Iran war timeline: US, Israel and Iran from 28 February to 11 October, and India's stakes
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Latest updates
- : Attack on Riyadh airport on 10 October killed 12 and injured 309, including 11 Indians; Trump weighing strikes on the Houthis
A 10 October attack on Riyadh airport killed 12 and injured 309, 11 Indians among them, while Hormuz stays all but shut. Our dated timeline across three fronts, who said what, and what is still unconfirmed.
Original report
On 10 October 2026, an attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309, Saudi authorities said, and the Indian embassy confirmed 11 Indians among the injured, Zee News reported. It is the latest turn in the Iran war that began on 28 February 2026, when the US and Israel started striking Iran, and that has since choked the world's busiest oil route.
Seven months on, there is no lasting ceasefire and no scheduled talks. Three separate fights now overlap: the US and Israel against Iran, a shipping crisis in Hormuz, and a Houthi-Saudi conflict in Yemen that escalated this month. India Today's headline blames the Houthis for the Riyadh attack, and Donald Trump is weighing US strikes on them, according to a New Indian Express headline.
Four days before Riyadh, on 6 October, 11 Indian sailors were injured when a projectile hit the tanker MT On Peace in the Strait of Hormuz, The Week reported.
This page is updated as things develop. Each section below carries the latest verified facts as of the time at the top.
See how every outlet covered the Iran war and how outlets covered the Riyadh airport attack
What we know
- The war began on 28 February 2026 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, according to Al Jazeera and to Donald Trump's own dating of it at the UN General Assembly on 23 September, as reported by The Federal.
- The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut for about seven months, with traffic down about 95%, Al Jazeera reported on 4 October.
- A ceasefire announced on 7 April did not hold, and Iran's parliament speaker said on 4 October that Hormuz stays closed until the US meets Iran's conditions, according to Al Jazeera.
- Indians are being hurt: 11 Indian sailors were injured on 6 October, The Week reported, and 11 Indians were among 309 injured at Riyadh airport on 10 October, the Indian embassy confirmed, according to Zee News.
- The Riyadh airport attack on 10 October killed 12 people, 4 Saudi citizens and 8 foreign residents, Saudi authorities said, as reported by Zee News.
- The Houthis claim strikes on Saudi Arabia, and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces say they are fighting back. No source we read says Tehran ordered those attacks.
- Brent crude stood at $101.13 a barrel on 6 October, per Trading Economics.
Timeline: 28 February to 11 October 2026
The three conflicts are kept apart below: date, event, then who reported it. Lines marked "Wikipedia only" are ones we could not confirm with a second source.
Track 1: US and Israel against Iran
- 28 February: The US and Israel begin strikes on Iran (Al Jazeera; Trump at the UN, via The Federal).
- Early March: Iran fires missiles and drones at Israel and at US bases in Gulf states (Wikipedia only).
- 25 March and 5 April: Pakistan carries a US 15-point plan, then a 45-day framework; Iran counters both (Wikipedia only).
- 7 April: A ceasefire is announced and later repeatedly violated; Trump later calls it "over" (RVM News).
- 3 June: The US House passes a war powers resolution. NPR-linked results give 215-208; a C-SPAN clip gives 214-208 (NPR, C-SPAN).
- 17 June: New 60-day terms and an "Islamabad Memorandum" (Wikipedia only).
- 23 June: The Senate passes a concurrent resolution 50-48, with four Republicans joining Democrats; NPR calls it symbolic.
- July: The Senate votes 47-49 on a joint resolution, which fails; the House votes 214-208 on a similar one (NPR).
- 8 July: The truce collapses after Iran hits ships in Hormuz, and US strikes resume (Wikipedia only).
- 17 August: A 60-day deadline expires and Trump threatens Oman over Hormuz arrangements (CNN, CNBC headlines).
- 22-23 September: Trump tells the UN a deal is possible after the midterms, or he will "annihilate" Iran; President Masoud Pezeshkian replies (UN News, MSNBC).
- 24 September: Iran sends the US a written roadmap: a regional ceasefire of up to 60 days and a phased Hormuz reopening (CNN summary only, unconfirmed).
- 28 September: Trump rejects Iran's offer (Economic Times, Times Now headlines).
- 28-29 September: Trump says the US will win "very soon" (Deccan Herald); Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Trump stopped Iran reaching a "line of immunity" (Deccan Chronicle).
