Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the weekend BRICS summit, amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, joining a host of foreign dignitaries.
Iraq has ordered the closure of the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran as a precautionary measure following the latest drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, according to two security sources.
The decision comes as Iraqi authorities launch a wide-ranging operation to identify and apprehend those responsible for the attack.
Saudi Arabia said on Friday that its strategic East-West oil pipeline was targeted by drones launched from Iraqi territory.
Iraq has dismissed a military commander in Maysan province after an investigation found that recent drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia were launched from Iraqi territory, according to a statement from the prime minister's office.
The removed officer had been responsible for military operations in the southern province.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said the kingdom's East-West oil pipeline was targeted in a drone attack launched from Iraq, according to a statement.
The ministry condemned the attack and said authorities were assessing the incident.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said it has decided not to retaliate “at this stage” following a request from Iraq's prime minister, according to a statement.
The announcement signals a temporary effort to avoid further escalation amid rising regional tensions, although Riyadh did not indicate whether its position could change in the future.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed freedom of navigation, commerce and the safety of seafarers during talks in New Delhi, India's foreign ministry said. Modi also stressed the need for continued efforts towards lasting peace and stability in the region.
Iran is planning a meeting in Oman on Monday with the foreign ministers of Iraq and other Arab states bordering the Gulf to discuss safe commercial shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Germany has expressed concern over the Houthis' capture of Yemen's port city of Mokha, warning that growing Houthi control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait could further restrict global oil and LNG shipments and harm world energy supply.
“We are closely monitoring developments in the region and in the Red Sea, particularly in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The latest reports -- which concern the capture of a port city -- are, in our view, cause for concern,” said Josef Hinterseher, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, at a press briefing in Berlin.
Diesel prices in the United States have exceeded $6 a gallon for the first time, as soaring oil prices linked to escalating Middle East tensions filter through to the pumps.
American Automobile Association data showed diesel reached $6.05 a gallon as of Friday.
The rise follows a roughly 10 per cent weekly jump in crude oil prices, driven by the ongoing U.S.-Iran war and related regional tensions. Brent crude futures stood at $106 a barrel as of 0800 GMT on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate traded at $101.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the high energy prices were linked to efforts to stop Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Iran has welcomed an acknowledgment by Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao that Iranian attacks severely damaged the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iranian forces “did indeed 'blow the hell out of the 5th Fleet HQ in Bahrain',” adding that “the American people deserve better than footing the bill for Israel's wars.”
Cao reportedly said the damage also disrupted operations involving the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, in a rare high-level admission of the scale of destruction at the Bahrain base
The Houthis have renewed ballistic missile attacks on the coastal area of Ras al-Ara in southern Yemen's Lahij province on Friday, local media reported.
Yemeni news website Al-Masdar Online said the group had “resumed its bombardment of Ras al-Ara with ballistic missiles.” The area, near the strategic Bab el-Mandab Strait, is controlled by government forces and had already been struck earlier that morning. No details were given on casualties or damage, and the Houthis have not commented.
The strikes come amid intensifying fighting since early July, with the Houthis seizing all of Al-Hudaydah province and advancing through Taiz, including the coastal city of Mokha, while government forces have gained ground in northern Al-Jawf.
Yemeni government forces have withdrawn from the island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, two government sources told Reuters on Friday.
The retreat leaves the Houthis in a stronger position to tighten their grip on the strategic waterway. The sources said Houthi fighters had also entered the nearby port city of Dhubab earlier in the day.
The city sits directly opposite Perim, and control of both is seen as central to holding sway over the strait.
Yemen's UN envoy Abdullah al-Saadi has warned the Security Council that the Houthis are attempting to impose a “new reality” in the Red Sea, threatening international shipping through the strategic waterway.
Speaking during an emergency session on Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Saadi warned of the group gaining control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, saying: “We are defending Bab al-Mandeb as a matter of international and regional security.”
He called on the Council to condemn the escalation and enforce its arms embargo against the Houthis.
The remarks came amid intensifying clashes between government forces and the Houthis along Yemen's western coast, near the strait. The Houthis have advanced in recent days, and local media reported the group had seized Zuqar Island, though this remains unconfirmed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Pakistani army chief Asim Munir spoke by phone on Thursday, discussing ways to revive diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalating Tehran's conflict with the United States, a Pakistani security official told Reuters.
The call focused on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, the prospects of returning to negotiations, and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, according to the official.
The Pakistani military has not yet responded to a request for comment.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun had a telephone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Friday and discussed the situation in the Middle East, including freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.
Gulf foreign ministers plan to meet their Iranian counterpart in a push by Oman and Iran to secure buy-in for a temporary deal to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times has reported.
The gathering is scheduled to be held on Monday in the Omani coastal city of Salalah, the report said, citing two people briefed on the matter.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called U.S President Trump twice on Thursday and urged him to launch strikes against the Houthis, U.S. news website Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials.
Trump rejected the request, and U.S. officials said the administration does not intend to take direct military action against the Iran-backed Houthis at this time, the report said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has said it destroyed a U.S.-operated naval drone at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC's official news outlet Sepha News reported.
“The IRGC Navy, with the help of God Almighty, hit an enemy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), with hull number 5838 and a 'Sil-Dron' type, at the entrance to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and thwarted its aggressive mission," the IRGC said in a statement.
Washington meanwhile announced economic sanctions targeting the Iran-backed Shia paramilitary group, Kataib Hezbollah.
“The actions announced today expose the extent to which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force has co-opted Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces and exploited commercial networks in Iraq, the UAE, Türkiye, and Lebanon to fund terrorism and evade international sanctions,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
Follow for the latest updates from the Middle East conflict.
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the weekend BRICS summit, amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, joining a host of foreign dignitaries.
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil refinery in Siberia and a seaport in Dagestan in the past 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday to discuss air defences for Ukraine over winter.
A Russian strike on a gas station in Kyiv has killed two people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement on Telegram. In Russia, online marketplace Ozon has suspended operations in Saratov, southwestern Russia, following a drone strike on a warehouse in the region.
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks drew the U.S. into Afghanistan, the Taliban is seeking a new relationship with Washington built on diplomacy, investment and trade, despite deep divisions between the former enemies.
Uzbekistan plans to introduce a new Heritage Impact Assessment system to shield historic cities and cultural heritage sites from the potential impact of construction and infrastructure development. Digital tools will also be used to manage tourist numbers and limit visitors where necessary.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to deepening its partnership with the Gates Foundation, with talks spanning polio eradication, health, financial inclusion and digital development.
Georgia’s top security official has held face-to-face talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart in China, with both sides pledging to deepen intelligence cooperation amid growing global security challenges.
More than 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday, warning that the number is rising “by the hour”.
Turkic states are considering the creation of a new law enforcement agency, TURKPOL, as members of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) step up security cooperation.
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