Iranian officials on Wednesday welcomed the setback suffered by US President Donald Trump in the congressional elections, interpreting the outcome as a rejection of his war policies, while regional and world leaders remained watchful over Washington's next move regarding the conflict with Iran.
Meanwhile, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks targeting an airport and other sites in Saudi Arabia, while the Israeli military said it had struck two suspected individuals in southern Lebanon, killing one of them.
Here are the latest developments across the Middle East on Wednesday:
Iranian leaders see US election result as rejection of Trump's war
Iranian officials expressed satisfaction after US voters handed Democrats control of Congress in Tuesday's elections, dealing a major blow to Trump and his Republican Party amid public frustration over the war and rising fuel prices.
Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a post on X on Wednesday that Americans had rejected war.
"Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message," he wrote, warning that if the US administration ignored the voters' demand for change, "it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare."
However, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei dismissed expectations that the election outcome would lead to a change in Washington's policy towards the Islamic Republic.
The region has remained tense for weeks amid uncertainty over whether the United States would resume full-scale military operations against Iran. Diplomatic efforts are continuing to prevent a renewed escalation.
Meanwhile, thousands of people joined a government-organised rally in Tehran on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy.
Demonstrators supporting the government burned US and Israeli flags and chanted slogans including "Death to America" and "Death to Israel", reflecting the continuing hostility between the countries.
UN peacekeeping chief warns of security vacuum in Lebanon
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Wednesday warned that Lebanon could face a security vacuum after the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ends its mission on December 31.
Lacroix said Lebanese officials were concerned about the possibility of Israeli forces and the Lebanese army being left "sort of face-to-face" without a third-party presence.
Returning recently from a visit to the Middle East, he questioned who would monitor the UN-drawn Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon, prevent accidental clashes and support communities in southern Lebanon after UNIFIL's departure.
The border area has experienced decades of violence, including a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah militants in 2024.
Israel has repeatedly accused UNIFIL of failing to stop Hezbollah from strengthening its military presence along the border. Lacroix said efforts to disarm Hezbollah had been unsuccessful because "there was no political will."
The United States, Israel's closest ally, successfully pushed the UN Security Council to end the peacekeeping mission after nearly five decades.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres proposed three options in June to maintain UN monitoring along the border.
Lacroix said unarmed UN military observers would remain authorised to operate in southern Lebanon but questioned how they could carry out their duties without protection or logistical support.
He also noted that a Security Council resolution adopted in 2000 remained in force. The council is scheduled to discuss the matter on November 19.
Houthis claim attacks on Saudi targets
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Wednesday claimed they had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and several locations in southern Saudi Arabia, although they provided no evidence to support the claims.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had fired a ballistic missile towards the airport, causing what he described as "major damages".
He also claimed that the rebels launched a drone at a radar installation and a ballistic missile at a command and control centre in Saudi Arabia's Jazan province.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims, while the Saudi information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Saudi civil defence authorities issued an alert in Riyadh overnight, followed by warnings of potential "danger" in Jazan and Najran early Wednesday.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted oil and logistics facilities as well as airports in Saudi Arabia, describing their actions as a response to what they call the kingdom's blockade of Yemen.
Seven killed in airstrike in Yemen, Houthis say
At least seven people, including two children, were killed and six other children wounded in an airstrike in Yemen's southwestern Taiz province on Wednesday, Houthi health authorities said.
The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the strike hit a residential house in the Maqbanah district.
Houthi media outlets broadcast footage purportedly showing the aftermath of the attack, with the concrete building heavily damaged and large sections of its roof and walls collapsed.
The ministry blamed Saudi Arabia for the strike. Riyadh did not immediately respond to the accusation.
The incident was the latest deadly attack in Yemen since the country's civil war reignited more than three months ago, with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fighting Saudi Arabia and its ally, Yemen's internationally recognised government.
Israeli drone strike kills one in southern Lebanon
In southern Lebanon, an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcycle in the village of Qabrikha killed one person and injured another, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said it had "struck two suspects who were observing IDF soldiers", but did not provide further details.
The attack was the first of its kind in nearly a month, as Israeli drone strikes in the area had remained rare since a US-brokered ceasefire in late June brought an end to the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah.