Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit held in New Delhi, at the highest level of political communication between the two countries since the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
On Saturday (September 12) in the Indian capital, the Iranian embassy published a photo of the meeting on the “X” platform, in which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also appeared. A video clip of the meeting circulated on social media.
It is the most prominent meeting between Iranian and Emirati officials since the outbreak of war in Iran last February.
Relations between the two countries witnessed noticeable tension during the first weeks of the war, as Abu Dhabi adopted a hard-line stance towards Tehran, which included withdrawing its ambassador and closing a hospital and schools belonging to the Islamic Republic, after its territory was subjected to intense attacks with missiles and drones.
On the other hand, Iran confirmed that these attacks came as part of a response to military operations against it, noting that they targeted American interests and military bases used in attacks on it.
The level of targeting decreased significantly following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran last June. However, Abu Dhabi announced during August that Emirati oil tankers had been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, before confirming at the end of the same month that its air defenses had intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters, and described the incident as a “dangerous escalation.”
On September 2, the Iranian Armed Forces announced attacks targeting American sites in several countries in the region, including the UAE.
Before the outbreak of war, the UAE was considered one of Iran's most prominent trading partners. However, Abu Dhabi announced in August the cessation of trade and financial exchange with the Islamic Republic, coinciding with Washington’s announcement of launching an “economic war” against Tehran and tightening the sanctions imposed on it.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hinted at the possibility of reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to what the Iranian news agency ISNA reported today, Saturday (September 12, 2026), and linked this step to the condition that Washington ends its naval blockade and military attacks on Iranian ports.
ISNA reported that Pezeshkian made these statements in an interview with the Indian television channel, India Today, adding that the full text of the interview would be published later by the Iranian presidential office.
According to what was reported from Pezeshkian, Oman and Iran will sign the day after tomorrow, Monday, an agreement in the Omani capital, Muscat, regarding new navigation routes through the strait overlooked by both countries. Pezeshkian added that the foreign ministers of the Arab countries overlooking the Gulf will attend the signing ceremony, and the agreement will then be submitted to the International Maritime Organization.
In the same context, the Financial Times reported on Saturday that the United States had asked oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz to sail at specific times only to ensure military protection for them, after Iran escalated its attacks on ships sailing at night.
Since May, Washington has been providing air protection for ships wishing to sail along a route that passes along the coast of the Sultanate of Oman on the southern side of the strait.
The newspaper said, citing emails sent by the US Naval Coordination Center to naval advisors, that the period during which ships are protected has been reduced to two specific time periods per day since the beginning of September.
About 20% of global energy trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the United States and Israel began attacking Iran in late February, and Tehran responded by effectively closing the waterway using attacks and threats against ships.
The United States sought to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait by imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports, in addition to economic sanctions, at a time when fighting between the two sides in the Strait has escalated again recently.
An American official said on Friday (September 11, 2026) that the next round of negotiations that was scheduled between Israel and Lebanon in Rome has been postponed until October.
Last month, the United States announced that the Israeli-Lebanese talks in the Italian capital would be held in early September.
But the official, who requested to remain anonymous, added that although the talks will not be held on their scheduled date, the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors will meet at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Washington next week to “discuss current developments and continue implementing” the framework agreement reached in June.
On June 26, Lebanon and Israel concluded a framework agreement, after five rounds of negotiations in Washington, which stipulates the disarmament of Hezbollah, the gradual withdrawal of the Hebrew state from the lands it occupies in southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army, starting from “two experimental areas.”
The American official confirmed on Friday that the agreement “remains the only viable mechanism for restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty and Israel’s security.”
After the United States and Israel launched war on Iran in late February, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the conflict by firing missiles at Israel.
The fighting between the two sides calmed down after a memorandum of understanding was reached between Iran and the United States in June and the subsequent conclusion of an agreement between Lebanon and Israel. But Israeli raids on southern Lebanon have intensified in recent days.
The announcement of the postponement of the talks comes a day after Israel destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel network under the Ali al-Tahir Heights in southern Lebanon. After the Israeli army announced the bombing on Thursday, an earthquake measuring 4.1 degrees was recorded in southern Lebanon, according to the US Geological Survey.
A source familiar with the process of preparing for the talks told Agence France-Presse that their postponement was the result of several factors that prevented key figures from being able to participate. The source indicated that this includes preparations for the next session of the United Nations General Assembly, Jewish holidays, and the Paris conference to support the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Houthi fighters have completed their control over the Bab al-Mandab region after deploying on the strategic Mayon Island located in the middle of the strait, according to what a local government official and witnesses reported. The government official said, "The Houthis have completed their control over the Bab al-Mandab region and Mayon Island, located in the middle of the strait." He explained that "boats carrying Houthi militants arrived on Mayon Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday."
Witnesses said that the Houthi militants “are deployed on the Bab al-Mandab beach and have military vehicles roaming around.” Mayon Island is strategic as it is located in the middle of the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen in the southern Red Sea.
The local official said that the numbers of militants on the island “are not large,” noting that they are likely interested in “positioning on the hills overlooking the strait.”
The International Organization for Migration announced the displacement of at least 46,000 people as a result of the battles in southwest Yemen.
