U.S. military escorts massive oil shipments

The U.S. military has escorted one billion barrels of crude oil and over two thousand commercial vessels out of the Persian Gulf in the last couple of months, according to Adm. Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command.

Houthis attack Saudi oil targets

The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen expanded attacks on Saturday, targeting oil storage at Riyadh international airport and Aramco oil facilities in Yanbu, both deep into Saudi territory.

Saudi Arabia intercepts ballistic missile

Saudi officials said the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh on Saturday, which they said was successfully intercepted. This was the first time the Saudi capital has been targeted since fighting escalated.

Trump weighs major decision on Iran

President Trump told Axios on Thursday he is poised to make a big decision on whether to launch a major assault to annihilate the Iranian regime, saying anything could happen with him.

“It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me.”

Trump in deciding mode on Iran

President Trump told Fox News he is in deciding mode on Iran, forecasting very big things to come. He is considering wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically, or striking a deal.

“My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up? They better behave.”

Trump open to meeting Iranian president

Trump told Fox News he would probably be open to meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.

CIA director meets Egypt's leader

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Sunday. The meeting discussed the wars in Iran, Gaza and Sudan, plus attacks on Gulf countries and maritime security threats.

U.S. warns of potential escalation

On Saturday, the U.S. State Department warned Americans against traveling to the region, saying the military conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has the potential to escalate rapidly.

“This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly.”

Embassies issue security alerts

U.S. embassies across the Middle East issued security alerts early Sunday morning local time for American citizens. The State Department cited tensions and potential for unforeseen escalation, calling for heightened vigilance.

“Due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation.”

Iran conveys conditions for strait reopening

Iran has conveyed to Washington through mediators its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blockaded. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the conditions must be met for the strait to reopen.

“As long as the conditions are not met and the U.S. commitments are not honoured, it will be impossible to return to the situation from before the negotiations and to an open strait.”

Iran's demands for ending war

Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's supreme national security council, said Iran's conditions include ending the war on all fronts, releasing frozen funds, and ending the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

“Our conditions are an end to the war on all fronts, the release of our frozen funds and an end to the naval blockade.”

Three Arab nations condemn Houthi attack

Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait condemned the Houthis' attack in Riyadh in separate statements, saying it was a threat to regional security and a violation of international law.

Turkey opposes Saudi involvement

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday that Saudi Arabia should not be made part of the ongoing conflict between Iran and America, and should be kept outside the equation.

“We do not accept Saudi Arabia being made a part of the ongoing conflict between Iran and America.”

Houthis claim successful operations

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group carried out two successful military operations using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, targeting sensitive sites in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

“The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu.”

Iran criticizes U.S. war crimes denial

A U.N. report found reasonable grounds to believe the U.S. committed war crimes in Iran, including a bombing of a school in Minab that killed dozens of children. The White House rejected the report as unserious.

Iran's foreign minister calls for change

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said the world needs a fundamental change of course, as war and military force have become ordinary tools of policy rather than exceptions.

“The world we live in needs a fundamental change of course more than ever, because war, intervention, sanctions, and the use of force have become ordinary tools of policy rather than exceptions.”

Pakistan and Iran discuss energy security

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar discussed uninterrupted energy supplies and safe passage for commercial ships in a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday.

Forty-eight killed in Yemen fighting

Fighting in southern Yemen between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Houthi fighters killed forty-eight people in recent hours, with seventeen Yemeni troops and thirty-one Houthi fighters reported killed.

Nearly three thousand flee Yemen

Nearly three thousand people, more than half women and children, have fled Yemen to Djibouti in less than a week amid intensified fighting. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said thousands more are waiting to cross.

Houthis control vital shipping strait

The Iran-backed Houthis now control the Bab al-Mandab Strait after seizing swaths of Yemen's Red Sea coastline and several islands. Weekly traffic through the strait has fallen to under a third of this year's average.