Saudi Arabia has shut down its east-west oil pipeline after the vital conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war, threatening to send energy prices even higher. The world’s largest crude oil exporter temporarily closed the pipeline after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate. Iraq yesterday dismissed a military commander in response to the attack. The 1,200-km pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula had helped Saudi Arabia bypass a shipping logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, where tanker traffic has slowed to a trickle due to the six-month war between the US and Iran. The Saudi energy ministry said it had shut the pipeline as a “precaution”. The line has been moving between four and five million barrels per day in recent months, amounting to 4pc/5pc of global supply. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike on the pipeline. Satellite images showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina. The attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi foreign ministry said, without detailing the impact on exports. Speaking in Dublin, US president Donald Trump said Iran was probably to blame for the attack. The war he launched six months ago would probably end shortly after the US midterm elections in November, when oil prices would “come tumbling down”, he added. Oil prices have shot up over the past week. Petrol prices in Ireland yesterday averaged €1.85 to €1.95 per litre, with diesel often topping €2 per litre at some forecourts. In the US, the retail price of diesel in the US surged past a record $6 a gallon (€1.37 per litre) for the first time, as the United States and Iran both fired on tankers in the Gulf and the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen tightened their grip in the Red Sea. Four Yemeni government sources told Reuters that the Houthis on Friday had seized the strategic island of Perim at the mouth of the Red Sea, in the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Two sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, phoned Trump last week and asked for US military help in fighting the Houthis. He was told that Washington would not intervene directly for now, but would help with intelligence. Trump confirmed yesterday that he had spoken to the Saudi leader and said the Houthis had also phoned his administration and asked that Washington not become directly involved in the conflict. The dual attacks reported on Friday — on the pipeline and on Perim Island — could represent a dangerous escalation while diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled. While access to the Gulf has been cut off throughout the war, Saudi crude pumped through the pipeline to the Red Sea has been the main alternative source of Middle East oil. In a post on X yesterday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said: “As long as the American side does not accept all of Iran's conditions, dialogue and negotiation are of no use.” Iran wants its control of the Strait of Hormuz to be recognised, allowing it to collect fees from ships that use it, which Washington rejects. The Iranian foreign ministry said on Friday that Iran would meet with Gulf states in Oman on Monday to discuss the strait. Oman has yet to publicly confirm such a meeting. The dismissed Iraqi military commander had led operations in Maysan province, according to yesterday's statement by the Iraqi prime minister's office. The province, which borders Iran in south-east Iraq, has long been regarded as an area where Iran-backed Shi'ite militias operate and maintain influence. Saudi Arabia has opted against retaliation so far, following a request from the Iraqi prime minister, said a statement from the Saudi foreign ministry. It added that the kingdom reserves the right to “take all measures necessary” to protect its interests. Iraq's government condemned the attacks and ordered the closure of the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran as a precautionary measure, two security sources told Reuters. The crossing is one of the main routes for the import to Iraq of vegetables and other food supplies from Iran. The two Iraqi sources said a wide-scale operation was under way to find those responsible for the pipeline attack. Supply of Saudi crude oil has now fallen to its lowest level in more than three decades, the International Energy Agency said on Friday, partly due to attacks on ships transiting Bab el-Mandeb by Houthi-linked groups. Saudi-backed forces of the Yemeni government based in the south indicated they would try to retake areas captured this week in the lightning offensive by the Houthis, who seized Yemen's capital 12 years ago and withstood years of devastating Saudi airstrikes during Yemen's civil war. Reuters reported on Thursday that the dramatic Houthi advance down Yemen's Red Sea coast came with direct guidance from Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Iran told the Houthis last week to escalate their attacks on Saudi Arabia and promised more funding, weapons and senior officers to help them do so, two Iranian sources said. Iran describes the Houthis as an ally, but publicly denies giving them military direction. A Houthi military spokesperson said maritime navigation remained safe for all shipping, except Saudi vessels which were subject to a previously announced ban.
Saudi Arabia has shut down its east-west oil pipeline after the vital conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war, threatening to send energy prices even higher. The world’s largest crude oil exporter temporarily closed the pipeline after a drone attack that …
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According to Iranian authorities, a merchant vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, resulting in one confirmed death and three injuries, though the specific cause of the impact has not been independently verified. This incident occurred amid ongoing tensions and a reported blockade by Iran in the waterway, which officials state is in retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel.
A ship has been struck in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and injuring three, local Iranian authorities said, as Tehran and Washington clash over the strategic waterway. Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said that a "merchant vessel" was struck around 5am local time (1.
