenges are reinforcing and feeding off one another. The word “polycrisis” was first popularised in a speech in Athens by Jean-Claude Juncker, the former European Commission president, around 10 years ago. Juncker was referring to the growing number of challenges facing the EU – from security threats on Europe’s borders and internally, to the then acute refugee crisis and the still-raw-in-memory eurozone and Greek debt crisis. Each one seemed to reinforce and feed off the other, compounding the sense of gathering chaos. A few days after his speech, the UK seemed to confirm his worst fears by voting for Brexit. Yet if he thought there was a polycrisis back then, it had nothing on today’s increasingly toxic cocktail of negatives. This stretches way beyond Europe’s borders and is now global in reach.

UK - People are being urged to carry emergency cash after banking apps crashed during a system failure at a Google data centre in London. Several banking apps stopped working on Tuesday morning because of problems with Google Cloud, which is relied on by a number of major financial organisations. Banks including Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays and Revolut were affected. Customers complained of being left without access to their money and unable to buy food and fuel. NHS England was also disrupted, with users of its app temporarily blocked from viewing or amending appointments. Lord Harris of Haringey, the chairman of the national preparedness commission, said it was a “reminder that systems can fail, whether because of an outage, or indeed, an attack from a hostile state”. He said: “Whatever the cause on this occasion, it is important that retailers continue to accept cash – not all of them do – and it makes sense for all of us to carry a certain amount of cash, if we can do so, just in case."

UK - Britain’s national debt has climbed above £3 trillion for the first time, official figures showed. Total borrowings rose to £3.005 trillion in September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), underlining the pressure on the public finances before John Healey’s Budget. Surging borrowing costs triggered by the war in Iran were to blame for the latest increase in debt, which is rising much quicker than expected. Monthly deficit figures revealed the Chancellor borrowed £24.5 billion to plug the gap between tax receipts and government spending in September. The scale of the debt is a significant headache for Mr Healey, who vowed to make “fiscal discipline” his top priority. At £3 trillion, the national debt equates to more than £100,000 per British household and is equivalent to 94 percent of GDP.