US-Iran conflict: Saudi pipeline attack, Yemen crisis add to regional tensions
Houthis hit Saudi base, tighten Bab Al Mandeb grip as Strait of Hormuz dispute escalates
Highlights
Iran, Oman agree on details of Hormuz Strait's new entry, exit routes
Iran and Oman have agreed on the details of new entry and exit routes for the Strait of Hormuz and will brief Gulf countries on the outcome of their consultations at a regional meeting in Muscat on Monday, Iranian officials said.
Citing a source close to Iran's negotiating team, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said that the understanding was reached after "intensive technical and diplomatic talks between Iran and Oman, which culminated in a final agreement in late August."
Under the understanding, the Gulf's entry route "lies entirely within Iran's territorial waters," and a portion of the exit route also falls "within Iranian territorial waters," the source said.
The source stressed that the route would operate under Iranian arrangements and the waterway's southern route will be closed once the new system becomes operational, noting that the United States had insisted that the southern route must be opened.
"The understanding in no way means that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened," the source said, adding that Iran has seven conditions for reopening the waterway and has conveyed them to the United States.
The source underlined that the waterway will remain closed unless those conditions are implemented, with reopening depending entirely on the US behaviour, Xinhua news agency reported.
Houthi fighters in Yemen say they hit Saudi military base
Houthi fighters in Yemen said Sunday they used drones and missiles to attack a military base in southern Saudi Arabia.
The attack at the Sharurah base targeted "weapons depots and command and control centres that are managing the aggression against our nation and people", Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X.
The date of the operation was not specified. Clashes have increased this week between the Iran-allied Houthis and Yemeni government forces, which are backed by Riyadh.
1,400 flee Yemen fighting to Djibouti
About 1,400 people have fled Yemen for Djibouti due to fighting between government forces and Iran-allied Houthis, Djibouti's minister of economy and finance said Saturday.
Houthi fighters control a large part of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeida in the west. They have advanced along the coast in just days and on Thursday seized the port city of Mokha.
The Houthis have since taken control of the coastline and islands in the Red Sea, and on Friday tightened their grip on the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, which is vital to global shipping through the Suez Canal.
"1400 GBPrefugees arrived in GBPDjibouti from GBPYemen in just 24 hours," Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh wrote on X.
Located opposite Yemen on the Horn of Africa, tiny Djibouti borders the Bab Al Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden.
Safiya Ibrahim, humanitarian response coordinator for the International Organization for Migration, told AFP that "vulnerable groups such as women and children have reached the shores of Obock, with more expected in the coming days".
According to the United Nations, at least 76,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since July, with the number quadrupling in the last week after the latest fighting.
Somali pirates briefly seize vessel in Gulf of Aden
Somali pirates briefly hijacked a vessel off the coast of Yemen this week, the European Naval Force and security sources in Puntland said on Saturday.
Six armed men stormed the MT Glamour on Thursday when the ship, sailing under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was about 38 nautical miles (70 kilometres) off the coast.
The Gulf of Aden and the Somali coast have seen a resurgence in piracy since April, with at least 15 attacks recorded this year - the highest since 2013, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Several security sources in the northeastern Puntland region - a major hub of Somali piracy - told AFP that six armed men boarded the Glamour after setting off from a small fishing village.
According to the European Naval Force, the crew stopped the vessel, shut down its systems and took refuge in the citadel as a precaution before the vessel was boarded.
After the hijacking, a Japanese warship approached the vessel and helicopters circled the ship, prompting the pirates to abandon it, the Puntland authorities said.
On Friday, Somali pirates released the cargo ship MV Sward, which was hijacked in April with 17 crew members on board.
Security sources and the authorities in Puntland said a ransom was paid.
Four tankers seized this year remain in the hands of pirates off the Somali coast - the Honour 25, the Eureka, the Asana and the Seamull, which is also known as Sibu 1.
The Seamull, which is part of Iran's "ghost fleet" accused of exporting Iranian oil, is subject to US sanctions.
2 hurt by projectile in Saudi Arabia
Two people were injured after a projectile launched by the Houthi militia landed in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan region on Saturday, damaging a mosque, several buildings and vehicles, Saudi Civil Defence said.
The Civil Defence spokesman said teams in Al Tuwal Governorate responded on Saturday, September 12, 2026, after the projectile landed in the area.
The incident resulted in two injuries and material damage to a mosque, a number of buildings and several vehicles, the spokesman said.
He said targeting civilian objects constituted a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, adding that the established procedures for such incidents had been implemented.