- 29 September to 1 October: UK police arrest, then bail, five men over an incident at RAF Fairford; Prime Minister Andy Burnham points to Iran, which denies it (Al Jazeera).
- 30 September to 2 October: Benjamin Netanyahu calls a flydubai cockpit incident an attempted attack; Trump suggests an Iran link without evidence, and threatens to hit Iran "very hard" if so (Al Jazeera, NDTV).
- 4 October: Trump says the US will decide on Iran "the easy way or the hard way" and claims Tehran has been "decimated" (India TV).
Track 2: The Hormuz shipping crisis
- Early March: Iran begins attacking and threatening tankers; drone strikes halt Qatar's LNG output (Wikipedia only).
- 7 April: Russia and China veto a UN Security Council draft on Hormuz shipping that had 11 votes; Colombia and Pakistan abstain (UN News).
- 13 April: A US blockade of Iranian ports begins (RVM News).
- 25 August: US officials say the Navy cleared over 100 suspected mines from Hormuz lanes (CNN summary only, unconfirmed).
- Late August: Iran and Oman discuss a shipping corridor, with Qatar and Pakistan mediating (CNN).
- 2 October: The G7 agrees to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel over four months (The Federal; Trading Economics).
- 2-3 October: A projectile hits the Kuwait-flagged MT Kazimah III; five Indian seafarers are rescued (Hindustan Times, NDTV). UKMTO calls the projectile unidentified (Deccan Herald).
- 4 October: Iran's parliament speaker says Hormuz stays closed until the US accepts Iran's conditions (Al Jazeera).
- 6 October: A projectile hits the Panama-flagged MT On Peace; 11 Indian sailors are injured and India's Ministry of External Affairs condemns the attack (The Week).
Track 3: Yemen, the Houthis and Saudi Arabia
- 4-6 October: The Houthis, through spokesman Yahya Saree, claim strikes on Riyadh airport and an Aramco refinery at Rabigh (New Indian Express, NDTV). Saudi Arabia says two airports were hit (The Federal).
- 5 October: Yemen's military announces a broad range of strikes against the Houthis to retake lost territory, citing more than 1,000 strikes by its own count (France 24).
- 5-6 October: The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a Houthi missile and struck depots near Bab el-Mandeb (Hindustan Times); the Houthis deny losing ground (New Indian Express).
- 4-6 October: Accounts of Mocha differ. Yemen's government says it has retaken the port town (Mint); military sources told Hindustan Times pro-government forces are besieging it but have not recaptured it.
- 6 October: Pakistan and Turkiye agree to deploy forces to Saudi Arabia under a defence pact (Mid-Day).
- 10 October: An attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport kills 12, 4 Saudi citizens and 8 foreign residents, and injures 309, Saudi authorities say; 11 Indians are among the injured (Zee News). India Today's headline blames the Houthis.
- 11 October: Trump is reported to be weighing US strikes on the Houthis (New Indian Express and Sunday Guardian headlines).
Who has said what
- Donald Trump, US President: on 4 October, "It will either be the easy way or the hard way" (India TV). He also claims Iran's forces are "gone" and Iran's inflation is 301%, claims we could not verify.
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker: "the era of wasting time and dictating unilateral demands is over", reported by Al Jazeera on 4 October.
- Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister: called reopening Hormuz Iran's main priority (Al Jazeera, 4 October). On the UK claim, he said: "You're barking up the wrong tree" (Al Jazeera).
- Andy Burnham, UK Prime Minister: on 1 October, "Strong indications that Iran played a part" in the RAF Fairford incident (Al Jazeera).
- S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister: "Our Embassy is doing everything necessary in this difficult situation," as attributed by Zee News on 11 October, after the Riyadh attack.
- India's Ministry of External Affairs: on 6 October, "The targeting of commercial shipping ... must end" (The Week).
- Russia at the UN Security Council: said on 7 April that the Hormuz draft ignored US and Israeli attacks (UN News).
What it means for India
The newest harm is on land: 11 Indians were injured in the 10 October attack on Riyadh airport, the Indian embassy confirmed; some are in serious condition and others are in hospital, Zee News reported. Airport operations were temporarily suspended.
