Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed on Sunday to have struck facilities at a military base in Saudi Arabia as the burgeoning conflict threatens to throw the region back into chaos. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the Iran-backed group had targeted “weapons depots and command and control centers” at the southern Sharurah base. Saree claimed that a joint ballistic missile and drone attack hit its targets and warned of wider measures if the Saudi attacks on Yemen continue.
The escalation follows a lightning Houthi advance to the Red Sea coast this week, giving the group greater power to attack Saudi ships around the Bab-al Mandeb strait. Oil hovered around $100 per barrel on Sunday amid growing fears the clashes could drag in the US to help its ally in Riyadh, prolonging the six-month conflict with Iran to the east. Separately, a crew member was killed early on Sunday when an Iranian commercial ship was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media.
There has been no statement so far from the US military, which has previously struck Iranian vessels to enforce its blockade of the country's ports. At least two killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, witnesses say An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed at least two Palestinians in a vehicle and wounded 13 others in the Gaza Strip, medical staff said. The strike in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood in western Gaza City, left the vehicle mangled, according to footage circulated on social media.
Local medical staff told Reuters that they urged people to provide information that could help identify the two people who were killed and whose bodies were dismembered by the explosion. The Israeli military said the strike targeted two Hamas militants, without giving further information. Reuters 13 September 2026 13:30 Explained: 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 the war launched by the U.S. and Israel in February — intended to last a few weeks — is still far from over, and the stalemate is costly for both sides. An agreement reached in June quickly crumbled, with so sign of diplomatic progress since then. Low-level fighting persists, and the U.S. does not seem to have an exit strategy.
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. Here’s the state of play after nearly seven months: James Reynolds 13 September 2026 13:00 Houthis claim strike on Saudi military base Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed on Sunday to have struck facilities at a military base in Saudi Arabia as the burgeoning conflict threatens to throw the region back into chaos.
The escalation follows a lightning Houthi advance to the Red Sea coast this week, giving the group greater power to attack Saudi ships around the Bab-al Mandeb strait. Oil hovered around $100 per barrel on Sunday amid growing fears the clashes could drag in the US to help its ally in Riyadh, prolonging the six-month conflict with Iran to the east. James Reynolds 13 September 2026 12:29 Report: Hamas 'planned to carry out attacks in European capitals last year' Hamas planned to carry out terror attacks in European capitals last year to mark the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks in Israel, according to an indictment filed by Germany’s federal prosecutor.
The Palestinian group reportedly intended to carry out attacks on Israeli and Jewish ‘interests’ in Berlin and Vienna around October 7 2025, according to the indictment, as seen by German broadsheet Die Welt . It was said to have been backed by “an international weapons-procurement network” that moved pistols, a rifle and ammunition through Europe. The plot is claimed to have come undone just days before the attacks were due to be carried out, as German authorities swooped on three suspects in Berlin during the handover of a cache of weapons that prosecutors say were intended for the operation.
Federal prosecutors in Germany last year said they had arrested men linked to Hamas who were suspected of planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Germany. James Reynolds 13 September 2026 12:00 Trump says Iran probably behind attack on Saudi Arabia Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iran was probably responsible for the aerial attack on Saudi Arabia that shut down its East-West pipeline, one of the kingdom's main routes for exporting crude while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. "I think they are, probably they are," Trump told reporters in Dublin when asked if Iran was responsible for the attack on the vital oil conduit.
The president also said that he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he described as a "good friend." Trump added that Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis had called his administration and indicated they did not want the United States to become directly involved in the conflict. “There's just one country that they're not too happy with, and we'll get that straightened out," Trump added. A satellite image shows smoke rising from area near East-West oil pipeline, in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 11 September 2026 (Reuters) James Reynolds 13 September 2026 11:30 Where are peace talks six months on?
There have been no talks between the United States and Iran to end the conflict since a June agreement that collapsed within weeks. In a post on X on Saturday, 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 on Monday, at which the future of the Strait of Hormuz would be discussed. But a senior Iranian official, speaking to Reuters on Saturday, 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.
Oman has not officially announced the meeting, and other Gulf countries have remained silent. Bahrain said on Saturday it would not attend meetings with Iran. Trump gestures a thumbs up as he looks across the 18th green on day three of the Amgen Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg (Getty) James Reynolds 13 September 2026 11:00 Recap: China accused of handing Iran intel for strike on Jordan air base Chinese ‘entities’ may have supplied Iran with high-resolution satellite images of a US military base in Jordan ahead of a strike that killed three troops in July, according to a report.
Three soldiers were killed and four injured at the overnight strike at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base on 17 July. US officials told the Wall Street Journal that the alleged handover of images represented the most clear evidence so far that Chinese support for Iran had had lethal consequences for US forces. China has repeatedly dismissed Washington’s concerns, refusing to acknowledge that any Chinese companies are engaged in such activity, the officials said.
James Reynolds 13 September 2026 10:30 Emerging story: Iranian commercial ship is struck near Strait of Hormuz Iranian state media reports that one person was killed after an Iranian commercial ship was struck near the Strait of Hormuz. There was no immediate comment from the US military, which previously struck Iranian-flagged ships during its blockade of ports. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor separately reported a vessel was hit by a projectile while transiting the strait, with no details.
Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman (Reuters) James Reynolds 13 September 2026 10:00 What’s happening with the Houthis and Saudi Arabia? The Iran-aligned Houthis have been fighting Saudi Arabia for more than a decade as part of the Yemen civil war. But clashes have flared up in recent weeks around the US-Iran conflict.
The Houthis are reasserting control over the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which controls access to the Red Sea, at a time when Iran has all but closed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to the east. That makes it difficult for countries like US ally Saudi Arabia to export oil, driving up global prices. In Yemen, the Houthis embarked on a lightning offensive west this week, bringing them closer to the Red Sea and granting them greater control over traffic through the waterway.
Yemeni government sources said 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 also launched attacks in southern cities in Saudi Arabia, causing injuries and damage to energy infrastructure. In a separate attack, Saudi Arabia’s crucial East-West oil pipeline was struck by a drone from Iraq this week, where Iranian-backed militia operate.
Donald Trump said Iran was “probably” behind the attack, without providing evidence. Washington now faces a dilemma over whether to help their allies fight the Houthis, potentially expanding the deeply unpopular war. James Reynolds 13 September 2026 09:00 Crew of vessel attacked in Hormuz strait evacuated, UKMTO says A vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said early on Sunday.
The crew were evacuated by local authorities after a fire broke out following the attack, the British navy-affiliated firm said. James Reynolds 13 September 2026 08:53
Source: The Independent
