• Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have exchanged strikes after the Iran-aligned group seized full control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country will not yield to US pressure, accusing Washington of targeting civilian infrastructure and essential supplies.
• Iran is expected to meet with Gulf states in Oman on Monday to discuss security and navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, marking their highest-level talks since the escalation began.

Iran unlikely to give up control of Strait of Hormuz, former US diplomat says

Alan Eyre, a former US diplomat and a fellow at the Middle East Institute, says Iran is unlikely to give up control of the Strait of Hormuz because Tehran increasingly sees the waterway as its main source of strategic deterrence.

Eyre said that Iran’s leadership is focused above all on preventing future attacks by the US and Israel.

“It sees control of the strait as the only way of doing that,” he said. “That’s not a chip it’s going to bargain away.”

He said Washington and Gulf states may therefore have to accept Iranian control of the strait “at least as a short-term reality” if they want to limit the damage to the global economy.

He added that diplomacy had increasingly shifted away from Washington towards Gulf states and Iraq, saying the US was “unwilling and unable” to sustain the kind of diplomacy needed.

Iran-Oman deal sets basis for Strait of Hormuz, no immediate reopening

An understanding reached between Iran and Oman establishes the basis for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but does not provide for its immediate reopening, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing an Iranian source close to the negotiating team.

The source said the deal marks a step towards Iran exercising sovereignty over the strategic waterway, adding that any reopening depends entirely on the United States meeting Tehran’s conditions.

Once implemented, transit will follow Iranian protocols. The southern route, which the US had insisted on opening and which served as a major point of friction, will be closed, it said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry previously announced it will meet with Iraq and coastal Gulf states in Oman on Monday. However, the source said the agreement is strictly bilateral and other nations are attending solely to be briefed on transit details.

Iran’s FM says agreement with Oman would not mean the reopening of Hormuz

Tehran’s anticipated agreement with Muscat to govern the Strait of Hormuz will not trigger a reopening of the waterway, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned.

In comments to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Araghchi said Iran will “provide the participating countries with the details of the agreement with Oman and the maps related to the new route” during a meeting with Gulf states in the Omani capital tomorrow.

But the agreement does not “in any way” signal that the strait will reopen, with Tehran still expecting the US to honour the commitments of the June 60-day Memorandum of Understanding signed in Islamabad, he said.

“Iran believes that the responsibility for ensuring security and stability in the region lies solely with the countries of the region,” Araghchi added.

Bahrain said on Saturday it would not attend the meeting in light of recent attacks on the Gulf.

Iran’s FM hopes Gulf meeting in Oman will be first of several to discuss regional issues

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Monday’s Strait of Hormuz meeting between Tehran and several Gulf states could be the start of ongoing discussions between the countries.

“It can be hoped that this same dialogue, if there is political will, will provide a basis for subsequent consultations on other issues of interest to the countries of the region,” Araghchi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Although the Strait of Hormuz remains the sole agenda item, Tehran believes that an increase in regional cooperation means that “the scope for interventions and imposed arrangements from outside the region will naturally decrease,” the foreign minister added.

Trump says he ‘doesn’t care’ if Gulf nations meet with Iran to discuss Hormuz

The US president said he doesn’t care if Gulf countries meet with Iran on Monday to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters at his golf resort in Doonbeg in the Republic of Ireland, Trump said it was “up to them” if they wanted to hold talks with senior Iranian officials about the strait.

The US president reiterated his claim that Iran “wants to make a deal so badly”, adding, also again, that the war would end either before or immediately after the midterm elections on November 3.

Oman meeting between Gulf states, Iran postponed

A ⁠meeting in Oman between ⁠Gulf countries and ⁠Iran to discuss possible agreements ‌on the Strait of Hormuz, which had been scheduled ⁠for Monday, has ⁠been postponed, Omani Foreign ⁠Minister Badr ⁠Albusaidi ⁠said on X.

“In the interests of consensus the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed. We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region,” he said.

