US President Accused of 'Terror-Infested' Countries Remark

Libya's Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah rejected comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who included the North African nation on a list of countries described as "terror-infested." Dbeibah stated on social media that he rejected "any affront" to his country or its people "who have made great sacrifices in the fight against terrorism."

Trump made the accusation at a campaign rally in Georgia on Saturday, stating that Democrats were attempting to open the United States to "armies of migrants from terror-infested countries like Libya, Yemen, Haiti, Somalia."

Libya has experienced instability since a NATO-backed uprising and subsequent civil war led to the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country remains divided between rival administrations, each supported by different armed groups and foreign governments.

In other news from the Middle East, Saudi Arabia reopened its main airport for international flights more than two weeks after Houthi rebel strikes rendered the facility inoperable. Earlier on Sunday, Saudi military forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and a drone fired by the Houthis toward the kingdom's capital. Air defenses also destroyed 10 ballistic missiles aimed at the southern region. The King Khalid International Airport announced that terminals 1 and 2 are now open for domestic and international travel. In early October, Houthi strikes on a complex near the airport resulted in 17 fatalities and over 330 injuries.

Israel continued a military operation in the occupied West Bank following an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and injured three others in Hebron on Friday. The Israeli military announced new restrictions, including barring Palestinian laborers from working in Israeli settlements, and carried out arrests and demolitions in Hebron. The operation precedes Israel's national election on Tuesday. The vote is widely viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership and his security policies.

Iran's foreign minister stated Sunday that new threats of war would not deter Iran from its established policies. "Today, again war is being spoken about, but I am thinking about post-war status, whether a war occurs or not, our policies will remain in place," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats in Tehran. He also cautioned the U.S. against renewed strikes on Iran and reiterated Tehran's readiness to cooperate with Persian Gulf Arab nations, adding, "Everything has changed in our region. After the recent war, nothing will be like the past."