Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

'Hopefully we are towards end' of Iran war, says Trump as conflict drags on

Trump is expected to meet leaders or foreign ministers from six Gulf Cooperation Council states in New York next week to discuss US postwar plans, Axios reported

US watchdog tallies Iran war's toll on weapons stockpiles, military bases

A US government watchdog released its first report on the impact of the Iran war on Monday, acknowledging the military's advanced weapons shortfalls and offering the first public look at the damage to American aircraft, bases and diplomatic outposts in the Middle East. Much of the information has been previously reported over the past six months, but the Pentagon inspector general's report offered the fullest official accounting so far of the conflict's costs in American lives, taxpayer dollars and physical damage. It included information from the watchdogs for the Defence and State departments as well as the US Agency for International Development. The report, whose publication was first reported by NBC News, noted that the US war with Iran "has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply" in regard to advanced weapons. Experts have previously said it will take about three years for military contractors to replenish ...

Iran-backed Houthi rebels seize 2 strategic islands for shipping in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthi rebels have seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea, bolstering the Iran-backed rebels' ability to control a key maritime shipping route. Meanwhile, repairs to a crucial Saudi Arabian oil pipeline that was struck in an attack last week could last three to five weeks, putting it mostly out of service, two regional officials said. Here's a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here. Houthis gain ground as oil prices face more pressure --------------------------------------------------------- Houthi officials said Monday that rebels had taken over the two islands just as Saudi-backed government forces tried to claw back territory from the rebels' swift advances around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas transits in peacetime -- in the opening days

Yemen conflict intensifies as Houthi attacks threaten Red Sea oil supplies

The conflict in Yemen intensified on Sunday, as government forces launched attacks against Iran-backed Houthi rebels along the Red Sea and Houthis fired into neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen's government. The Yemeni government vowed to send more forces to the Red Sea coast and one official conceded a "painful" defeat last week when Houthis captured the port city of Mokha and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation -- especially Houthi attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and its shipping in the Red Sea -- adds pressure on global oil supplies and prices, and that could give Iran leverage in its war with the United States. As Yemen risks descending into another civil war, the United Nations estimated that more than 80,000 people in the impoverished country have been displaced by the fighting since the start of September. One woman said a mortar shell fell nearby as she fled in the middle of the night

China spies on us, we spy on them too: Trump on Iran satellite images

Trump downplayed a WSJ report that Chinese entities supplied Iran with satellite imagery of a US base in Jordan before a July missile strike that killed three US troops

How Iranian hard-liners prevailed and sabotaged peace deal with US

Opponents derailed the agreement with a clandestine effort to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, regime insiders say. Iran's president was furious when he found out

Iranian ship struck in Hormuz; talks between Tehran, neighbours postponed

An Iranian cargo vessel was struck early Sunday off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said, and a plan by Tehran to brief neighbouring countries on its contested efforts to manage shipping in the strait was postponed. The attack, which the reports said killed one and wounded four, drew attention back to the strait after threats to shipping in the region intensified last week when Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted the Qeshm governor as blaming a "terrorist enemy" for Sunday's attack. There was no immediate comment by the US military, which has struck Iranian-flagged vessels during its blockade of Iranian ports and faces a new threat from Iranian ballistic missiles launched at its warships. Qeshm Island, about 22 kilometres from the port city of Bandar Abbas, is key to Iran asserting control over the Strait of Hormuz. Hours before the attack, Iran's government remai

Iranian commercial vessel hit near Strait of Hormuz, 1 killed, 3 injured

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.

Current inflation shock likely to last longer than expected: ECB president

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

Iraq says attack on Saudi Arabia's pipeline originated from its territory

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

Saudi Arabia has few options amid mounting threats from Iran, its allies

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 .

Saudi suspends key oil pipeline, only route bypassing Hormuz after attacks

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 US, Israel 'bullying': Prez Pezeshkian in India

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 seeks end to Saudi blockade of Yemen after Houthi rebels take key port

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

US aircraft damaged in Iranian strikes on Jordan air base, no casualties

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

Vessel traffic through Strait of Hormuz falls to 7, below 10-day average

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