The wider exposure runs through Hormuz. India imports over 85% of its crude oil and about 60% of its cooking gas, and about 90% of its LPG imports pass through the strait, Outlook India reported on 9 July.
- Seafarers: 11 Indian sailors were injured on MT On Peace on 6 October; 17 of the 19 crew were Indian, and Omani authorities helped evacuate them to Khasab for treatment (The Week). Five more were rescued from MT Kazimah III on 3 October (Hindustan Times, NDTV).
- Seafarers in the Gulf: Indian Defence News reported on 30 September that the MEA monitors seafarers round the clock, that more than 4,500 Indian seafarers are in the Gulf, and that 15 or more have been killed since February with 4 missing. We could not confirm these figures with the MEA directly.
- The government's position: the MEA condemned the On Peace strike on 6 October and called for attacks on commercial shipping to end (The Week). The ministry did not name an attacker.
- Air fares: IndiGo added fuel charges on new bookings from 00:01 on 6 October: ₹275 to ₹950 on domestic flights and up to ₹10,000 on long-haul international flights, Whalesbook reported.
- Jet fuel: aviation turbine fuel rose 13.2% to 14% in the 1 October revision; IndiGo posted a Q1 FY27 net loss of ₹237.6 crore with fuel costs up 86%, Whalesbook reported.
Petrol and diesel are a different story: retail prices do not follow crude straight away, because taxes, oil-company margins and government action sit in between, Outlook India explained. We found no change to Indian pump prices for October.
Money and shipping
- Oil price: Brent was $101.13 a barrel on 6 October, per Trading Economics, and $103.06 on 4 October, per Fox News.
- Hormuz traffic: down about 95%, according to Al Jazeera. In peacetime about one-fifth of the world's oil and gas passes through the strait.
- Workarounds: Trading Economics says Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline is back at 5.8 million barrels a day, and cites the G7 release of 100 million barrels.
- Iran's economy: RVM News reports the rial at a record low and inflation above 70%.
- The US calendar: midterm elections are on 3 November, with 35 of 100 Senate seats up; Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats 45 plus 2 independents, The Federal reported.
Questions people are asking
When did the Iran war start?
- 28 February 2026, with US and Israeli strikes on Iran (Al Jazeera; Trump at the UN, via The Federal).
- According to Wikipedia, which we could not confirm with a second source, the stated aims were regime change and Iran's nuclear and missile programmes.
Is there a ceasefire in the Iran war?
- No lasting one. A ceasefire announced on 7 April was repeatedly violated and Trump later called it "over" (RVM News).
Is the Strait of Hormuz closed?
- Effectively, yes. Traffic is down about 95%, and Iran's parliament speaker said on 4 October it stays shut until the US meets Iran's conditions (Al Jazeera).
How does the Iran war affect India?
- Mainly through energy and people: about 90% of India's LPG imports pass through Hormuz (Outlook India, 9 July), Indian sailors were hurt or rescued in tanker strikes on 3 and 6 October, and 11 Indians were injured at Riyadh airport on 10 October (Zee News).
Will petrol prices rise in India?
- Not known yet. Pump prices do not track crude immediately because of taxes, margins and government action (Outlook India).
- Air fares have already moved: IndiGo's fuel charges started on 6 October (Whalesbook).
More questions people are asking
Are Indian seafarers safe?
- Not all. Eleven were injured on 6 October (The Week); Indian Defence News reports 15 or more killed since February, unconfirmed by the MEA.
- Families should check the MEA website, mea.gov.in, for current advisories and helplines.
What are the Houthis doing, and is Iran behind it?
- The Houthis claim strikes on Riyadh airport and an Aramco refinery, and Yemen's government says it is fighting back (New Indian Express, France 24). India Today's headline blames them for the deadly 10 October Riyadh airport attack.
- Outlets describe the Houthis as Iran-backed, but no source we read says Tehran directed the October attacks.
Who is winning the Iran war?
- Not known. Trump says Tehran has been "decimated" (India TV), while Iran's leaders say Hormuz stays closed on their terms (Al Jazeera).
Will the Iran war end soon?
- Not known. Talks are stalled, and we found no scheduled talks, UN Security Council meeting or deadline for any date.
- Fox News reported a proposed seven-day trust-building period; Trump says a decision is coming "the easy way or the hard way" (India TV).
What is the US war powers fight about?