Postponement of Oman meeting ‘made at the request of some countries’

Iran’s Fars news agency, quoting the Director General of the Persian Gulf Affairs Office of the Foreign Ministry, says the postponement of the Strait of Hormuz meeting in Oman “was made at the request of some countries in the region and a joint decision by Tehran and Muscat”.

Omani Foreign ⁠Minister Badr ⁠Albusaidi ⁠said on X that the meeting, which had been scheduled ⁠for Monday, has ⁠been postponed.

BRICS agrees to safeguard energy flows as oil prices soar

BRICS countries have agreed to work together to protect global energy supplies and keep trade moving amid growing instability in West Asia.

Speaking at a press briefing following the summit, Sudhakar Dalela, secretary for economic relations at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said energy supplies in West Asia were discussed at the leaders’ meeting in India.

“I think there was a question about energy supplies in the context of West Asia. I mean, these matters did come up. I mean, we have a sort of a very important track on energy also within the BRICS, but in the context of geopolitical situation, these matters are discussed,” he said.

The BRICS meeting took place in New Delhi as global oil prices soared past $108 a barrel briefly during the week, driven by market worries over potential shipping disruptions and supply bottlenecks in the region.

“We have articulated very clearly that all of us have to work together to maintain smooth flow of global trade, supply chains and energy supplies, which are in accordance with the international law, of course”, Dalela said.

Iran’s president says Abu Dhabi crown prince agreed to ‘put aside the past’ during talks at BRICS summit

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says that he held a good conversation with Abu ⁠Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al ‌Nahyan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

“It was agreed that we would put aside the past and build a good future,” Pezeshkian said in remarks reported by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Iran’s president say after meeting UAE’s crown prince

“For the first time since the war and the problems we experienced in the Persian Gulf, we held a meeting with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi,” said Pezeshkian following the meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi.

“We had a good discussion about the issues and concerns that existed. We agreed to put the past aside and look forward to the future, and how we can build a future together. Afterwards, Dr Araghchi [Iran’s foreign minister] also continued those discussions. There were constructive interactions in that regard.”

Senior Iranian official says US and Israeli actions prompted BRICS to take bold stance

The chief of protocol in the Iranian president’s office says US and Israeli actions against Tehran, as well as their joint “trampling of all international norms”, have led BRICS countries to take a far bolder stance against such forms of unilateralism.

“The blatant overreach by America and the Israeli regime against Iran [a BRICS member] and the trampling of all international norms by these two regimes in dealing with other members of the international community has made this year’s BRICS Summit stance against unilateralism, bullying, brazen use of force, and the leverage of sanctions and tariffs far more explicit and transparent,” Abbas Mousavi said on X.

The summit of the 11-member bloc, accounting for approximately 40 percent of global GDP, concluded in New Delhi on Sunday. The group unanimously adopted a joint declaration calling for restraint in the Middle East, but avoided condemning the US-Israeli strikes on Iran or Tehran’s targeting of its Gulf neighbors.

One killed, three wounded in attack on Iranian commercial vessel

An Iranian commercial vessel was struck near Hengam Island and the Shib Deraz coast of Qeshm Island, killing one person and wounding three others, Qeshm Governor Hossein Amir Teymouri said, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

International law strictly forbids attacking commercial ships unless a belligerent first confirms through proper visit and search procedures that the ship is acting as a military target.

Assuming that the US is behind the attack, it is outright naval terrorism.

Iran accuses ‘US terrorist enemy’ after deadly Hormuz strike

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB – citing Qeshm Governor Amir Teymouri – described the incident as an attack by the “US terrorist enemy”.

It was the latest deadly incident in the crucial waterway as the US and Iran trade blows with attacks on cargo ships.

IRGC warns US warships against approaching Strait of Hormuz

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy official has warned US naval vessels against approaching the Strait of Hormuz, challenging Trump’s claims that Washington controls the waterway.

“If the Strait of Hormuz is under American control, then go ahead – bring one of your warships within 100km,” the deputy political commander of the IRGC Navy said, according to Iran’s Fars news agency.

