The Current Affairs Digest

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, that there will be no talks with the United States until Iran's demands are met, according to Just Security's daily round-up. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf added that the US cannot regain Tehran's trust until it meets seven conditions Iran set in September for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is also trying to position itself as a mediator in the Yemen conflict. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran has had no reply from Saudi Arabia or the Houthis to its offer to broker talks, and warned that foreign intervention would complicate matters. Separately, Araqchi said Iran is 'fully prepared to defend itself', according to Nation Thailand.

Shipping remains under threat. Kpler counted at least 18 attacks on shipping in two weeks, and LSEG analysts said Iran was targeting tankers beyond Hormuz, into the Gulf of Oman. Hormuz and the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia together explain why oil sits above $110.

The US position is shifting as well. Envoy Tom Barrack told a Qatar security forum that America is 'no longer there' as guarantor, describing a realignment toward smaller alliances such as the Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey pact. Araghchi said Egypt told Iran it would not directly interfere in the Yemen conflict.

Regional alliances are shifting too. An AK Party lawmaker said Turkey will submit a parliamentary mandate to deploy military personnel to Saudi Arabia under its defence pact with the kingdom and Pakistan. In southern Iran, unexplained explosions were reported in Sirik on 21 October; their nature and origin are unknown, Nation Thailand reported.

Two weeks before the 3 November midterms, an Associated Press analysis found early voting well above 2022 levels in many states that will decide control of the Senate. More than 13 million mail-in and early in-person votes had been cast nationally, against 9 million at the same point in 2022. The midterms fill state governorships and legislatures in most states and decide whether Republicans keep their House and Senate majorities.

Texas had nearly 1 million early ballots, up 74% from about 550,000. Kansas more than doubled, to over 55,000 from 27,000. Maine rose 39%, North Carolina more than 30% and Ohio 30%, or 156,000 more ballots. Ohio had removed its mail-ballot grace period, so voters must return ballots earlier. Michigan and Georgia, whose Senate seats Democrats are defending, had high totals similar to 2022, and Iowa was down about 6%.

AP cautions that part of the rise reflects states that expanded early voting and released more data. In most competitive states where Democrats are trying to flip Republican-held seats, Republicans were a smaller share of advance voters than four years ago. Texas does not report ballots by party. NBC's tracker counted 18,154,067 early votes nationally with 12 days remaining, a different count and date from AP's. In Harris County, Texas, more than 104,600 people voted on Monday, beating the previous midterm turnout record of 63,200 set in 2018.

Polls add context but not certainty. Forbes reported that Democrats lead in at least four of seven Senate races rated toss-ups; a Cook poll had Sherrod Brown ahead of Sen. Jon Husted 49% to 43% in Ohio, and an AJC survey had Ossoff ahead of Rep. Mike Collins 48% to 40% in Georgia. Each poll is a snapshot with its own margin of error.