War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Oil prices have risen again, with Brent crude touching its highest since late April, after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoke concerns over further disruption to energy supplies from the Middle East, while UAE authorities report an oil spill, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures have gained $3.18, or 2.81 per cent, to $116.35 a barrel as of 1806 GMT (11:06pm PKT). Brent’s session high of $117.45 iss the highest in nearly six months.

US West Texas Intermediate crude has climbed $3.50, or 3.52pc, to $102.97.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will travel to Russia next week to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Reuters reports citing Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The European Commission has announced an additional €22.5 million ($25m) in humanitarian assistance for Yemen as renewed fighting deepens needs and forces thousands from their homes, Anadolu reports.

The funding comes on top of €87.5m previously allocated for 2026, bringing the total to €110m.

“Yemen is once again caught in the violence of war, while its humanitarian crisis remains largely forgotten,” says Hadja Lahbib, the EU commissioner for preparedness and crisis management.

“Families cannot wait for a ceasefire to put food on the table or find a safe place to sleep. Civilians on all sides are paying a terrible price.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claims Washington’s economic campaign against Iran has “decimated every layer of Iran’s oil lifeline”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Its shadow tanker fleet stands depleted. Its main oil terminal sits empty. And its offshore reserves are now exhausted,” Bessent writes on X. “Meanwhile, ordinary Iranians continue to endure a deepening economic crisis because the regime squanders its resources on violence and terrorism abroad instead of the prosperity of its people at home.”

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim over the Strait of Hormuz while speaking to reporters at the White House, Al Jazeera reports.

Trump says the strait is “totally ours and that’s the way we’ll keep it”.

The United States could strike Iran as soon as this weekend, AFP reports quoting a US envoy, after mounting threats by both Washington and Israel.

“Could there be a strike this weekend? Absolutely,” Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye — who does not have a direct role on Iran — tells Israeli Army Radio in response to a question.

President Donald Trump “is very clear. He’s open and available and accessible to a deal and we’ve been at the table for months and months and months,” Barrack says.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot have held a meeting on the sidelines of the R4+E3 moot in Istanbul, with the ongoing energy crisis among the topics discussed.

According to the Foreign Office (FO), both sides “exchanged views on current regional and international developments, including the wider economic and social repercussions of ongoing crises, particularly the impact on energy costs”.

“Both sides emphasised the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in addressing regional challenges and promoting peace and international cooperation,” the FO adds.

It further says that Barrot appreciated Pakistan’s role in promoting sustained engagement and advancing diplomatic efforts.

The US Department of Energy says that Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has designated helium as a critical material under the Energy Act of 2020 to strengthen American manufacturing and supply chain security, Reuters reports.

The designation advances the Trump administration’s push to reduce US reliance on foreign critical minerals, bolster domestic manufacturing and secure key materials for economic and national security, it says in a statement.

The department determines that helium meets the statutory definition of a critical material due to its essential role in American manufacturing and growing exposure to supply chain risks.

“Helium is essential to producing the semiconductors and advanced technologies that power our economy. By designating helium as a critical material, we are taking another step toward securing our supply chains, creating American jobs, and ensuring the United States leads the world in energy and technological innovation,” the statement reads, quoting Wright.

Saudi Arabia appears to be expanding its ballistic missile factory to build larger solid-fuel missiles that could fly farther or carry heavier payloads, Reuters reports citing two US researchers who analysed more than a year of commercial satellite images.

More capable missiles could help Saudi Arabia to deter attacks by Iran and make its military more self-reliant, while possibly strengthening its position in a deadly conflict with Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi fighters.

But they risk fueling a regional missile race and could deepen opposition in the US Congress to a US-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement that has already raised concerns about proliferation.

Satellite company Planet Labs, based in the US, took images of the al-Duwadimi complex about 200 kilometres west of Riyadh between April 2025 and September 2026.

The two researchers, Sam Lair and Michael Duitsman of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, assess that those images show a new building that houses casting pits and wells, in which a mixture of fuel ingredients is poured into missile motor casings and allowed to harden.

The Saudi embassy and Information Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Read more here.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) has confirmed an attack on an oil tanker took place off the coast of Oman yesterday, stating in an advisory that the vessel was struck by an unknown projectile.

“The tanker was able to continue its voyage to the next port of call,” the advisory reads.

