Eisenkot tasked with forming Israel's government, Trump and Iran trade warnings, Egypt train crash
Israel's president asks Gadi Eisenkot to form a government, Trump and Iran's foreign minister trade warnings over talks, debris from a Houthi attack hits an Aramco building in Riyadh, two trains collide south of Cairo, and Pope Leo leaves Uruguay for Argentina.
President Isaac Herzog formally tasked Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming Israel's next government at a ceremony in Jerusalem on Sunday, after 67 of the Knesset's 120 members recommended him and 46 recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. United Torah Judaism, with 7 seats, recommended no one. Eisenkot has 28 days, with a possible extension of up to 14 days, to build a coalition.
Eisenkot saysHe will try to form a national emergency government, saying Israel 'cannot afford delay or yet another cycle of endless elections' and inviting parties to join him.
Netanyahu saysHe called for a government of national unity including all the parties of what he calls the national camp, and warned against a government that relies on Arab parties.
President Trump told CNN in a phone interview that new strikes on Iran are 'highly unlikely' if talks progress on Iran's nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while saying three U.S. aircraft carriers in the region are 'fully locked and loaded.' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran's two-day proposal stands and warned Iran would 'rain down hell' if the war escalates.
The U.S. saysTrump said further strikes depend 'on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,' and that he would strike again 'if necessary.'
Iran saysAraghchi said the U.S. should meet Iran's requirements, including an end to war on all fronts, or face Iran's forces; he wrote, 'American voters have made their choice. Time for the White House to make its own.'
A Saudi Energy Ministry official said falling shrapnel from an attempted attack hit a Saudi Aramco administrative building in Riyadh on Sunday, causing limited damage and no injuries. The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed missiles fired by Yemen's Houthis toward Riyadh and the south, and intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone aimed at the Eastern Province. The coalition says at least 15 missiles and drones have been intercepted or destroyed across the kingdom this month.
A train traveling from Giza to Fayoum struck the rear of a train bound for Aswan in the al-Ayyat district of Giza province, about 32 miles south of Cairo, on Sunday. Egypt's Health Ministry says at least seven people were killed and more than 100 were injured. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi ordered a prompt investigation, and the Egyptian Railway Authority sent emergency teams and cranes to clear the wreckage and restore service.
Pope Leo XIV held an outdoor Mass outside Montevideo to close a three-day visit to Uruguay on Sunday before heading to Argentina, the home country of Pope Francis. AP calls Argentina the most fraught stop of his 12-day tour, because Argentine church leaders have criticized President Javier Milei's spending cuts. The tour ends in Peru. Leo, 71, had surgery on October 13 to remove a cancerous lung tumor.
