Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

State-run media say an Iranian commercial vessel was struck early Sunday off Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz, with one person killed and three wounded. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor separately reported a vessel was hit by a projectile while transiting the strait, with no details. There was no immediate statement by the US military, which previously has struck Iranian-flagged vessels as it keeps up a blockade of Iranian ports.

The ECB raised interest rates this week for the second time since the Iran war sent oil and gas prices soaring

Iraq said attacks on a key Saudi oil pipeline were launched from its territory, as US President Donald Trump appeared to blame Iran. Meanwhile, the number of displaced people in Yemen is rising quickly after a swift advance by Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatens a key alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb. And Lebanon and Israel will hold new direct talks next month. Here's a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Iraq dismisses commander over Saudi pipeline attacks ----------------------------------------------------------- Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the operations command in Maysan province, which borders Iran, and dismissed its commander after authorities determined that the attacks on the Saudi pipeline were launched from the province, the government said. The Saudi Foreign Ministry blamed the attacks on drones that came from Iraq and said the kingdom would not retaliate to give the Iraqi government "an opportunity to take

A lightning advance by Houthi rebels threatens a crucial Red Sea shipping route. Drone attacks blamed on Iraqi militias have forced the closure of a major pipeline, and Iran is still disrupting the Strait of Hormuz. It's a nightmare scenario for Saudi Arabia, and it has sent jitters through global markets. The Saudis' most essential ally, the United States, has been unpredictable and sometimes unreliable. US President Donald Trump seems reluctant to widen an already unpopular and stalemated Mideast war ahead of congressional elections. For Iran, the rebels' advance and closure of the pipeline ramp up global economic pressure as its grip over the Strait of Hormuz has been loosened. Michael Ratney, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said the latest developments are "incredibly frustrating" for the kingdom. "Despite their antipathy for the Iranians, this is a war they had never asked for, they had great trepidation about. And once it started, all of their worst-case scenarios .

The 1,200-km pipeline, which carries up to 5 million barrels per day, helps Riyadh bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where tanker traffic has slowed sharply amid the US-Iran war

Iran will not surrender to "bullying" and "arrogance" and will stand firm to protect its national interests, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday in a direct message to the US and Israel amid a sudden spike in West Asian hostilities. In an address at a gathering of religious leaders, intellectuals, academicians and business figures, Pezeshkian outlined Tehran's vision for the Gulf region, emphasising a commitment to peaceful coexistence while vowing to defeat foreign forces seeking to "sow the seeds of discord" within Iranian society. "We will not surrender to oppression. Iran is standing up to Israel and the US because we will not be bullied, and if they push us, we will push them back," the Iranian president said. He labelled the US and Israeli forces as "real militants", pointing to a US strike near a primary school in southern Iran that left 168 children dead. "They should take on our soldiers instead of targeting hospitals, infrastructure and livelihoods. They th

Iran's government on Friday called for an end to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Yemen and the immediate resumption of talks, in its first public statement since Iran-backed Houthi rebels entered a key Yemeni port and intensified their threat to a key global shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, Iran's foreign ministry said Yemen's sovereignty must be respected and its problems cannot be resolved through a blockade or military alliances. Iran also said it was ready to help support negotiations. Meanwhile, experts say the developments in Yemen could give Tehran more leverage in any negotiations with the United States after over six months of war. Events threaten a key Strait of Hormuz alternative ------------------------------------------------------ The Houthis' entry into the Red Sea port of Mokha on Thursday brings them within 80 kilometres of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important alternative for global shipping as Ir

No American casualties or fatalities were reported from the strikes on the Jordanian base

Vessel traffic through the key oil-shipping waterway fell to seven on Wednesday from 12 a day earlier and remained well below the 10-day average of 14, preliminary ship tracking data showed

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Iran early Tuesday introduced a higher price for its heaviest users of gasoline, state media reported, in the latest economic pinch caused by months of war. It's the second such hike since December. Such gas price increases can be sensitive and contribute to inflation. An increase in 2019 sparked nationwide protests and a crackdown that reportedly killed more than 300 people. Without specifically mentioning the war with the United States, the government's announcement cited the "current situation", adding that the extra money from the price increase will be given to households. Under the new system, people buying more than their quota of 110 litres (29 gallons) of gasoline a month now must pay 100,000 rials (about 7 cents) per litre, or twice as much as they have been paying since December. Iran still has some of the world's lowest gasoline prices, but the price increase adds to daily pressures for many of the country's more than 90 million people. Already, the currency has been .

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump linked high energy costs directly to ongoing military operations in the West Asia, asserting that post-war markets would stabilise rapidly

Iran said Sunday it struck an unmanned US vessel trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that the US military dismissed as a "total lie." The purported attack came a day after the US military said forces struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Navy warships being targeted with ballistic missiles. Experts called it a dangerous escalation after Iran's previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping. The war began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. But since a fragile ceasefire agreement was announced in June, on-and-off fighting has persisted, with both sides trying to inflict military and economic pain as negotiations have collapsed. Strikes came about a week after fighting resumed ------------------------------------------------------- The United States and Iran resumed attacks last week, following a month of relative calm, with the Strait of Hormuz and areas along Iran's southern coast again being targeted. At least five people were killed ear

The new head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Sunday said Tehran plans to announce an "exclusion zone" outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway. Mohsen Rezaei's comments to Iran's state broadcaster came with few details, a day after the US struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran launching ballistic missiles at US warships. Experts called the launches a dangerous escalation after Iran's previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping. The new zone should be announced in the coming days and weeks and "will begin from the line of the US naval blockade, extend toward the Strait of Hormuz, and from this side continue into the Persian Gulf," Rezaei said. "Any ship that enters this area with the intention of passing through the Strait of Hormuz and is identified will be placed on our sanctions list." It is not clear where Iran defines the location of the weekslong US blockade, which is aimed at Irani

Explosions were heard near Iran's key Gulf oil terminal, while unconfirmed reports said a tanker may have been targeted by a US missile

President Donald Trump on Friday said the conflict in Iran is "small potatoes" as he defended Vice President JD Vance for asserting that months of on-and-off attacks in the Middle East are not a "war." Asked during an Oval Office exchange about Vance's comments made a day earlier, Trump noted that US strikes on Iran are now "intermittent" and seemed to downplay the intensity of a war that's cost US taxpayers more than USD 37.5 billion and left 18 US service members dead. "I can understand what he's saying," said Trump. He added, "I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us. It's not a big thing." Vance on Thursday, during a White House press briefing, rejected the use of the word "war" to describe the US fighting with Iran and steered clear of predicting that the 6-month-old conflict would be over by November's midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress. "I wouldn't call it a war," Vance said after being

US President Donald Trump said Washington could target Iran's heavily fortified underground nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain if intelligence detects activity there