Escalation in the Middle East: Drone attacks on Saudi pipeline and Houthi advance

Eva Glaser

Iraq confirms attacks on Saudi oil pipeline from its territory

The Iraqi government has confirmed that attacks on a Saudi oil pipeline came from Iraqi territory. The government announced on Saturday morning that Prime Minister Ali al-Saidi had ordered an investigation into the task force in Majsan province and fired its commander. Authorities had previously determined that the attacks on Saudi Arabia were launched from a location in that province.

Eva Glaser

Iran promises to open the Strait of Hormuz

According to the Isna news agency, Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian is holding out the prospect of reopening the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. However, Peseschkian ties this step to an end to the US naval blockade and military actions by the US Army.

According to Peseschkian, Oman and Iran will sign an agreement on new shipping routes in the strait this Monday in the Omani capital Muscat. Both countries are neighbors of the Strait of Hormuz. According to Peseschkian, the foreign ministers of the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf will also take part in the signing. The agreement should then be handed over to the International Maritime Organization.

Alisa Svoboda

Report: US protection for tankers in Hormuz only at certain times

According to a media report, the USA is limiting military protection for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz to certain time windows. The ships were asked to only pass through the strait at set times, reports the Financial Times newspaper, citing emails from the US Naval Coordination Center. Since the beginning of September, protection from the air has been limited to two daily time windows. The background is increased Iranian attacks on ships at night. The government in Washington has been offering the support since May to ships using a route along the Omani coast.

Sarah Sendner

Iraq closes Iran crossing after drone attack on Saudi pipeline

Iraq is closing the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran as a precautionary measure following recent drone attacks in Saudi Arabia. Two insiders told the Reuters news agency. A large-scale operation is currently underway to catch the perpetrators. The government in Riyadh attributes the attack on the country's important east-west pipeline to drones launched from Iraq. Meanwhile, the Saudi Civil Defense in Khamis Mushait warned of a possible danger.

Sarah Sendner

Iraq ousts military commander after drone strikes on Saudi Arabia

Iraq is removing a military commander, according to the prime minister's office. Investigations have shown that the most recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia came from Iraqi territory. According to the statement, the commander was previously responsible for operations in the southern Iraqi province of Maysan.

Sarah Sendner

Saudi Arabia shuts down important pipeline after attacks

Saudi Arabia has shut down the important east-west pipeline, which can bring oil from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea bypassing the effectively blocked Strait of Hormuz, as a precautionary measure after attacks on the line in the Riyadh and Medina regions. This was announced by the state news agency SPA, citing a source in the Energy Ministry. Several people were injured in the attack on Thursday. The necessary measures have been taken to secure the pipeline, it said.

There was initially no information about possible damage or about the attacker. The US broadcaster CNN reported, citing information from US government officials, that the more than 1,200 kilometer long pipeline was attacked by drones that were said to have taken off from Iraq. The US command for the region, Centcom, declined to comment on the report when contacted.

Felicitas Dahmen

Iran and Gulf states want to talk about the Strait of Hormuz

Iran and Persian Gulf states reportedly plan to discuss the contested Strait of Hormuz next Monday. Foreign ministers from Iran, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are expected to take part in the meeting, as the Financial Times and the Iranian news portal Iran Nuances reported. The meeting will be held in Oman.

Tom Körkemeier

Felicitas Dahmen

Israel: Underground Hezbollah base destroyed in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army says it used around 1,100 tons of explosives to destroy underground facilities belonging to the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon. The detonations at the Ali al-Taher ridge near Nabatiya triggered seismic tremors of magnitude 4.1 on Thursday evening, as the Lebanese newspaper “L'Orient Today” reported, citing the country's seismological center. Residents in Beirut, about 70 kilometers away, said the walls of their houses were shaking.

Alisa Svoboda

Iranian President arrives in India for BRICS summit

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian traveled to New Delhi for the BRICS summit. Indian broadcasters reported that the Middle East conflict would be high on the agenda. Pezeshkian, visiting India for the first time as head of state, will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian state news agency Irna said. The two-day BRICS summit begins tomorrow.

Alisa Svoboda

Israel's army kills high-ranking Hamas commander in the Gaza Strip

The Israeli army says it has killed a high-ranking commander of the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a targeted attack.

According to the military, the commander of Khan Yunis's Hamas brigade, Muhammad Jasuri, was responsible for planning dozens of attacks on Israeli soldiers. He is also said to have pushed ahead with the reconstruction of the brigade, which was weakened in the Gaza war. The terrorist organization Hamas has five brigades in the Gaza Strip.

Tim Seckel

Al Jazeera: Saudi Arabia carries out air strikes on captured Houthi port

The news channel Al Jazeera cites reports from Houthi militia channels that apparently report air strikes by Saudi Arabia. This is said to be about the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea, which the militia had conquered just hours earlier.

Alisa Svoboda

Houthis capture island in important Bab al-Mandab strait

Iran-allied Houthi rebels have seized a strategically located island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to Yemeni government sources. The shipping route through the Red Sea, which is extremely important for world trade, is likely to be even more threatened than before.