- Congress has voted on resolutions to limit Trump's power to wage the war. The Senate passed one 50-48 on 23 June, but NPR called it symbolic, without force of law.
- House tallies differ by outlet: 215-208 in NPR-linked results and 214-208 in a C-SPAN clip for the 3 June vote.
What is being claimed online but is not supported by reporting
- Old or fake strike videos: Poynter found a 2015 explosion in Tianjin, China, posted as "Tel Aviv bombed" on 1 March 2026, October 2024 missile footage reposted as new, and AI-made clips in an "Iranian bases attacked" compilation.
- "Hormuz letter" accounts: Reddit users in an oil forum have questioned social accounts posting dramatic Hormuz updates that differ from Reuters' reporting. Treat them as unreliable.
- "Talks are market manipulation": posts on Reddit claim US announcements about talks are made to move markets. That is opinion; no reporting we read supports it.
- An Iran link to flydubai: Trump suggested one without evidence, Al Jazeera reported; Iran's foreign ministry calls it a "false flag".
- A rupee "record low" near 94.4 per dollar: this figure appeared only in a search snippet with no date. We have not used it.
- A shipping ministry ban on Hormuz voyages: a reported DG Shipping circular stopping Indian seafarers from Hormuz voyages appeared only in a search snippet. We could not verify it.
What we don't know yet
- How many people have died. We found no verified casualty total. Early-March figures from the rights group HRANA and the Iranian Red Crescent differ, according to Wikipedia.
- Whether Khamenei was killed. Wikipedia and one small US news site say Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the first strikes. We could not confirm this with an official statement or a major outlet, so it is unconfirmed.
- Who ordered the Riyadh airport attack. India Today's headline blames the Houthis; we found nothing beyond that attribution.
- Who the 11 Indians hurt in Riyadh are. We found no names, home states or embassy helpline number in the reports we read.
- Who fired at the tankers. UKMTO called the MT Kazimah III projectile unidentified, and the attacker in the MT On Peace strike has not been named.
- Whether Iran directed the Houthis' October attacks. No source we read says so.
- What happened between August and September. We could not build a dated record of strikes in those months.
- Any UN step after April. We found no Security Council action after the 7 April veto.
- Chabahar. We found no October reporting on India's port project in Iran.
- The rupee. We found no verified rupee level for 6 October.
- Hormuz insurance. We found no published war-risk insurance rates.
- India's latest numbers. We found no October MEA evacuation figures and no change to petrol, diesel or LPG prices.
- The flydubai incident. Its cause has not been established, and we found no published investigation result.
What happens next
The US midterm elections on 3 November are the only dated marker we found; The Federal argues they could change the course of the war. Trump says a decision on Iran is coming "soon", and he is weighing strikes on the Houthis after the Riyadh attack (New Indian Express headline), with no date for either.
How we did this
We built this timeline on 6 October 2026 and extended it on 11 October, tying every dated event to a named outlet and marking anything that rests on Wikipedia alone. We kept the US-Israel-Iran war, the Hormuz shipping crisis and the Yemen fighting as separate tracks, because no source we read links Tehran directly to the Houthis' October attacks.
We read reporting from Al Jazeera, The Week, UN News, NPR, Outlook India, The Federal, Whalesbook Zee News and the fact-checker Poynter. Some lines rest on headlines from India Today, New Indian Express, Sunday Guardian, Hindustan Times, NDTV, CNN, Mint, France 24 and others, named in each line. Where numbers differ, we show both. We also compared how Indian outlets framed the war across our coverage page.
This story was produced with AI assistance and reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication.
Covered by 4 outlets across the spectrum: 25% left, 0% center, 75% right.
Who is covering this story
- Left-leaning (1): The New Indian Express
- Right-leaning (3): Sunday Guardian, India Today, Zee News English
Sources
- US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Riyadh Airport Attack Leaves 12 Dead, 309 Injured As Trump Weighs Possible US Military Response Against Houthis — Sunday Guardian (right-leaning) ·
- 1 Indian killed, his 2 children injured in Houthis attack on Riyadh airport that killed 12 — India Today (right-leaning) ·
- 12 dead, over 300 hurt in Riyadh airport attack as Trump mulls US strikes on Houthis — The New Indian Express (left-leaning) ·
- Article from Zee News English — Zee News English (right-leaning) ·