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New attacks in Hormuz and Saudi test nerves as war’s spread worsens oil disruption
New strikes on Saudi Arabia and on ships in the Gulf tested nerves in the Middle East on Sunday, after an attack on a Saudi oil pipeline and an advance by Yemen’s Houthis threatened to worsen the wartime disruption to global energy supplies.
Oil traders were expecting prices to rise again when markets reopen on Monday, following the weekend developments that jeopardise supplies from the world’s biggest exporter, Saudi Arabia.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO said on Sunday that a vessel had been struck by a projectile as it moved through the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire and forcing the crew to be evacuated. Iran, for its part, said one person was killed and four crew wounded aboard an Iranian commercial vessel struck off its coast.
In Saudi Arabia, state media released video of damage to homes and a mosque from the purported latest cross-border attack by the Houthis, in Jazan province in the south. The Houthis claimed separately to have struck a Saudi military base in a neighbouring province.
Southern Saudi cities have experienced regular alerts since last week, culminating in drone strikes on Friday that knocked out the 1,200-km (745-mile) east-west pipeline across the Arabian Peninsula that has served as the main route for global supplies of Middle East oil bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
That same day, the Houthis captured Perim Island, which lies in the middle of the Bab El-Mandeb, the “Gate of Tears” strait that controls the mouth of the Red Sea.
U.S. DIESEL HITS ANOTHER RECORD
Oil prices surged above $100 last week for the first time since July. The politically sensitive retail price of diesel fuel in the United States rose on Sunday to another all-time high above $6.20 a gallon.
Traders and Saudi oil buyers told Reuters on Sunday that Riyadh has enough oil stored at its Red Sea port of Yanbu to maintain exports for just five to seven days if the pipeline struck on Friday remains shut.
After that, as much as 4% of global oil supply could be jeopardised, on top of the millions of barrels a day already lost to the disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia has not given full details of the extent of damage to the pipeline or said how long it will remain offline. Sources that spoke to Reuters have given conflicting estimates for the time needed to fix it, ranging from days to weeks. Satellite images have shown huge columns of smoke from locations along the pipeline.
TALKS IN OMAN POSTPONED
After a quiet August when flows of Middle East oil trickled back up, the past two weeks have seen a steady escalation in the war that the United States and Israel launched six months ago. No peace talks have been held since an interim agreement in June collapsed after a few weeks.
In a rare diplomatic initiative, Iranian officials had said they would attend a meeting on Monday with Gulf Arab states in Oman to present an agreement they say has been reached with Oman governing future shipping routes through the strait.
But Oman’s foreign minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, posted late Sunday that the regional meeting had been postponed “in the interests of consensus.”
“We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region,” he wrote in a post on X.
Iran’s Fars news agency cited an Iranian foreign ministry official on Sunday evening as saying that the Oman meeting was postponed at the request of some regional countries in a decision jointly made by Tehran and Muscat. The official said Iran would coordinate with Oman to determine a suitable date for holding the meeting, the agency said.
Iraq had said it would send a delegation, and a Gulf official had told Reuters that Saudi Arabia and Qatar would be represented by their foreign ministers.
A senior Iranian official had told Reuters on Saturday that officials would discuss Hormuz and other issues at the meeting, but added it would probably not yield a signed agreement to reopen the strait. Bahrain said it would not meet with any Iranians.
In an interview with London-based pan-Arab news outlet Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said despite any agreement with Oman, Iran would not reopen the strait until the United States satisfies Tehran’s demands.
HOUTHI ADVANCES POSE NEW DILEMMA FOR WASHINGTON
The U.S. has so far failed to achieve the objectives President Donald Trump set out when he launched “Operation Epic Fury” in February: to end Iran’s nuclear programme, prevent it from being able to attack its neighbours and create conditions for its people to topple their rulers.
Iran, having withstood the superpower onslaught despite military and economic losses, hopes to emerge stronger than before the war, including with the newfound power to collect fees from ships that use the strait.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Houthi advances in Yemen pose a new dilemma for Washington, which wants to support its Saudi allies and protect shipping but is wary of joining war on another front. The Houthi attacks have also left Gulf states with a difficult choice: accept growing economic pain or engage with Iran.
The Houthis, mountain fighters who captured Yemen’s capital in 2014, have been battling a Saudi-led coalition for more than a decade but had mostly kept out of the wider Middle East war until recent weeks. Their advance along the Red Sea coast is part of the biggest eruption of fighting in Yemen for years.
The United States bombed the Houthis for two months in 2025, but Trump halted that campaign after announcing the group had lifted a threat to attack Red Sea shipping.
Three sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, phoned Trump on Thursday asking for military aid to fight the Houthis, but was offered only intelligence support for now.
Trump acknowledged on Saturday that he had spoken to the crown prince, and said the Houthis had also phoned the U.S. administration, asking Washington to keep out of the Yemen war.
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Pakistan test-fires upgraded Fatah-4 with enhanced precision and survivability
Pakistan has successfully conducted a test launch of the extended version of its indigenously developed Fatah-4 Ground-Launched Cruise Missile, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The latest test focused on an extended-range variant of the weapon system and was aimed at validating additional technical parameters incorporated into its various sub-systems. The missile is equipped with advanced avionics and state-of-the-art navigational aids, enabling it to engage targets at extended ranges with high precision and lethality.
The development marks another test of Pakistan’s domestically developed Fatah-4 system, which was previously reported with a range of 750 kilometres.
According to the military’s statement, the extended version successfully demonstrated the performance of its upgraded systems during the launch.
The test validated additional technical parameters of various sub-systems designed to improve accuracy and enhance the weapon system’s survivability. The latest configuration is also intended to provide the capability to engage targets at greater distances while maintaining precision.
