War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Oil prices have edged lower after crude exports from the Middle East increased and the Group of Seven nations pledged to boost supplies, though selling has been limited by ongoing disruption fears linked to the US war with Iran, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are down $1.20, or 1.17 per cent, at $101.05 a barrel by 1808 GMT (11:08pm PKT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude is down $1.16, or 1.27pc, at $89.95.

Boeing says it has been awarded a seven-year contract worth about $14.7 billion by Lockheed Martin to scale production and deliver PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) seekers, according to Reuters.

PAC-3 MSE is a hit-to-kill interceptor used within the Patriot air defence system to counter ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. The contract award enables Boeing to triple the production of PAC-3 MSE seekers, the missile’s guidance component that detects, tracks and helps intercept incoming targets.

Demand for the interceptor has surged as conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons stockpiles.

Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have discussed ways to provide support for Riyadh’s defence over the Yemen issue at an emergency meeting of a committee of the Makkah Defence Pact between the three nations, Reuters reports citing Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan.

“We also discussed what could be done to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue. Saudi Arabia has adopted a very constructive approach to resolving the issue,” Fidan tells reporters after the emergency meeting of the Pact’s strategic political and defence committee.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have agreed to deploy military forces and capabilities rapidly in the kingdom, the Foreign Office (FO) says following an emergency meeting of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Riyadh.

“The committee decided to move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defence commitments and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the kingdom, in accordance with the approved arrangements and the national legislation of the parties, thereby enhancing readiness, military integration, and the collective capacity to confront and counter threats,” a joint statement reads.

The development comes as Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition government launched a major military campaign on Sunday to recapture territory held by the Houthis.

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Loud explosions have been heard in the north of the Saudi capital Riyadh, an AFP journalist and residents say, as Saudi forces and their Yemeni government allies ramp up their fight against the Houthis.

The AFP journalist reports hearing a “powerful explosion”, as do residents living in the area, which is not far from the King Khalid International Airport.

One local says “the windows in my house shook” as a result of a blast.

A tanker has been struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, causing an engine-room fire that the crew is fighting, Reuters reports citing the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency.

It adds that no casualties or environmental impact have been reported.

Israel is preparing for possible new military action against Iran, either in coordination with the US or independently, Anadolu reports citing Israeli media.

The Israel Hayom newspaper says the Israeli army is preparing for a potential attack against Iran while maintaining close intelligence and operational cooperation with the US military.

The report adds that Israel is also getting ready for possible preemptive action or a response to an Iranian attack, although it has assessed the likelihood of an attack on Israel or the US before the American midterm elections as relatively low.

Israel continues to view Iran’s nuclear programme as a major concern, the newspaper adds.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said negotiation with the United States was meaningless during a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Tehran, Reuters reports citing state media.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has raised the alarm over the “sharp escalation” of fighting in Yemen, AFP reports quoting his spokesman said, as Saudi Arabia leads a counteroffensive against Houthi fighters.

“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the sharp escalation in fighting, which has intensified markedly in recent days. He condemns the continued Houthi cross-border attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” says his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

US President Donald Trump has blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries for high gasoline prices, insisting that the Iran war is no longer responsible, AFP reports.

“What’s driving up gasoline is no longer the Strait of Hormuz, because record numbers of barrels are coming out now on an almost daily basis, but the word, ‘refineries,’ where Russia’s are being blown up by Ukraine,” Trump writes on his Truth Social network.

Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has travelled to Doha at the invitation of his Qatari counterpart, as the process to end the US-Iran war continues, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency says Momeni is scheduled to hold talks with Interior Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and other Qatari officials during the visit.

Shipping bottlenecks, deep cuts in refinery output and inventory draws that could take years to replace will keep global oil prices high beyond this year, industry executives say at a conference in London, Reuters reports.

“I think it is going to be bedlam for the bulk of the end of the year and maybe 2027,” Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik says.

In his first conference address since the start of the Iran war, Amin Nasser, chief executive of the world’s biggest oil company, Saudi Aramco, tells the Energy Intelligence Forum in London it could take up to two years to refill global stockpiles drawn on as an emergency measure.

“Until [the Strait of] Hormuz fully re-opens and confidence returns, the crude reality is that pressure at both ends of the barrel will intensify. Even then, replenishing inventories while meeting demand could take up to two years,” he outlines.

“Both ends of the barrel” refers to unrefined crude and refined products, such as diesel and jet fuel.

He adds that 3 billion barrels have been lost since the start of the conflict, and 1bn barrels have been withdrawn from global inventories.