Speaking to reporters on the White House South Lawn as he leaves on a trip to Florida, US President Donald Trump says oil is getting out through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

“We are getting everything we want,’ he says.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says a renewed attack on Iran could exacerbate tensions and further expand the conflict, adding that diplomacy and dialogue were the only way to end the war, Reuters reports.

Speaking after meeting his counterparts from Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Britain and Italy in Istanbul, Fidan said none of the countries in the meeting approve of another military intervention or attack on Iran.

President Donald Trump says the United States can end the war with Iran quickly, but questions whether Washington should seek a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually wind down, Reuters reports.

“We could end it very quickly,” Trump tells reporters. “Do we want to finish it or let it wither is the question.”

France’s foreign minister has said that any renewed escalation between Iran and the United States would only have losers and raise oil prices, according to Reuters.

“A further escalation between Iran and the United States would leave no winners and would likely have very serious consequences for hydrocarbon prices,” Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters in Istanbul after a meeting with counterparts from Britain, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is set to launch a military operation in the occupied West Bank, adding that it will be unlike any other since 1967, when Israel occupied the territory and captured East Jerusalem and Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

“I have reviewed a very extensive operation in the West Bank that will be unprecedented since ’67, and we will choose the timing of its implementation,” Netanyahu says.

The commander of Iran’s ground forces has ordered all unit commanders to remain at the highest level of combat readiness, Al Jazeera reports citing Iranian state media.

Ali Jahanshahi warned that any negligence in a wartime situation could “entail heavy costs” and that readiness is being maintained through continuous training, assessment of operational capabilities and coordination with other units, according to broadcaster IRIB.

The US Department of Energy has authorised the emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address a supply disruption affecting Phillips 66’s Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana, Reuters reports.

The United Arab Emirates says efforts are under way to contain oil leaking from a tanker offshore that has prompted authorities to close beaches and warn fishermen to avoid the area, Reuters reports.

Authorities in Sharjah have temporarily closed Al Hamriyah Beach, on the UAE’s northern coast near the border with Umm Al Quwain, as a precaution, the Sharjah Government Media Bureau says.

Iran’s permanent mission to the UN in Vienna has issued a statement calling for an end to the “selective and politically motivated implementation” of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) commitments, state news agency IRNA reports.

The statement — issued on the 70th anniversary of the approval of the IAEA statute — slams the UN nuclear watchdog for “applying double standards and discriminatory approaches”, emphasising that the statute is legally binding and must not be used as a political instrument to serve the interests of “certain powerful states”.

The Saudi-led coalition says it has intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile targeting the Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol expects the ongoing energy crisis to continue into 2027, warning that the world will still be dealing with its consequences as governments seek alternative energy sources and strengthen supply security, Anadolu reports.

Addressing the Investment Summit Towards COP31 in Istanbul remotely, Birol says developments worldwide and countries’ energy policies offer little reason to expect normalisation next year.

“I am not optimistic about normalisation in 2027,” he explains. “Even when I try to look at things optimistically, I cannot find an argument that convinces me.

“This crisis will continue in one form or another in 2027. The world will still be trying to heal its wounds, provided no new wounds emerge,” he adds.

Birol says the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is affecting the economy, agriculture and energy, prompting governments, companies and investors to reconsider their short- and long-term strategies. He draws parallels with the oil crises of 1973 and 1979, which he says spurred nuclear energy development and improvements in vehicle efficiency.

Russian oil sellers have raised ESPO Blend offers to China to record levels, supported by strong demand and higher freight costs driven by the war, although some independent Chinese refiners may baulk as margins turn negative, traders said, according to Reuters.

Far East ESPO Blend cargoes for end-December and January delivery have been offered at premiums above $25 a barrel to ICE Brent, with two offers heard above $30 a barrel delivered to China, traders said.

Vessels “violating maritime regulations” imposed by Iran have stopped moving after the destruction of navigation systems, strikes on three oil tankers and the destruction of another tanker last night, state broadcaster Press TV reports citing a source close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The source adds that any resumption of “oil smuggling will be met with a much stronger response targeting the vessels involved and the technical systems assisting them”, according to the broadcaster.

They warn that any “renewed US air intervention” will prompt a more decisive response, the consequences of which will lie with the American military