Middle East War

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The US has made progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but the Iran war is far from over In recent weeks, the United States has succeeded in loosening Iran’s grip over the Strait of Hormuz while virtually shutting down Iran’s own oil exports, accelerating its economic free fall. But low-level fighting persists, the U.S. does not seem to have an exit strategy and the stalemate is costly for both sides. Read more.

Why this matters: The mounting economic pressure on Iran has yet to stoke an uprising, and if its leaders are backed into a corner, they may opt for military escalation rather than capitulation. Their Houthi allies in Yemen have meanwhile stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, helping to push oil prices back up. The price of a barrel of Brent crude surged above $100 this week, and diesel — heavily used in transport and farming — hit a record, potentially stoking inflation. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gas prices are likely to stay high through the midterm congressional elections.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US diesel prices soar past $6 a gallon Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen’s rebel-held Mokha airport as Houthis take an island near a key strait  Yemen risks a return to civil war as Iran-backed rebels target a vital oil shipping route

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Saudi Arabia shuts down a pipeline as Houthis seize an island, opening a new front in the Iran war

CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia said Friday it shut down a major pipeline a day after it was attacked by drones, and Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured a strategic island at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, two officials said, opening a new front in the Iran war.

https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-iran-mokha-mandeb-shipping-saudi-025d052a14d9481258d51009a76d0bd6?

Nearly 50,000 Yemeni civilians flee as Houthis advance along Red Sea coast

Global struggle for control of Bab al-Mandab strait threatens to turn Yemen’s on-off conflict into a forever war

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/12/yemen-houthi-advance-red-sea-coast-displaces-civilians-bab-al-mandab?

Saudi Arabia shuts down key oil pipeline, blaming drones from Iraq

Riyadh has increased use of East-West pipeline since start of war on Iran to bypass closure of strait of Hormuz

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/12/saudi-arabia-shuts-down-oil-pipeline-blaming-drones-from-iraq?

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Users in Houthi-held Yemen tried to develop advanced weapons with AI, Anthropic says

Anthropic says Claude users in northern Yemen, territory controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, tried to use the AI model to develop advanced missiles. Anthropic said the users of the accounts, which it blocked after identifying them, did not succeed in “fielding an operational device” but did carry out a failed test of a guided rocket. It said it knows that because the users returned to its Claude chatbot to find out why it failed. Hazam al-Assad, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said it is “unreasonable and illogical” that they would rely on open sources to develop and produce military capabilities. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says AI industry needs to give safety measures time to catch up Strike on Iranian cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz kills 1, Iranian media say Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claim new attacks on Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has few options as it faces mounting threats from Iran and its allies People fleeing Iran-backed rebels’ advance in Yemen describe a ‘hysterical panic’

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Fighting in Yemen intensifies, and Houthis launch more attacks on Saudi Arabia

The conflict in Yemen intensified on Sunday, as government forces launched attacks against Iran-backed Houthi rebels along the Red Sea and Houthis fired into neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen’s government. Read More.

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Saudi Arabia Faces Militant Attacks

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen captured two islands in the Red Sea yesterday. The seizure of Greater and Lesser Hanish further compromised Saudi Arabia’s ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and deliver oil through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (see more, w/map). The kingdom and allied Gulf states postponed planned talks with Iran Sunday amid the uptick in attacks. Houthis say their recent strikes, including on a Saudi military base yesterday, are retaliation for hundreds of airstrikes by the kingdom. Separately, Saudi Arabia faces attacks from Iranian-backed militants in Iraq, forcing the kingdom to close its East-West Pipeline for weeks amid repairs (see satellite images). The roughly 750-mile-long pipeline reroutes 4% of global oil to the Red Sea, feeding shipments to the Bab el-Mandeb. President Donald Trump reportedly rejected Saudi calls last week to participate in Saudi airstrikes against the Houthis. The dayslong uptick in fighting has reportedly killed more than 500 people and displaced nearly 94,000 others, threatening a return to pre-2022 levels of violence (see history).

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What the closure of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline could mean for oil flows A crucial Saudi oil pipeline that was struck in an attack will be mostly out of service for weeks as the damage is repaired, two regional officials said Monday. Analysts warn that the latest disruptions could bring even more pain for consumers. Read more.

Why this matters: The pipeline was built in the 1980s amid fears that Tehran would disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran-Iraq war. And for the first six months of the current war, it was crucial to getting some crude out of the Middle East by shipping it to the Red Sea rather than through Hormuz, where traffic remained at a standstill. Rystad Energy said Monday that an average 2.6 million to 4 million barrels of oil a day moved through the pipeline since late August — a volume it said is now at risk of “disappearing from the market.” Four million barrels per day is about 4% of the global oil supply, according to the International Energy Agency.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ As the last US troops pack up in Iraq, militias signal their weapons will stay  US watchdog tallies Iran war’s hit to weapons stockpiles, military bases and more  Fuel shortage in Yemen hampers migrants fleeing conflict and seeking safety in Djibouti