He said US forces know that any vessels approaching the area would face a response from Iranian forces, adding similar incidents had occurred in recent days.

Injury toll in Hormuz vessel attack rises to 4, says Qeshm governor

The number of people wounded in the attack on an Iranian commercial vessel near Hengam Island and Qeshm Island, in the Strait of Hormuz, has risen to four, Qeshm Governor Hossein Amir Teymouri has said, according to the state-linked ISNA news agency.

UKMTO reports fire on vessel struck in Strait of Hormuz, crew evacuating

A fire has broken out on board the vessel that was earlier reported to have been hit while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has said.

Local authorities are on the scene and evacuating crew members, UKMTO said in an update.

UKMTO earlier said the strike was first reported at 23:00 UTC on September 12, with the crew’s status and the extent of the damage not immediately known.

Iran more likely to seek nuclear weapon after years of escalation

Alan Eyre, a former US negotiator on the Iran nuclear deal and distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute, says Iran is now more likely to seek a nuclear weapon than it was during negotiations over the 2015 agreement.

“You can’t remove Iran’s capacity to build a nuclear weapon,” Eyre said. “They’ve learned how to enrich, so all you can do is modify their intention.”

He said parts of Iran’s nuclear hardware had since been destroyed and could be rebuilt, but the country’s technical knowledge had continued to advance.

“Their knowledge about how to build centrifuges, how to enrich at higher levels in vaster quantities, has accelerated,” he said.

Eyre said that made it less likely Iran could be returned to the restrictions it previously accepted and “more likely that they will seek a nuclear weapon”.

Spokesperson for Iran’s parliament leadership says leaving NPT, revising nuclear doctrine are ‘achievable’

A spokesman for the Iranian parliament's presiding board said Sunday that only the logic of power works with the United States, and that withdrawing from the NPT and revising Iran's nuclear doctrine is fully achievable.

Abbas Goudarzi, spokesman for the parliament's presiding board, said that trusting the United States amounts to accepting deception. He said leaving the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and revising Iran's nuclear doctrine is "a completely achievable and readily attainable step."

On Saturday, reports suggested that a group of Iranian lawmakers signed a three-urgency plan to leave the NPT.

Iran has been mulling to withdraw from the NPT at least since November 2019 but never made a decision to do so.

US may have to ‘accept reality on the ground’ after war on Iran

Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says the reputation of US military power has been severely damaged internationally after attacking Iran in February.

“The US reputation has been irrevocably harmed during the course of this war; there’s no question about that,” Elmasry said.

While Trump claims oil tankers are moving through the Strait of Hormuz with greater frequency, “at the end of the day the tracking data are what they are, and there are very few ships getting through”, he noted.

“Despite the US putting all of its force behind this night-time, secretive transiting, they’re not able to get traffic anywhere near normal,” said Elmasry.

“At some point push is going to come to shove. Either the Iranians are going to surrender to the American terms – I think that’s very unlikely – or the United States is going to have to accept some of these new on-the-ground realities.”

Arab League chief says Iran’s role towards a number of Arab states is ‘extremely negative’

The Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Fahmy said that the conflict in the Gulf region cannot be solved by military intervention and warned that “the crisis is poised to continue”.

Fahmy said he believed Arab countries needed to “establish clear foundations” in their relationships with Iran going forward. He also said Tehran “must change its policies,” describing Iran’s role towards a number of Arab states as “extremely negative”.

Iran eyes post-war construct without US military influence

Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Monday’s meeting between Iran and Gulf officials on the Strait of Hormuz could be a crucial turning point in the US war on Iran.

“I don’t necessarily think that the Iranians want to burn all of their bridges with their Gulf neighbors. I think there’s an understanding … that they’re going to have to coexist with the Saudis, UAE, and all the other Gulf states,” he said.

The Iranian leadership is “looking forward to the post-war era where they would like to see a future free of this US security architecture, and where the region kind of manages its own security affairs”, said Elmasry.

“And that would, of course, involve a working relationship between the Iranians and the Saudis and all the other countries in the region.”

