Yemen's Houthi-run maritime coordination body on Saturday denied reports that it planned to charge commercial ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It said no such decision had been made and that passage through the strategic waterway remains free.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned against any "adventurous action" by the United States during separate phone calls with Türkiye's foreign minister, Pakistan's army chief and Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, according to statements posted on his Telegram channel.
Araghchi said Iran was fully prepared to respond decisively to any act of aggression.
"Any attack by the United States or Israel, or participation by regional countries in such actions, would be met with a "decisive and proportionate response," he stated.
A blast near Eslamabad Gharb in western Iran was caused by the detonation of an old artillery shell, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported, citing the provincial governor.
The official said the explosion was the result of unexploded ordnance from an earlier conflict, with no indication it was linked to any new military attack.
Kuwait's military said it detected and destroyed hostile drones that entered the country's airspace on Saturday, accusing Iran of targeting several vital facilities.
According to the army, a government facility in northern Kuwait and civilian property on Bubiyan Island were struck. Falling debris caused material damage, but authorities said no casualties were reported.
A merchant vessel safely transited the Red Sea under the protection of the Italian frigate Bergamini, the European Union's ASPIDES naval mission said on Saturday.
The EU mission did not identify the vessel or disclose its flag, ownership or cargo.
The escort comes as commercial shipping in the Red Sea faces heightened risks following renewed Houthi attacks and their declared naval blockade targeting Saudi Arabia.
An explosion was heard in western Iran’s Kermanshah province on Saturday.
The blast was heard near the city of Eslamabad-e Gharb, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
The exact location and cause of the explosion were not immediately known.
A fire at a fuel depot in the Shamak refinery in Shamamik, southwest of Erbil in Iraq, halted operations there on Saturday, security and refinery sources said.
They added that firefighters were working to contain the fire.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” the embassy said in a security alert on X.
It also advised Americans outside the Middle East to “seriously reconsider travel to and through the region.”
Kuwait's army said it had detected and destroyed hostile drones in the country's airspace since dawn, and that what it described as an Iranian attack had targeted several vital facilities.
A government facility in northern Kuwait and civilian property belonging to a company on Bubiyan Island were hit, it said, adding that falling shrapnel caused material damage but no casualties.
A merchant vessel safely passed through the Red Sea under the protection of the Italian frigate Bergamini, the European Union naval mission ASPIDES said on Saturday.
ASPIDES, the EU's defensive maritime security operation in the Red Sea, did not identify the vessel or disclose its flag, ownership or cargo details.
Shipping in the Red Sea has faced renewed disruption in recent weeks after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and subsequently attacked Saudi vessels.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of an incident 21 nautical miles northeast of Oman's Khasab, where the master of a tanker saw a large splash and an explosion in close proximity to the vessel.
No damage to the vessel had been reported, UKMTO said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran is working with Oman to establish operational mechanisms for managing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
IRIB said Araghchi reaffirmed Iran's determination to develop operational mechanisms with Oman to manage maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.
He warned that interference by third parties in the process “would only complicate the current situation.
Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the latest situation in the region with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan in a phone call, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
Fidan and Prince Faisal also discussed the efforts to end the ongoing conflicts in the call, the sources added.
The five-month-old Iran war has expanded beyond its main fronts, embroiling additional countries in the region.
Yemen's Houthi group claimed Saturday that eight Saudi oil tankers were forced to reroute from the Bab al-Mandab Strait to the Cape of Good Hope because of its maritime blockade.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on X that the diversion is part of the group's blockade imposed on Saudi Arabian vessels.
Yemen's Houthi-run maritime coordination body denied on Saturday reports that it planned to impose fees on commercial ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The statement follows a Reuters report on Wednesday that the Iran-aligned Houthis were considering imposing fees on commercial ships sailing through the southern Red Sea.
A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile about 11 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman, leaving the vessel not under command after the engine room was damaged, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Saturday.
UKMTO said there were "no reported casualties or environmental impact" from the incident.
Lima is located on Oman's Musandam Peninsula at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping chokepoint linking the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.
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An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of August, covering the latest developments.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are progressing and suggested an agreement with Iran could be reached “soon”.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, two key maritime chokepoints in the region, decreased significantly from the previous day, according to shipping data.
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