Alisa Svoboda

Iran talks to Pakistan about regional escalation

Iran's foreign minister called Pakistan's army chief in the wake of the regional escalation in Yemen. Minister Abbas Araghchi and Field Marshal Asim Munir exchanged views on Thursday evening about the “increasing tensions and increasing insecurity in the region,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

Both sides pointed to the need for regional coordination to create “lasting peace” and “sustainable security” in the region. The nuclear power Pakistan is mediating in the conflict between the USA and Iran, but recently without any noticeable progress.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. dpa

Tim Seckel

Houthi militia controls large parts of the Yemeni coast

The Iran-backed Houthi militia is advancing in Yemen along the strategically important Bab al-Mandab strait on the Red Sea. The Islamists have reached the coastal town of Dhubab, two representatives of the Yemeni government told the Reuters news agency. The city, along with the nearby island of Perim, is considered key to control of Bab al-Mandab, one of the world's most important shipping routes for transporting oil and other goods.

The news channel Al-Jazeera even reports that the militia has taken control of the country's entire coast along the Red Sea. A correspondent for the station was on site and reported that the militia fighters also controlled the port city of Murad, which had previously been the last place held by Yemeni government troops.

Alisa Svoboda

Report: Trump rejects Saudi request to attack Houthis

According to a media report, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unsuccessfully urged US President Donald Trump to carry out military strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The crown prince called Trump twice on Thursday and called for the attacks on the Iranian-backed militia, the news portal Axios reported on Friday, citing two US government officials. However, Trump rejected the request. The US government currently does not intend to take direct military action against the Houthis and wants to concentrate on the conflict with Iran. A statement from the USA and Saudi Arabia was initially not available.

According to the Axios report, the USA is concerned about the escalating conflict in Yemen and is expanding its support for Saudi Arabia. However, they wanted to avoid direct military involvement. US officials have signaled to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks that President Trump wants to focus on Iran and securing the Strait of Hormuz and avoid opening another military front.

Alisa Svoboda

Report: Gulf states and Iran plan meetings on Strait of Hormuz

According to a newspaper report, the foreign ministers of the Gulf states want to meet with their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Monday. The talks in the coastal city of Salalah will seek a temporary agreement to regulate shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reports, citing two people familiar with the matter. The initiative for the meeting comes from Oman and Iran. The Reuters news agency was initially unable to independently verify the information.

Alisa Svoboda

Saudi Arabia announces measures against Houthi attacks

After the capture of the strategically important Yemeni port city of Mocha by the Houthi rebels, Saudi Arabia has announced countermeasures. The kingdom will take all necessary steps to deter attacks by Iranian-backed rebels. Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdulasis Alwasil reiterated at the UN Security Council his country's right to protect its territorial integrity in accordance with the UN Charter and international law.

The Houthis took Mocha on Thursday. This brings them closer to controlling an important access route to the Red Sea. The port city is around 80 kilometers from the Bab al-Mandab Strait. About twelve percent of the world's oil and other goods are shipped via the waterway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The route has become even more important for global energy supplies since Iran disrupted shipping traffic through the nearby Strait of Hormuz following attacks by the US and Israel in February.

Bab al-Mandab Strait Reuters

Sarah Sendner

Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz decreases

Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for oil transport, is decreasing. Seven ships passed through the strait on Thursday, up from 11 the day before, according to preliminary ship tracking data. The ten-day average is 15. The figures exclude ships that have switched off their location transponders to avoid detection.

Sarah Sendner

Authority: Two ships shot at off Oman

Two ships were attacked again in the Strait of Hormuz. The captain of another ship observed “four unknown projectiles” hitting the two ships, the British Maritime Safety Authority (UKMTO) reported. The incident occurred around seven kilometers west of the Omani town of Khasab. A fire broke out on one of the ships, while the condition of the second ship was unclear. It is also uncertain who was responsible.

In the conflict with the USA, Iran is largely blocking traffic through the strait, which is important for global trade in oil, gas and fertilizer, with threats and attacks on ships. However, according to US media, the US military repeatedly successfully escorts ships along the Omani coast through the passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Angelika Ahrens

US imposes new sanctions on Iran supporters

The United States on Thursday imposed new sanctions on companies and individuals that the administration in Washington says support Lebanon's Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East. The US Treasury Department said the punitive measures were intended to further isolate Iran economically. The measures taken by the financial regulator OFAC are therefore aimed at companies and individuals in Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey. These are intended to finance the Iraqi Shiite militia Kataib Hezbollah, which is under the command of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and the Lebanese Shiite party Hezbollah.

The sanctions are part of a move announced on August 24th. “Operation Economic Outcast targets those who continue to support the faltering Iranian regime,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Whether they are funding terror, laundering money or helping Iran evade sanctions, we will find them, shut them out of the U.S. financial system and dismantle the networks that keep the regime afloat.”

Angelika Ahrens

UN envoy warns of danger to shipping from Houthi advance

The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warns the UN Security Council of a “new and more dangerous phase” in the Yemen war. The capture of the Yemeni port city of Mocha by the Houthi rebels gave them a direct presence at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This raises serious concerns about freedom of navigation on one of the world's most important waterways.

Lydia Wolter

Israel: Underground Hezbollah base destroyed in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army has destroyed underground positions of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the action and announced on Platform X that the consolidation of the security zone in southern Lebanon had been completed.