As for Monday’s meeting in Oman between Gulf and Iranian officials, it will be interesting to see the results, said Elmasry.

“We can only imagine what Gulf leaders are thinking going into this meeting tomorrow … I think the big question – and this again is hypothetical – but if they come to an understanding with the Iranians, then what does Washington do? What is their play?”

Tehran prosecutor’s office files charges against popular Persian podcast

Prosecutors in Iran’s capital have filed criminal charges against members of the Baziya podcast, state broadcaster IRIB reports.

The charges – which will hit “members of the production team and guests” – follow the airing of “untrue comments” made on the program over Iran’s currency problems, IRIB said.

The broadcaster did not specify the exact nature of the alleged crimes or who exactly has been charged.

Baziya is a Persian-language podcast hosted by Ali Ziya, a former state television presenter. It has nearly 300,000 subscribers on YouTube and describes itself as the “microphone of all the people of Iran”.

Iranian defence minister says country is ready for more fighting

Iranian caretaker Defence Minister Brigadier General Majid Ebn al-Reza says Tehran is fully prepared to confront any new threats, or another round of war, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Speaking on Sunday, Ebn al-Reza warned that those in Washington who believe Iran will be intimidated or change course because of threats are “seriously mistaken”.

He added that Iran had only revealed a small part of its defence capabilities.

Gulf security hinges on respect for sovereignty: Saudi FM

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan says the security of the Gulf cannot be achieved without respect for the sovereignty of the region’s countries.

“Gulf Cooperation Council states will not tolerate targeting of their territories,” he said.

“We affirm the importance of freedom of navigation and the safety of commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and all maritime passages,” the minister also said, adding that any disruption in maritime passages will also disrupt global markets, supply chains, and economic growth.

Iran’s Bushehr province exported more than $2.3bn in goods despite US blockade, says official

The southern Iranian province of Bushehr exported more than $2.3bn worth of goods between March and August despite the US naval blockade, according to the region’s customs office.

The head of the province’s customs office, Ali Soleimani, said on Sunday that 5.1 million tons of goods were exported during the five-month period, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports.

Soleimani said petrochemical products and various liquefied gases were among the items most exported from Bushehr, adding that the province has sold goods to 32 countries this year, including China, the UAE and Pakistan.

US only understands ‘language of force’: Senior Iranian MP

Abbas Goudarzi, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s presiding board, said the US is deceptive and only understands “the language of force and the logic of power”, the semiofficial Mehr news agency reports.

Goudarzi also warned against engaging in negotiations that weaken Iran’s regional allies.

He added that leaving the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is “a completely achievable and readily attainable step”.

Israel, which has an undeclared nuclear arsenal, is among a handful of countries that are not signatories to the treaty.

The described language isthe same language the Israelis only understands.

Iran’s central bank governor heads to Turkey for talks

The governor of the Central Bank of Iran has departed for Istanbul before a meeting with fellow central bank governors from Islamic countries, the semi-official Mehr news agency reports.

Abdolnaser Hemmati is expected to hold talks focused on deepening banking and trade ties between the respective countries. Officials are also due to discuss how to create new mechanisms to facilitate trade.

Iran’s economy has come under increasing pressure since the US-Israeli war on the country began more than six months ago.

Explosions reported in Iran’s Hormozgan province

Iran’s official news agency IRNA is reporting explosions being heard in Sirik city of Hormozgan province in the south of the country.

The cause of the explosions has not been determined yet, it added.

Oil prices surge as Middle East tensions escalate

Oil prices jumped by more than $3 as markets opened on Monday following new strikes on Saudi Arabia and Gulf shipping.

Brent crude futures surged $3.62, or 3.46 percent, to $108.23 a barrel by 22:14 GMT, while WTI futures climbed $3.15, or 3.15 percent, to $103.20 a barrel.

Supply fears spiked after Saudi Arabia temporarily shut down its key 1,200km (746-mile) East-West oil pipeline, which spans the Arabian Peninsula, following a Friday drone attack.