Oman postpones GCC-Iran meeting on Strait of Hormuz as oil prices rise on supply fears

Yemen's Houthis launched a fresh barrage of missile and drone attacks on Saudi military targets on Monday, as Iran denied any involvement in the country's revived civil war.

The group, fighting the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government, last week seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which has become vital as the wider US-Iran war chokes the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis said they fired dozens of drones and missiles at the kingdom, prompting the Saudi Civil Defence to issue brief alerts in the neighbouring cities of Khamis Mushait and Abha.

A Khamis Mushait resident told AFP he heard "intense blasts" which left fires burning for a "long time".

"Honestly, we couldn't sleep at all."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was in Iraq in early July, attending funeral ceremonies for Iran’s slain supreme leader, when extraordinary news arrived from the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian forces had attacked three commercial vessels, setting a Qatari LNG tanker ablaze and damaging two other ships.

But according to a New York Times investigation based on interviews with Iranian officials and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Pezeshkian had not known the attack was coming.

Neither, apparently, had the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards.

Read more here.

Saudi Civil Defence has confirmed that the danger has now passed in the Khamis Mushait Governorate, following a string of alerts issued since this morning by the National Early Warning Platform. Residents are urged to keep following official Civil Defense instructions, avoid gathering in the area and refrain from filming. Anyone facing an emergency is advised to call 998.

Iran said a planned meeting with Gulf countries in Oman on Monday to discuss the Strait of Hormuz was postponed at the request of Saudi Arabia, which cited the war in Yemen.

"It is true that Saudi Arabia asked for this meeting to be postponed," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. "Invoking the Yemeni issue as the reason is a false pretext," he added at a press conference in Tehran attended by AFP.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran has “no relations whatsoever” with the developments unfolding in Yemen.

Speaking at a press conference, Baghaei said Iran “does not interfere in Yemeni affairs”.

He also accused some countries of using the situation to drive a wedge between Iran and other regional countries.

Iran's nuclear chief was blocked from attending an annual conference on Monday at the headquarters of the UN's nuclear agency in Vienna due to opposition from the United States, Iranian state television said.

"Mohammad Eslami and his delegation took a regular flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were blocked on the way because of obstructions by the United States," the state broadcaster reported, saying he had returned to the capital Tehran.

He was due to attend the annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, which runs until Friday in Austria.

He attended last year's conference and delivered a speech there on behalf of Iran, a member state of the IAEA.

Tehran summoned Austria's charge d'affaires in response to the decision to bar Eslami.

"The Austrian government's refusal to issue visas to the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a completely unjustified decision," foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at a press conference in Tehran attended by AFP.

"It is clear to us that this incident occurred under American pressure, but that does not absolve the Austrian government of responsibility."

A diplomatic source in Vienna, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Eslami was refused entry to Austria due to US pressure.

The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, arguing that its nuclear programme posed a threat.

For decades, Western powers have suspected the Islamic republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim that Tehran categorically denies.

South Korea and the United States plan to hold their senior-level regular defence talks this week, the defence ministry said Monday, amid Seoul weighing military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz.

The biannual Korea-US Integrated Defence Dialogue (KIDD) will be held in the southeastern port city of Busan from Wednesday through Friday, according to the ministry.

Kim Hong-cheol, deputy defence minister for policy, and George Lemeur, US deputy assistant secretary of war for East Asia, will lead the talks, along with other key defence and foreign affairs officials.

"The meeting is expected to discuss a wide range of pending security issues, including (Seoul's) retaking of wartime operational control (OPCON), joint defence posture and cooperation in shipbuilding," the ministry said.

The allies did not specify, but they are widely expected to discuss the possibility of Seoul's military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz amid Washington's pressure on South Korea to join efforts to secure the crucial waterway, reports Yonhap news agency.

South Korea sent a team tasked with assessing the security situation near the Strait of Hormuz to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week.

The move raised speculation that South Korea is seriously considering military deployment to the strait, but the government has stressed that nothing has been decided on the issue. Iran has publicly warned against any potential military dispatch to the area, warning such a move would lead to "serious consequences."

The issue of Seoul's push to regain OPCON from Washington will be discussed at this week's meeting. South Korea seeks to regain wartime command before President Lee Jae Myung's five-year term ends in 2030 or even as early as next year.

Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence issued a warning via the National Early Warning Platform alerting residents of Abha City to a potential danger.

The danger has since been lifted. Authorities urge residents to continue following instructions from Civil Defence, avoid crowding and photography, and call 998 in case of emergencies.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on social media platform X that, as of September 13, US forces have redirected 101 commercial vessels to ensure compliance.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday downplayed reports that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite images of a military base in Jordan before and after an Iranian strike killed three US soldiers.

"You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you're right, and we spy on them too," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One a day after The Wall Street Journal reported Beijing's intelligence sharing.

"That's what we do. They basically do what we do," Trump said.

The incident could deepen tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of a planned state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24.

On July 17, Iran launched missile strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which houses US forces. Three US Army soldiers were killed.

Unnamed American officials cited in the Journal's reporting did not name the Chinese entities involved, and did not suggest that Beijing was directly to blame.

Chinese officials asked for proof of the transfer of satellite imagery when prodded by the US officials, and refused to acknowledge that Chinese companies were involved in providing Tehran with satellite images, the Journal reported late Friday.

A US Air Force colonel shot down over Iran in April said he prayed as he plunged toward the ground after an Iranian shoulder-fired missile damaged his parachute.

The officer, identified by the call sign “Bravo,” was the weapons-systems officer aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle, part of a two-person crew on a mission known as “Dude 44.” The pilot was identified by the call sign “Alpha.”

