Browsing: Region
Iran can reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States eases military pressure and lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday. On Sunday, Iran’s military central command said it was informed the US was preparing to restart military operations with the support of regional countries, and warned this would lead to Tehran’s retaliation “without limitations and considerations”. “The US needs to announce that it wants to resolve the issue diplomatically, make that official, and then agree on a timeline for how the process will move forward”, the senior Iranian official said, adding the Iranian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly is in New York and has full authority to revive diplomacy with the United States. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who left Tehran for New York on Tuesday morning, will not meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the UN headquarters in New York, the official told Reuters. The Iranian official said details on an agreement to end hostilities with Washington can be discussed in New York via mediators, explaining that Tehran’s proposal was delivered to the US via mediators on September 16. “The UN General Assembly is a golden opportunity for the US to return to diplomacy”, the official said, adding that Tehran would welcome a revival of diplomacy if Washington takes tangible steps. Source link
Saudi Arabia has restarted operations at its East-West Pipeline and could resume exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu later on Tuesday, three sources briefed on the matter said. Drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shut its East-West Pipeline on September 13, halting crude loadings at the kingdom’s Yanbu port.The resumption of supplies on Tuesday helped to drive selling on global oil markets, traders said. Brent crude futures fell by more than $2 a barrel to its lowest since September 8. Since disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, OPEC’s leading oil exporter has been using the pipeline to reroute around 4 million barrels per day – around 4% of global supply – to Yanbu. The pipeline was pumping at a low rate after its restart, two of the sources said.State oil firm Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment. One of the sources said Aramco was seeking to get the pumping rate back to 4 million bpd, while a security source said full resumption could take weeks. The pipeline will resume crude supply to Aramco refineries located on the Red Sea coast, one of the sources said, adding that one cargo was scheduled to load at Yanbu later on Tuesday. The person said it would be bound for China. Another two trading sources said traders were getting ready for Saudi oil loadings by moving tankers to Egypt’s Mediterranean Port Said for ship-to-ship transfers and also to Sidi Kerir. Source link
Blindfolded Palestinian men, who were arrested during a raid by Israeli forces, prepare to board a vehicle in the Palestinian village of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem…
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said the first joint ministerial meeting between the GCC and the Swiss Confederation marks an important step toward deepening political dialogue and consultations between the two sides, opening broader avenues for advancing their relations and elevating cooperation to more effective levels.He noted that GCC-Swiss relations have made significant progress this year, notably with the signing in January of a memorandum of understanding establishing a strategic dialogue between the two sides. He expressed the GCC’s aspiration to translate the memorandum into practical and tangible initiatives that advance their shared interests.Albudaiwi said the GCC General Secretariat has prepared a draft joint action plan with Switzerland outlining mechanisms and proposals for cooperation in the political, cultural, developmental and humanitarian fields. He expressed hope that the necessary procedures for its adoption would be completed in the coming period, paving the way for broader cooperation and stronger bilateral relations.Addressing regional and international developments, Albudaiwi referred to the ballistic missile and drone attacks launched by Iran and its allies against GCC states since February 28, targeting vital infrastructure and causing human and material losses. He stressed that the GCC states were not parties to the conflict and had made sustained efforts to mediate and contain the escalation.He said the disruption of international navigation and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have had global repercussions, driving up energy prices, disrupting supply chains and placing greater burdens on governments and businesses. He emphasized that the security of maritime routes and waterways in the Gulf is a matter of international concern, not simply a regional one.Albudaiwi called for Iran’s full compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2817, an immediate and unconditional end to the attacks, and assurances that they will not be repeated. He also called for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb to return to the status that prevailed before February 28.He reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause, stressing the need to end the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international legitimacy resolutions. He expressed the GCC states’ hope that Switzerland would recognize the State of Palestine, thereby contributing to international efforts to advance the two-state solution. Source link
Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency issued a warning of potential danger in the country’s south on Tuesday, the first alert since the Houthis launched an attack on Riyadh over the weekend.”A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in the Najran Province to alert of a potential danger,” read a statement posted online by the agency, which asked people to remain indoors and avoid open areas. The alert was lifted a short while later. Source link
