Live: Oman Hormuz talks postponed 'in the interest of consensus'
Live Updates
Yemen’s Houthis have captured the strategic Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the southern Red Sea, tightening their grip around the Bab al-Mandeb shipping route, government and Houthi officials told the Associated Press.
The seizure came as Saudi-backed government forces were trying to regroup and respond to the Houthis’ fast-paced advances along Yemen’s western coast.
According to two government officials and a Houthi official who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, the Houthis sent fighters to the islands, which are 160 kilometres north of Bab al-Mandeb.
The latest advances follow a series of Houthi strikes on Saudi oil installations and shipping in the Red Sea, stoking fears about the world's energy supply and prices.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group will continue to attack Saudi military positions until what he called the aggression against Yemen ends and the blockade on Houthi-controlled areas is lifted.
The group had conducted a large-scale attack on King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, hitting aircraft hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots, Saree said.
Saree said the operation comes in retaliation for more than 300 Saudi air strikes on Yemeni governorates over the last five days, which he said involved F-15 and Typhoon aircraft launched from Khamis Mushait and Taif.
“We will continue to target Saudi military concentrations until the aggression ceases and the blockade on Yemen is lifted,” Saree said, warning that any further attacks would be met with “broader and more intense operations” deep inside Saudi territory.
Good morning Middle East Eye readers,
If you're just joining us, here are key developments from across the region:
• 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.
• Yemen's Houthis said that Saudi Arabia had launched more than 50 strikes against their positions in 24 hours, after the group claimed a rare drone and missile attack on a military base in the kingdom.
• The renewed fighting in Yemen between government forces and the country's Houthis has displaced nearly 86,000 people.
• Yemen’s armed forces are claiming to have recovered sites in the Taiz Governorate that were captured by the Houthis.
• Israeli forces made incursions into the southern Syrian governorates of Rural Damascus, Quneitra and Deraa, Al Jazeera reported.
• Two Palestinians were killed and 13 others injured on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in Gaza City.
• Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a single digit per day at the weekend, preliminary shiptracking data showed on Monday, well below a 10-day average of 14.
• US forces have redirected 101 commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz as part of the ongoing naval blockade of Iran as of 13 September.
• Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar threatened to strip the award-winning directors of an Israeli-made documentary about Gaza of their citizenship, accusing them of “treason against the state”.
• Oil prices rose sharply on Monday, pushing Brent crude above $107 a barrel as escalating tensions in the Middle East stoked fears of disruptions to global energy supplies.
• Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for exports if it doesn't restart its major pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to a loss of up to 4 percent of global supply.
• Iraq's foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, and his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have discussed bilateral ties and regional security.
• US President Donald Trump has credited his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, with “doing a great” job in Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
A young Palestinian man was injured after Israeli forces stormed the town of Beit Ula, west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, and fired live ammunition at his car, Wafa reported.
The injured man was taken to a medical centre for treatment, while the forces set fire to his car, the report said.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians: Yousef Naeem Sabarneh from the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, and Ziad Badawi Hamdan, from his home in the village of Al-Tabaqa in the town of Dura, south of Hebron, according to Wafa.
The forces also set up military checkpoints at several entrances to the city of Hebron and its towns and villages, hindering the movement of citizens.
Meanwhile, Quds News Network released footage showing Russian journalist, Andrey Khrzhanovsky, confronting Israeli forces allegedly facilitating settler attacks in Burqa, east of Ramallah, after having documented such attacks.
Activists Document Israeli Military Aiding Settler Violations in Ramallah
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) September 13, 2026
Russian journalist Andrey Khrzhanovsky documented Israeli occupation forces facilitating extremist settler attacks in Burqa, east of Ramallah. Video footage showed masked soldiers aiming rifles at… pic.twitter.com/HxhrcEwjJR
Israeli forces fired several artillery shells near a group of young men on motorcycles who attempted to enter the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tebnit on Sunday, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
The men were travelling towards Nabatieh al-Fawqa and had reached the Kfar Tebnit roundabout when an Israeli drone flew overhead.
Moments later, Israeli forces fired shells towards the men, apparently to intimidate them and force them to turn back. No injuries were reported, and the group returned.
The Lebanese army subsequently blocked vehicles and motorcycles from proceeding towards Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
Mayor Zein Ghandour said he was coordinating with the army and authorities to allow residents to enter both towns, adding that there were no Israeli forces there and calling for the army to enter first to ensure residents’ safety.
Israel also targeted the Lebanese town of Haddatha in Bint Jbeil district overnight with artillery shelling, News Agency reported.
India's home minister, Amit Shah, has vowed to further implement a contentious common civil code for states governed by the ruling Hindu nationalist party, a move expected to stoke concern among minority Muslims.
India's 1.4 billion people are subject to a common criminal law, but rules on personal matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance vary based on the customary traditions of different communities and faiths.
The introduction of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to replace those diverse rules has been a long-standing goal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
At least four states have implemented the UCC so far.
"We have introduced the UCC in several states... I am confident that we will implement (it) in all 21 states governed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance by 2029," Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.
The campaign for a standardised civil code has raised concerns, especially among Muslim citizens, who say such a move would infringe on their religious freedoms.
Supporters say the UCC gives Muslim women the same rights as others by ending polygamy, setting equal property inheritance rights for sons and daughters, and requiring divorce processes to take place before a civil court.
India, the world's most populous country, is majority Hindu. It is also home to an estimated 220 million Muslims, giving it the world's third-largest Muslim population.
Report by AFP
Syria has temporarily raised fuel and cooking gas prices, citing rising global energy and shipping costs as well as reduced domestic refining capacity.
The country's Permanent Committee for Pricing Petroleum Products and Mineral Resources raised the price of 95-octane gasoline from 152 new Syrian pounds ($1.25) to 195 pounds ($1.60) per litre, an increase of 28.3 percent.