Government military sources told AFP that the Houthis are besieging government forces on the Greater and Lesser Hanish Islands. The sources said, "We do not know the fate of our forces, which consist of more than two thousand members on the islands... and according to our knowledge, the Houthi enemy asked them to surrender." A senior military official told Agence France-Presse that the besieged forces appealed to the authorities to “rescue them, send food and water, and lift the siege on them, but the matter requires air support.”
Meanwhile, Houthi media reported that Saudi air strikes targeted Mokha Airport, which is controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, a day after the Houthis entered the city of Mokha, located on the Red Sea, enabling them to continue their advance towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which constitutes a major sea corridor, especially for Saudi oil exports.
Reuters quoted two Iranian sources as saying that Tehran asked the Houthis last week to escalate their attacks on Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the United States, and promised them more funding, weapons, and senior officers to help them do so.
While Iran describes the Houthis as an ally, it publicly denies providing any military guidance to them, saying they are 'not agents' of it.
The same agency quoted a well-informed diplomat from the region as saying that a number of senior Revolutionary Guard commanders had already traveled to Yemen to supervise the Houthi attacks directed against Saudi Arabia and its leadership after weeks of discussions on the military strategy.
A third source, an Iranian official, told the agency that Tehran held several meetings with its allies, including the Houthis, and that the move to control Mokha was a Houthi decision, not an Iranian one. However, the official said the move helped Iran by putting pressure on oil prices and hurting the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Based on information gleaned from intercepted communications and accounts from Houthi prisoners, Yemeni military sources said they believed the Iranian efforts were being led by Abd al-Rida Shahlai, a senior commander in the Revolutionary Guards. Iranian sources have not yet been able to confirm this, but were described by Shahlai, a member of the Quds Force, as having spent some time in Yemen in the past few years.
Iranian sources reported that the Revolutionary Guard is still able to transfer weapons and personnel to and from Yemen despite the air and sea blockade imposed on Houthi areas. The sources did not go into details about how they did this.
“If we look at their attack on the west coast, it is not something that was planned just last week or last month,” said Ahmed Naji, Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, describing the control of Mokha as a milestone in the war.
He added, "The development of the Houthis occurred primarily because of the new weapons they obtained, whether through the Iranians directly or through the various smuggling networks on which they rely," referring specifically to their use of drones in the most recent attack.
Two other Yemeni officials said that the Yemeni government requested more air support and other assistance from Saudi Arabia as the Houthis began advancing towards Mokha last week.
The two officials stated that the government was seeking Saudi Arabia to launch an air campaign against Houthi targets in their strongholds, including Sanaa, and key strategic sites such as oil depots.
But the Kingdom limited itself to providing logistical and intelligence support and weapons, while launching limited air strikes that focused on the fighting fronts in the north in Al-Jawf and Ma’rib governorates, two areas that the government considers less important.
The two officials concluded that Riyadh was keen to avoid a major escalation with the Houthis for fear of pushing them to launch more severe air strikes with drones on Saudi territory.
Two senior Iranian sources and three other people familiar with the matter said: Iran used a barter-like arrangement to circumvent sanctions on its oil sales and buy billions of dollars of goods from China, including military equipment.
The sources, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the secret trade mechanism, which allowed the exchange of Iranian oil with funds allocated to finance Chinese imports, provided Tehran with a financial lifeline in the past few years, at a time when the United States escalated economic and military pressure on Iran because of its nuclear program.
She added that this mechanism also helped China, the world's largest importer of crude oil, to continue purchasing Iranian oil at discounted prices, while protecting banks and companies that export goods to the Islamic Republic from international scrutiny or sanctions.
On the other hand, preliminary data tracking ship movement showed that the number of ships that crossed the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, Wednesday, fell to seven ships, compared to 12 ships the day before. These levels were also below the 10-day average of 14 ships.
According to the data available today, Thursday (September 10, 2026), four ships left and three ships entered. Some ships sail through the waterway with their transponders turned off, so these ships are not included in the census.
One of the ships that came out was the very large crude oil tanker (Finland Prosperity) and it was loaded with approximately two million barrels of crude oil.
CBS correspondent Jennifer Jacobs reported on Wednesday (September 9, 2026) on the X platform that several American military aircraft were damaged as a result of strikes targeting the Muwafaq Salti Air Base in Jordan during the night.
It added that an A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft was hit and lost one of its wings, while about eight F-15 aircraft were slightly damaged and all of them were returned to service.
The sources, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, explained that about eight F-15 aircraft suffered minor damage, and were reported to have been returned to service. The sources added that one A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft, known as the Wartog, was hit and lost one of its wings. There were no reports of American deaths as a result of the strikes targeting Jordan.
The damage that occurred overnight came after the United States announced, on Tuesday, that it had attacked five Iranian oil tankers in response to Iran targeting a US Navy warship. In response, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that it had launched attacks on eight oil tankers and two warships, among its targets were Al-Qaeda in Jordan.
CBS News learned that American forces in Jordan launched more than 30 Patriot missiles to confront Iranian strikes in Jordan. The American network had previously reported that American officials were concerned about the rapid decline in the stock of Patriot missiles, along with other types of precision-guided munitions.