Gaza health officials said Israeli fire killed three people, including a woman and a child, and injured several others across the Palestinian territory on Monday.Officials at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis said the body of a child, Ismail Al-Bardawil, was brought to the medical facility after Israeli tanks opened fire on tents for displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area.Mahmoud Bassal, the spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, said the child was 11 years old.In the central Gaza Strip, Al-Awda hospital officials said 31-year-old Fidaa Toutah died from her wounds after being shot by Israeli forces on Salah al-Din street east of Nuseirat refugee camp.Officials at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said a man, Mohsen Ahmed Bahjat, died after being shot in the head by a drone in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip.Gaza’s civil defence agency confirmed the identities of the dead to AFP.It said its teams had transported nine wounded people to hospitals following Israeli fire in Khan Yunis in the south and Bureij refugee camp in the centre of the territory. When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was checking the reports.Israel in October last year agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States but since then has advanced further into Gaza.The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 73,900 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the ceasefire was announced last year, according to the Gaza health ministry, whose figures are considered generally reliable by the United Nations.The Israeli army has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor. Source link
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah has discussed the latest regional developments with his Kuwaiti, Egyptian and Turkish counterparts.He spoke separately on the phone with Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Badr Abdelatty and Hakan Fidan.The conversations focused on combined efforts to contain tensions in the region to help safeguard regional security and stability. Source link
At least four people were injured following a series of explosions at an Aleppo army site in northern Syria early Monday, state media reported.The cause of the explosions, which Syrian state media SANA said occurred at an “army site” in the vicinity of the town of Al-Eis, was not immediately known.One civilian was injured by shrapnel as a result of the explosion at “an ammunition depot”, SANA reported later, quoting the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management.Two civilians suffered temporary “breathing difficulties”, while another civilian was injured in a traffic accident while attempting to flee the blast area, it added.Syria’s civil defence teams transported the injured and evacuated three families from the blast site and remain on “high alert… due to the continued explosions”. Aleppo civil defence operations chief Faisal Mohammad Ali, quoted by the state-run Al-Ikhbariya channel, said earlier that the explosions had prevented emergency services from reaching the site swiftly.A resident of Aleppo’s Hamdaniyeh neighbourhood told AFP they heard a “huge explosion” and when they went up to the roof could see “large flames in the distance”. Aleppo governor Azzam al-Gharib urged residents not to leave their homes for the time being, adding that “hospitals, ambulance and emergency teams are on full alert”. Roads leading to the site of the explosions were closed “to ensure the safety of civilians”, Aleppo’s Internal Security Command was quoted by SANA as saying.Several such blasts have previously occurred in Syria, which is emerging from more than a decade of civil war following the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.An explosion of unknown origin killed 11 people at a military site in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on Friday.Earlier this month, an explosion at a weapons depot belonging to the Ministry of Defense killed 14 people and injured 11 in Syria’s northwest Idlib province.Five people were killed just over a week earlier in the same area when a vehicle carrying munitions exploded. Source link
Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi affirmed that the active participation of GCC member states in international forums, together with their expanding relations with countries, blocs, and regional and international organizations, reflects their prominent standing on the global stage.Speaking on the occasion of the GCC Ministerial Coordination Meeting, held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81), Albudaiwi said the meeting forms part of ongoing coordination and consultation among GCC member states on issues of mutual interest, with the aim of strengthening the unified Gulf position and reinforce joint action by the Council states in regional and international forums.He said the meeting discussed the joint ministerial meetings scheduled between the GCC and various countries, blocs, and regional and international organizations, addressing topics and issues on their agendas to advance shared interests and propel cooperation and partnership toward broader horizons.He noted that the joint ministerial meetings reflect the shared interest of the GCC and its international and regional partners in further developing their relations, driven by the pivotal role and growing standing of GCC states in supporting security, stability, and development, as well as in fostering opportunities for dialogue and cooperation at both regional and international levels.He also affirmed that the GCC member states are continuing to strengthen their regional and international relations and build effective, sustainable partnerships based on mutual respect and shared interests. Such partnerships, he said, contribute to consolidating security, stability, peace, and development at both regional and international levels, while reflecting the unified positions of GCC states on regional and international issues. Source link
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due for talks in Qatar, a key mediator in the US-Iran war, before travelling to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, state media reported Sunday. The minister ‘left Tehran on Sunday evening bound for New York… and will make a brief stop in Doha to hold consultations on the latest developments in the region,’ state news agency IRNA reported.The stop in Doha comes as Iranian officials say they have once again stated through mediators Tehran's conditions for ending its blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.The issue of the Hormuz strait has been central to the ongoing Middle East war that began in late February. Tehran blockaded it in response to the US-Israeli attacks. Tehran now requires vessels to obtain its authorisation to pass through the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns, and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees. In response, the US has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports as the conflict remains deadlocked. Source link