Iran, Houthis advance: the island of Mayyun in the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb has been captured

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in New Delhi for the BRICS summit, where the conflict in the Middle East will be one of the main items on the agenda. Pezeshkian, on his first visit to India as head of state, will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the IRNA news agency. The two-day BRICS summit will open tomorrow.

Masoud Pezeshkian

Saudi military forces have carried out two air strikes on Mocha airport in Yemen, according to Al-Masirah, a network affiliated with the Houthis. The Yemeni rebels took control of the strategic port city yesterday.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has once again revised down its forecasts for global oil demand this year, in light of the recent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and the latest surge in energy prices. The agency now estimates that consumption in 2026 will fall by 2.5 million barrels a day compared with the previous year, a figure well above the 1.6 million barrel a day decline forecast in August. Crude oil prices have remained well above the levels recorded prior to the US and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, which triggered a conflict causing damage to oil infrastructure in several Gulf countries. The IEA highlighted in particular the surge in diesel costs due to refining constraints: damage to facilities in the Gulf has in fact drastically reduced supplies of this fuel, which is essential for industry and transport. “For diesel, which accounts for almost 30 per cent of global demand, prices in the United States exceeded the $100-per-barrel mark in early September — 94 per cent higher than pre-war levels — with Europe and Asia following a similar trend,” the IEA stated in its monthly report.

The commander of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade was killed last night in an Israeli air strike in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to reports from the terrorist group and Palestinian media, and confirmed by the IDF. This was reported by The Times of Israel. A ‘martyr’s manifesto’ dedicated to the commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade, Muhammad Abdul Salam al-Yazouri (also known as Abu al-Haitham), was published on an account used by Hamas to announce the deaths of its members. The Israeli army confirmed that it had carried out an air strike last night in the Khan Yunis area: “Last night (Thursday), during a targeted strike in the Khan Yunis area, the IDF and the ISA eliminated Muhammad Yazouri, commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade of Hamas’s military wing in the Gaza Strip”.

The Houthis have captured the final stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, bringing to a close an 18-hour offensive that secures their full control of the entire Red Sea coastline. This is according to Al Jazeera’s correspondents on the ground. Agence France-Presse also confirms that the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels have taken full control of the Bab al-Mandeb area.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman rang US President Donald Trump twice yesterday, urging him to launch attacks against the Houthis, at the very moment the Iran-backed group was capturing the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea. Axios reports this, citing two US officials. Trump refused, and the officials stressed that, for the time being, the administration has no plans to intervene directly against the Houthis, though one of them added that the administration will provide Saudi Arabia with intelligence on the Houthis and data to help identify targets.

Il presidente degli Stati Uniti Donald Trump e il principe ereditario e primo ministro saudita Mohammed bin Salman si tengono per mano durante un incontro nello Studio Ovale della Casa Bianca a Washington, D.C., Stati Uniti, il 18 novembre 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Foto d'archivio

Until Wednesday evening , it was unthinkable that a US president would try to buy – in the literal sense of the word – the American people’s vote. The way he personalises everything that happens around him, coupled with his lack of familiarity with the principles of public life, helps to explain Donald Trump’s attempt to monetise democracy.

But there is also a sense of desperation in promising 5,000 dollars per voter if the Republican Party – reshaped in his own image – retains its majority in Congress in the mid-term elections. It is above all the inability to resolve the conflict with Iran and the resulting collapse in support that has driven the president of the leading Western democracy to take such action.

Israeli forces carried out several new raids at dawn in the West Bank, including in the areas of Bethlehem and Tulkarm. This was reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, which added that security forces raided the homes of families in the town of al-Khader, west of Bethlehem, and deployed in large numbers in the city of Tulkarem, firing live ammunition and questioning residents.

According to preliminary vessel-tracking data published today, the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven yesterday, compared with eleven the previous day – a figure well below the ten-year average of 15. According to the data, of the seven vessels, two left and five entered the strait. The figures exclude vessels that may have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders switched off to avoid detection.

Immagine ripresa da un drone della petroliera HELGA ormeggiata presso uno dei terminali petroliferi offshore nel sud dell’Iraq, vicino a Bassora, mentre si prepara a caricare petrolio greggio, diventando la seconda nave ad arrivare dopo la chiusura dello Stretto di Ormuz, il 24 aprile 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty//Foto d’archivio

Four projectiles of unknown origin struck two vessels off the coast of Oman, causing a fire on board one of the vessels. This was reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The incident occurred approximately four nautical miles west of Khasab. According to the UKMTO, the condition of the second vessel struck is currently unknown. The captain of another vessel reported seeing the four projectiles strike the two ships approximately six nautical miles north of his position, the UKMTO added.

Iran has described the resolution approved by the IAEA Board of Governors – which refers Iran’s nuclear programme to the United Nations Security Council – as “illegal”, “political” and lacking any technical basis.

“The anti-Iranian resolution adopted by the Board of Governors is illegal, devoid of any technical basis, entirely political and unacceptable, and clearly bears the hallmarks of pressure from the United States and the Zionists”, wrote Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in X.

Foreign ministers from the Gulf states are expected to meet their Iranian counterpart on Monday in Salalah, Oman, in an attempt to secure support for a temporary agreement on the management of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This is according to the Financial Times, citing two people familiar with the preparations.

The meeting, scheduled to take place in the Omani coastal city, is part of an initiative promoted by Oman and Iran to seek an interim agreement to regulate maritime traffic through one of the most important strategic chokepoints for global energy supplies.

Navi nei pressi dello Stretto di Hormuz, viste da Musandam, in Oman, il 2 settembre 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/Foto d'archivio

US President Donald Trump has stated that he has no regrets about the decision to launch the military operation against Iran, despite the possible negative impact on the Republicans’ prospects in the mid-term elections. “No, I don’t believe in the word ‘regret’. You can always question yourself a little,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News. “Some people have asked me that. If I had to do it again, I’d do exactly what I did,” the President added. Trump was responding to a question about whether the war against Iran might reduce the Republican Party’s chances of retaining control of Congress in the November elections.

In recent months, the US Vice-President has been in direct contact with the commanders of the US armed forces in the Middle East to obtain first-hand information on the war in Iran. JD Vance, as has emerged from numerous conversations, is concerned about the level of US arms and ammunition stocks and about Iran’s resilience. The Vice-President has incorporated the assessments he has received into his private conversations with Donald Trump to provide the President with all the tools necessary to make his decisions. This is reported by the New York Times, citing several sources, according to whom the information gathered by Vance raises doubts about the nature of the assessments the President receives.