The Fatah-4 is a Ground-Launched Cruise Missile equipped with advanced avionics and modern navigation technology. Pakistan previously conducted a successful training fire of the system in May 2026, with ISPR saying the exercise was intended to enhance operational efficiency and validate technical parameters linked to accuracy and survivability.
The missile had earlier been publicly reported with a range of 750 kilometres. The extended version tested on Tuesday has been described by ISPR as capable of engaging targets at extended ranges, although the military statement did not specify a new maximum range.
The launch was witnessed by senior officers from the Pakistan Army, alongside scientists and engineers from the developing agency.
The Fatah-4 was first publicly confirmed by Pakistan in 2025, when the Army conducted a successful training launch of the newly inducted Ground-Launched Cruise Missile. At that time, ISPR said the system featured advanced avionics and state-of-the-art navigational aids and was capable of engaging targets with high precision.
A further training fire was conducted in May 2026 by the Army Rocket Force Command. ISPR said the exercise validated technical parameters of various sub-systems while focusing on improved accuracy and enhanced survivability.
The President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, along with the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces and the Services Chiefs, commended the successful test launch of the Fatah-4 extended version.
They also appreciated the technical expertise, dedication and commitment of the scientists, engineers and other personnel involved in achieving the latest milestone.
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Syria, Saudi Arabia discuss reconstruction, investment
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday.They talked about Syria’s rebuilding efforts and ways to bring in Saudi investments.
Al-Sharaa officially invited the crown prince to visit Syria.
The Saudi official news agency, SPA, posted pictures of the meeting on X, but didn’t give more details.
The Syrian presidency said that Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani was also at the meeting.
They discussed the relationship between Syria and Saudi Arabia and how to improve it to benefit both countries.
The Syrian presidency’s media office later said the talks were about improving relations in many areas and boosting political, diplomatic, and economic cooperation in a way that works for both nations.
They also reviewed plans for Syria’s reconstruction, including repairing damaged infrastructure and important facilities from the war, as reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA.
The discussions also covered bringing in high-quality investments to Syria and increasing the role of Syrian and Saudi businesses in energy, construction, industry, agriculture, and trade.
Al-Sharaa invited Mohammed bin Salman to visit Syria, with the presidency saying the visit would help build closer ties and start a new stage of Arab cooperation on regional and international matters.
They also talked about recent events in the region and shared views on issues that affect both countries, aiming to support security and stability in the area.
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Vance says Iran must cut enrichment to end war
US Vice President JD Vance told Reuters in an exclusive interview that Iran must make a “meaningful” cut in its nuclear enrichment programs to meet US demands and stop the seven-month war between the two countries.At the same time, Washington is unsure how Tehran makes decisions during negotiations.
Vance, who has long doubted US involvement in foreign conflicts, is leading efforts to reach a peace deal.
In June, he helped broker a temporary agreement, but it collapsed quickly.The war has affected global energy prices and has made President Donald Trump and other Republicans look weak ahead of the November midterm elections.
After a campaign trip in Alaska, Vance said any deal would require Iran to reduce its nuclear enrichment, not just promise to do so later.
“If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel?
And if you want to show you’re not going to build a nuclear weapon, don’t build highly enriched fuel.That’s a basic issue,” Vance said.
He added, “If they want to show they’re not going to build a nuclear weapon, they should take meaningful steps on their enrichment programs.”
In recent weeks, Iran and the US have been discussing ways to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is crucial for global energy shipping.
Trump rejected Tehran’s latest offer and warned that military action could get worse after the midterms.
Vance said the US is still open to a deal but wants real nuclear concessions from Iran.
“We won’t trade words for actions,” he said.
UNCERTAIN ABOUT IRAN’S DECISION-MAKING: VANCE
Vance also said Washington isn’t sure who makes decisions in Iran.
He has talked with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, but it’s unclear how much power they have in Iran’s leadership structure.This became even more complicated after joint US-Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the war.
“One of the things we noticed is it’s not totally clear how decisions are made in Iran,” Vance said.
Trump also said on Tuesday that his biggest problem is not knowing who is in charge of Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that US officials know who the Iranian representatives are and how the decision-making process works.
“The real problem is the contradictory statements and mixed messages from US officials,” Esmaeil Baghaei said at a press conference.
Vance told Reuters he has spoken with field commanders to understand the battlefield.
He said there are no serious shortages of weapons and that while Iranian forces can hit commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, they can’t stop energy shipments through the waterway.
Vance did not say whether he is leading peace talks, even though he is often seen as the White House’s main negotiator.
“We are certainly involved,” he said.”Ultimately, the president of the United States is driving things.”
The war — costing about $3 billion a month — has become a big issue in the campaign.
Rising energy prices have hurt Trump and Republicans in key states that could influence the outcome of Congress.
Vance has tried to downplay criticism of Trump’s handling of the conflict, telling voters not to let this issue stop them from supporting Republicans in the coming election.
In Alaska, Vance supported Senator Dan Sullivan, who is in a close race against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.
Trump won Alaska by 13 points in 2024, but higher living costs have put the state in question.
Before talking to Reuters, Vance focused much of his speech on affordability, especially energy prices.
In Alaska, remote location makes everyday items more expensive, and energy production is a big part of the economy.
Rallygoers cheered when Sullivan almost introduced Vance as the US president instead of the vice president.
Vance is seen as a top Republican candidate for the presidency in 2028.
Vance told Reuters he hasn’t decided yet whether he will run for president in 2028.
“He said, ‘I’m naturally someone who puts things off.
I haven’t really thought about it much.'”
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