The price of 90-octane gasoline rose from $1.21 to $1.52 per litre, up 25.9 percent, while diesel climbed from about $1.03 to $1.44 per litre, marking the steepest increase of 40 percent.
The Energy Ministry said the increases were temporary and reflected an exceptional rise in the cost of procuring petroleum products from international markets, alongside the major overhaul of the Banias refinery, a key supplier of fuel to the domestic market.
US president Donald Trump brushed aside a report that Iran acquired satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese entities before an attack that killed three US troops there in July.
A recent report in the Wall Street Journal cited unnamed US officials about the attack in Jordan.
Asked whether he would mention the issue at an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump did not directly answer, and instead equated the surveillance activities of China and the US.
"They basically do what we do," he told reporters aboard Air Force One. "When they say China spies on us, I say you're right and we spy on them too."
The Chinese and US presidents are expected to meet in the US on 24 September, although China has yet to officially confirm that the meeting will take place.
Report by Reuters
US forces have redirected 101 commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz as part of the ongoing naval blockade of Iran as of 13 September, US Central Command (Centcom) said.
The blockade on Iranian ports was reinstated in July following the breakdown of talks between Washington and Tehran.
A U.S. Sailor signals to the pilot of an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter on the flight deck of USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) as the guided-missile destroyer continues enforcing the U.S. blockade against Iran. As of Sept. 13, U.S. forces have redirected 101 commercial vessels to ensure… pic.twitter.com/Gb9Tvvn1FA
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 13, 2026
Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a single digit per day at the weekend, preliminary shiptracking data showed on Monday, well below a 10-day average of 14.
Over the weekend, a total of four vessels exited the Gulf via the strait and 10 entered it, according to the data.
The figures exclude any vessels that might have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.
Report by Reuters
US president Donald Trump has credited his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, with “doing a great” job in Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
Asked whether he harboured concerns about the duo’s ability to close the deal, amid reports he is looking to elevate CIA chief John Ratcliffe in their place, Trump told reporters: “No, they are doing a great job. Look at Gaza, for example. Look at the fact that we got all of the hostages back.”
“There’s not a lot of fighting in Gaza. Hamas is now willing to give up their weapons,” he adds.
More than 1,369 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,627 wounded since the fragile ceasefire began in October 2025, a period that includes the launch of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in January 2026.
Q: Do you have concerns about Witkoff and Kushner in their ability to close the deal?
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 13, 2026
Trump: No, they’re doing a great job. Look at Gaza. pic.twitter.com/rRR03LhpSE
Two Palestinians were killed and 13 others injured on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in Gaza City.
An Israeli drone fired a missile at a vehicle travelling in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood of western Gaza City, causing an explosion and setting the vehicle ablaze, according to the sources.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a brief statement that two people were killed and 13 others sustained injuries of varying severity.
Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it had killed two Hamas members, identifying them as Hassan Ali Abu Nada and Abd al-Rahim Ahmad Khalil Khawa. It alleged that they were members of the engineering unit of Hamas' military wing.
Report by Reuters
A French TV crew has been attacked for the second time this week by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to Looking the Occupation in the Eye, an Israeli “movement of activists working to end the occupation”.
In a post on X, the group said that on the morning of the second day of Rosh Hashanah, a French TV crew from TF1 and two activists from Looking the Occupation in the Eye arrived in the Duma and Marjam area.
It added that the journalists sought to interview the settlers, and the crew and activists positioned themselves at least 200 metres away from the outpost.
“A group of settlers dressed in holiday attire, coming from the Havat Michtam LeDavid outpost, descended toward them and violently attacked them. This marks the second time this week that the same TV crew has been attacked by settlers,” the group said.
“There is not a single day that is unsuitable for violent attacks and racial supremacy.”
בוקר יום שני של ראש השנה, איזור דומא ומארג׳ם. צוות טלויזיה צרפתי של tf1 ו-2 פעילים מ"מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים" הגיעו לאיזור. העיתונאית ביקשה לראיין את המתנחלים. הצוות והפעילים נעמדו במרחק של לפחות 200 מטר מהמאחז ולא נכנסו לתוכו. קבוצה של מתנחלים לובשי חג, מהמאחז ״חוות מכתם לדוד״… pic.twitter.com/JKJYelwjoD
— מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) September 13, 2026
Iraq's foreign minister, Fuad Hussein, and his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have discussed bilateral ties and regional security and called for a peaceful resolution of issues confronting the region, according to a statement from the Iraqi foreign ministry.
"The two sides discussed bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and ways to further develop them and strengthen cooperation,” the statement said.
It added: “The two sides discussed during the call the latest developments in the region’s security situation, as well as developments on the Yemeni scene. They also discussed Iraqi-Gulf relations and stressed the importance of strengthening them and maintaining their solidity in a manner that contributes to supporting regional security and stability.”
The statement noted that Hussein outlined the policy of the Iraqi government headed by prime minister Ali al-Zaidi towards issues related to regional security, stressing Iraq’s "keenness to support stability and prioritise dialogue".
Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for exports if it doesn't restart its major pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to a loss of up to 4% of global supply, Saudi oil buyers and traders said.
A further decline in Saudi flows will worsen the global supply crunch, which has already pushed global fuel prices to record highs, spurred inflation around the world and sent US bond yields to the highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis.
Since drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shut its huge east-west oil pipeline on Friday, Riyadh has not given full details about the extent of the damage or how long the route will stay off-line.
Sources that spoke to Reuters gave varying estimates, with one saying the damage could take as long as five to six weeks to repair, while another said it could be fixed sooner and could resume pumping partially while repairs are ongoing.
Report by Reuters
Satellite images show the pipeline before and after the attack.
AFTER