30am Irish time) off the coasts of Hengam and Qeshm islands. One person was killed and three others were injured, the governor said, according to state TV, without specifying the origin of the strike. Several explosions were reported overnight around Qeshm, the largest island in the Hormuz strait.
The deadly incident comes a day before a meeting between Iran and Gulf states in Oman, which also borders the strait, over the blockaded route crucial for global oil and gas trade. Control over the strait has become a major flashpoint in the conflict between Iran and the United States in their six-month war.
In retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel that started the war on 28 February, Iran has blocked the waterway, a passage that was previously free and unobstructed before the conflict began. Iran now requires vessels to obtain authorisation to pass through the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns, and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees.
Vessels that fail to comply are frequently targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States sporadically bombs the Iranian coast in a bid to challenge Tehran's control of the strait. Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz today, adding to concerns about Iran-related threats to global energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline.
The British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said it had a report of a projectile hitting a vessel as it moved through the strait. The amount of damage and the status of the crew were unknown as of early today, the agency said. UKMTO's report came the day after Saudi Arabia said it had temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precaution aftera drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate.
Ongoing attacks in the widening Middle East war could sendenergy prices even higher after a week that saw the cost of Brent crude surge back above $100 a barrel. The 1,200-km East-West pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula has served as the main route out for global supplies of Middle East oil for the past six months while the Strait of Hormuz has been largely shut by war.
It has been moving four million to five million barrels per day, amounting to 4% to 5% of global supply, sparing Saudi Arabia the brunt of the disruption that has crippled other Gulf oil and gas exporters. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strikes on the pipeline.
Satellite images showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina. The attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said without detailing the impact on exports. US President Donald Trump, visiting Ireland to attend a golf tournament at one of his resorts, said Iran was probably to blame.
Yesterday, Saudi Civil Defence said in a statement that a projectile fired by the Houthis had injured two people in Jazan region, and damaged several buildings, including a mosque. Saudi leader asks for US military help Oil prices shot up over the past week and the retail price of diesel in the United States surged past a record $6 (€5) a gallon as the United States and Iran both fired on tankers and the Houthis in Yemen rapidly advanced along the Red Sea, potentially giving Tehran leverage over both of the region's main oil-shipping corridors.
Washington now faces a dilemma over whether to help the Saudis fight the Houthis, risking further expansion of the war. Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, phoned Mr Trump on Thursday and asked for US military help fighting the Houthis, three sources told Reuters.
They said the prince was told that Washington would not intervene directly for now but would help with intelligence. Mr Trump confirmed yesterday that he had spoken to the crown prince, and said the Houthis had also phoned his administration and asked Washington not to become directly involved in the conflict.
Four Yemeni government sources told Reuters that the Houthis had seized the strategic island of Perim on Friday in the middle of the Bab el-Mandeb strait - the "Gate of Tears" at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Houthis have been attacking Saudi ships in the area since declaring a blockade in July and targeting its other oil facilities.
Iranian official plays down Oman meeting There have been no talks between the United States and Iranto end the conflict since a June agreement that collapsed within weeks. In a post on X yesterday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said: "As long as the American side does not accept all of Iran's conditions, dialogue and negotiation are of no use.
" Iran's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Iran would be attending a meeting with Gulf Arab states in Oman tomorrow, at which the future of the Strait of Hormuz would be discussed. But a senior Iranian official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity yesterday, played down the chances of a breakthrough, saying the meeting, called at Oman's initiative, was intended to discuss issues including the strait but was not expected to yield a signed agreement.
An agreement on routes through the strait between Iran and Oman will be presented at the meeting tomorrow, but the strait will not reopen unless seven conditions conveyed by Iran to the US are met, a source told Tasnim news agency, without elaborating.
Iran wants its control of the Strait of Hormuz to be recognised, allowing it to collect fees from ships that use it, which Washington rejects. Oman, which controls the opposite bank of the strait, says it is negotiating with the agreement of other regional states.
Ships had free and open passage through the strait before the war began.
Iranian state media reported that one person was killed and three injured after a commercial vessel was struck off Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz. While UK Maritime Trade Operations corroborated that a vessel in the area hit by a projectile, the specific cause of the incident remains unverified, as the U.
S. military, which previously engaged Iranian-flagged ships, has not issued an immediate statement.
The BRICS summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration, a 140-paragraph document expressing collective opposition to terrorism and unilateral trade measures that panelists said challenge WTO norms. Observers also noted the bloc's stated concerns regarding the impact of global sanctions on energy security, while analysts highlighted India's role in facilitating consensus among the expanded member group.