The aircraft was shot down over a mountainous desert area of Iran, separating the two airmen. Bravo said he fell at an estimated 70 to 100 mph (112 to 161 kph) after the missile damaged his parachute.

“At one point when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” Bravo said in his first public account of the incident.

He said he paused and prayed as he fell. “Lord, your will be done. But if I’m getting through this, I need help,” he recalled saying.

Bravo survived the fall but was left behind enemy lines, separated from his pilot and facing the challenge of surviving in unfamiliar terrain while awaiting help.

The account offers a rare first-person description of what happened to one of the US airmen whose F-15E was shot down during the fighting with Iran.

Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait, discussed the latest regional developments during a phone call with Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman.

Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported that during the call on Sunday, the two ministers discussed diplomatic efforts aimed at strengthening security and stability in the region and ensuring the safety and freedom of maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, reviewed the latest regional developments during a phone call with Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait.

Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported that during the call on Sunday, the two sides discussed ongoing diplomatic efforts and joint coordination aimed at de-escalating tensions and strengthening security and stability in the region.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman reaffirmed Qatar's support for all diplomatic efforts and initiatives aimed at reaching a solution that guarantees freedom of maritime navigation and paves the way for a comprehensive agreement that achieves lasting peace in the region.

The loss of the Ali al-Taher heights in southern Lebanon, also known as Hamas Heights, to Israeli forces has triggered a fierce political fight in Tehran, with Iranian hardliners accusing the negotiators of a June agreement with Washington of failing to protect Hezbollah’s Lebanese front. Israel said it had destroyed more than 2km of underground Hezbollah infrastructure beneath the strategic ridge, including a command complex, weapons storage sites and living quarters.

The operation came after the Israeli military declared “operational control” over the area above and below ground. Ali al-Taher overlooks Nabatieh in southern Lebanon and has long been viewed as a strategically important Hezbollah position. The ridge sits roughly 15 km from the Israeli border and north of the Litani River, an area central to the group’s military presence in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces announced that they had taken operational control of the ridge on Sept. 3. On Sept. 10, they destroyed the underground network in a major detonation, which Israeli officials said completed the consolidation of a security zone in the area.

At least eight women are now facing death sentences in Iranian prisons, including four whose cases are linked to nationwide protests that erupted in January, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, or HRANA, reported.

The cases add to growing alarm over what rights groups describe as an intensifying campaign of executions and capital prosecutions against protesters and political detainees, as per Iran International.

Four of the women — Maryam Hadavand, Mahnaz Chardouli, Leila Abolhasani and Taraneh Rahimi — were sentenced to death in cases tied to the January demonstrations, HRANA said.

Hadavand, 45, a mother of two, was arrested after events in Pakdasht, southeast of Tehran, on Jan. 8. HRANA said she was convicted on accusations including involvement in the deaths of two Basij members, setting fire to a religious site, damaging public property, and assembly and collusion against national security.

Oil prices rose sharply on Monday, pushing Brent crude above $107 a barrel as escalating tensions in the Middle East stoked fears of disruptions to global energy supplies.

Brent crude for November delivery gained 2.8 percent to $107.54 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October rose 2.3 percent to $102.34.

Both contracts extended last week's gains after climbing back above the $100 threshold.

The market's focus remained firmly on the Middle East, where fresh security concerns threatened key export routes.

It came as Saudi Arabia temporarily shut its East-West pipeline following drone attacks, while a merchant vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday killing one person and injuring three others, Iranian authorities said.

The strait was free to transit before the war, but Iran now requires vessels to obtain permission and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees.

Ships that do not comply are regularly targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States periodically bombs the Iranian coastline to challenge the Islamic republic's control of the strait.

Oman has also postponed talks between Iran and Gulf states on the future of the strategic waterway, a vital route for a large share of the world's seaborne oil trade.

Following the postponement of a scheduled meeting between Iran and Gulf nations slated for Monday in Oman, Iranian state media reported that the measure was executed upon the direct solicitation of select neighbouring governments.

According to Iranian state media, the rescheduling represented a mutual resolution finalised collectively by Tehran and Muscat.

“The meeting was postponed at the request of some regional countries in a decision jointly made by Tehran and Muscat,” the Fars news agency reported, citing an official attached to the Iranian foreign ministry.

Oil prices fell in early trading Monday after a sharp weekly advance, but remained elevated as fresh reports of attacks on shipping and a temporary shutdown of a major Saudi pipeline kept supply concerns at the forefront.

The screenshot shows West Texas Intermediate crude at $100.00 a barrel, down $2.43, or 2.37% at around 7.30am Tokyo.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, stood at $104.60, down $3.02, or 2.81%. Murban crude fell $3.02, or 2.47%, to $119.50.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said: "The regional meeting scheduled to take place tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed until a later date to ensure appropriate conditions for constructive dialogue that can help achieve sustainable understandings, support regional security and stability, and meet the aspirations of the region’s peoples for cooperation and peace."

Iran’s foreign ministry official said that the postponement comes at a request by some regional countries, and is a joint decision by Tehran and Muscat.

Day 198: Saudi pipeline attack, Yemen crisis add to regional tensions

Day 197: Saudi Arabia shuts pipeline after attacks as Houthis seize Yemen's Red Sea coast

Day 196: Iranian strikes hit US aircraft in Jordan

Day 195: Iran Guards say target unmanned US sea drone in Hormuz

Day 194: Iran Guards say war can end if US halts threats, meets demands

Day 193: IRGC Navy warns tanker crews near Kuwait, Bahrain