US: record diesel prices – over $6 a gallon. Houthis control the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb

Russia is concerned about the sharp deterioration in the military and political situation in Yemen, where civilian and energy infrastructure in neighbouring Saudi Arabia has been targeted, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today. “The Russian side has expressed concern over the sharp deterioration in the military and political situation in that country, which has led to the bombing of civilian and energy infrastructure located in the south-western provinces of Saudi Arabia,” the ministry said in a statement.

“To continue efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region, whilst safeguarding freedom of navigation and trade, as well as the safety and well-being of seafarers.” This was stated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to discuss the current situation in the region. This is the second meeting between the two leaders in less than two weeks. They had previously met on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek on 31 August.

Two brothers have been sentenced by the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal to four years’ imprisonment each for terrorism in support of IS. According to the DPA, the court found the two men, aged 47 and 43, guilty of having joined the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq in 2016. The investigation was launched on the basis of information provided by the intelligence services, following which the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against the brothers. They were arrested on 2 December 2025. The verdict is not yet final.

‘We are fighting against a horrific and perverse form of terror. We pay tribute to the military personnel who are working right now to ensure that the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran, never, under any circumstances, possesses a nuclear weapon.” Donald Trump said this whilst speaking at the Pentagon during the 11 September memorial ceremony.

‘Over the past six months, we have brought the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism to its knees.’ US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth devoted part of his speech at the ceremony commemorating the 11 September attacks to the ongoing conflict with Iran. “Our troops have faced an Islamic theocracy that has been calling for our deaths for nearly half a century, which rejoiced at 9/11: a regime that for decades has sponsored terrorist attacks against Americans, killing thousands, including our comrades-in-arms in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Speaking at the Pentagon, Hegseth defended the Trump administration’s stance in the conflict against Tehran. “Economic pressure is mounting every day. We control the Strait of Hormuz. We will see this battle through to the end,” he concluded.

Rachel Rabin, sister of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, has died at the age of 101, according to Israeli media reports. Born in Tel Aviv, she was one of the pioneers of the Manara kibbutz, situated along the border with Lebanon, in 1943. She worked in education for decades and remained a resident of the kibbutz until 2023, when she was forced to leave due to the outbreak of fighting with Lebanon.

Israeli forces have carried out several air raids in southern Lebanon, in al Mansouri and near the city of Tyre. This was reported by the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA).

According to the agency, the air strikes on al-Mansouri targeted “infrastructure and residential neighbourhoods”, whilst the attack south of Tyre also struck residential areas.

The Houthis have claimed to have captured territory in six districts and to have inflicted heavy losses on the forces allied with Saudi Arabia.

In a statement published on X by the military spokesperson, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the armed forces stated that the operation, which began on 3 September, was aimed at expelling pro-Saudi forces from certain areas of the provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah and at putting an end to what the Houthis describe as a siege and aggression against Yemen that has been going on for years.

Six missiles struck the port of Mocha – a strategic Yemeni city on the Red Sea currently under Houthi control – according to a local official who spoke to AFP, though he did not specify where the missiles came from. “Six missiles targeted the port of Mocha,” said the Yemeni government official. Earlier, Houthi-linked media had accused Saudi Arabia of launching two attacks on Mocha airport; the airport was captured by the Houthis on Thursday during a large-scale offensive against Yemeni government forces backed by Riyadh.

A new record for diesel in the United States, which has exceeded $6 per gallon (approximately 3.78 litres) for the first time. The fallout from the war in Iran, the Houthi attacks and the conflict in Ukraine are driving up fuel prices. According to the AAA, the price of diesel has risen by 14 per cent over the past month and by more than 60 per cent over the past year. The rise in domestic prices reflects the surge in diesel exports from the United States, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, combined with Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, is restricting the supply of refined products worldwide. Petrol prices are also continuing to rise. The average price per gallon is now $4.295, according to the AAA, representing an increase of over 40 per cent since the start of the war in Iran.

A member of the Houthis’ political bureau has sought to allay global concerns regarding international maritime traffic through the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after fighters from the Iran-backed group took control of the area. “Freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and at Bab el-Mandeb are proceeding safely and smoothly,” Hazem al-Assad told the newspaper Al-Araby al-Jadeed. “There is no cause for international concern, as there is no threat from the Yemeni side.”

Satellite images taken yesterday show smoke near Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, which has become a vital route for the kingdom to divert its crude oil exports away from the Strait of Hormuz. This is reported by Reuters online. There has been no confirmation from Saudi Arabia regarding any incidents in the area. The Saudi government’s press office and the state-owned oil giant Aramco did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the smoke visible in the images verified by Reuters. Aramco has been using the East-West pipeline to increase crude oil flows from the east coast of Saudi Arabia towards the Red Sea to the west, following the start, US and Israeli air strikes against Iran began six months ago, prompting Tehran to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel has stated that it is ready to carry out further strikes against Hezbollah in new locations, following the large-scale destruction of tunnels built in southern Lebanon by the Iranian-backed armed group. “We are ready and prepared to continue the campaign, to keep striking Hezbollah and to take action in further locations,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Rocce distrutte sulla cima del crinale di Ali al-Taher, conquistato dalle forze israeliane dopo gli scontri con Hezbollah e dove, secondo quanto riferito dall'esercito israeliano, giovedì notte sarebbe stata fatta saltare in aria una rete di tunnel di Hezbollah nei pressi della città di Nabatiyeh, nel Libano meridionale, venerdì 11 settembre 2026. (Foto AP/Hussein Malla)

“Our forces have a long list of important targets at their disposal” should Riyadh continue its attacks. Hazam al-Assad, a member of the Houthi rebels’ political bureau, told the Associated Press this, stating that the group is responding to Saudi aggression. The advance of the pro-Iranian rebels poses a further threat to commercial shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. There is “no need for international concern”, said Hazam al-Assad.

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.