US President Donald Trump is expected to unveil a plan targeting tax-exempt red-dyed diesel as part of an effort to lower fuel prices as soon as today, two sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters.

Red-dyed diesel is essentially diesel but exempt from highway fuel taxes.

It is generally sold for use in equipment and vehicles ​that are not usually operated on public roadways, but in places like farms and construction sites. Because it is intended for off-road use, it is exempt from taxes applied to diesel fuel sold for highway transportation.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has nominated Mehrdad Akhlaghi as the country’s new minister of defence, Al Jazeera reports citing the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

According to Tasnim, Akhlaghi previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organisation and as a senior executive at the defence ministry.

The ministry has been temporarily led by several officials since Brigadier-General Aziz Nasirzadeh was assassinated at the start of the US-Israeli war.

Iranian national security chief Mohsen Rezaei has warned that the “next mistake” by the US will bring an expanded conflict on new fronts and “even greater surprises”.

“Every miscalculation by the enemy against Iran has resulted in a heavy defeat for them,” Rezaei writes on X. “With the wise leadership of the supreme leader, the support of a history-making nation and the coordination of all branches of the system, Iran will emerge from these complex circumstances with strength and determination.”

US Vice President JD Vance tells reporters that he has yet to see anything conclusive on an Iranian role in the Flydubai incident last week, Reuters reports.

Yemeni government forces have recaptured the Red Sea city of Mokha in southwestern Yemen from the Houthi rebels, Anadolu reports citing state-run news agency SABA.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran will use all diplomatic capacities to protect its national interests and strengthen its security and international standing, state broadcaster Press TV reports.

Araghchi has made the remarks in a post on Instagram following a meeting with the heads of foreign missions in Tehran a day prior, where he outlined Iran’s position on regional and international developments.

“The diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to pursue its course with seriousness by relying on its principles and national interests,” Araghchi writes. “In this path, we will use all diplomatic capacities to safeguard national interests and strengthen the position and security of beloved Iran.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland that Saudi Arabia has a right to defend itself against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Al Jazeera reports.

“Obviously the Saudis have come under Houthi attack … and they have a right to defend themselves”, he says, adding that neither Riyadh nor Yemen’s internationally recognised government were “in favour of [Houthi] control in that territory”.

Rubio also stresses that the US intends to honour the binding security agreement it has with Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi-run maritime coordination body in Yemen has issued a warning for airlines flying in Saudi airspace, Reuters reports citing Houthi-affiliated media, as internationally recognised government forces launch a major offensive against the rebel group.

The maritime coordination body says the kingdom’s airspace will not be safe as long as Saudi’s “aggression” continues.

The Saudi government media office has not immediately replied when asked about the warning.

Yemeni Assistant Defence Minister Major General Samir Al-Sabri tells Al Jazeera that the first phase of the army’s military operation against the Houthis will focus on the Bab al-Mandab strait and the port city of Mokha.

He says the army of the internationally recognised government is “on the right track” to defeat the Houthis.

“We seek to restore state authority across all Yemeni governorates. We expect liberation operations to proceed smoothly and easily in the near future,” Al-Sabri says. “We have launched coordinated counterattacks, and the government intends to accelerate efforts to extend its authority.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington still has confidence in the security of all of its bases, after five men were arrested near a British airbase on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, Reuters reports.

Rubio, asked about the US decision to remove its B-1 bombers from the British base, says that the Department of War constantly relocates assets where they need to be and that he would not directly tie last week’s incident to the move.

He adds that British authorities have been very cooperative on the case.

The families of US troops killed and injured in a drone attack on a base in Kuwait are questioning the nature of planning in the field and how warnings of a strike went unheeded, The Associated Press reports.

Six soldiers were killed and dozens injured in the deadliest known strike on US troops since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on Feb 28.

The US Army and the Pentagon have declined to comment.

“We have the right to know what really happened,” a widow of one of the six soldiers told the AP. “If somebody messed up, those people need to be held responsible.”

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Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser says satellite imagery and detailed ship tracking data are increasingly being used to attack infrastructure and oil tankers, Reuters reports.

“Satellite imaging and shipping logs are increasingly being weaponised against infrastructure and tankers. Tools of transparency should not become ammunition for aggression,” Nasser tells the Energy Intelligence Forum “Technology offers immense benefit, but also poses serious risks”.

He adds that oil markets follow headlines on the US-Israeli war on Iran, including those based on satellite imagery and ship tracking data.