Bab el-Mandeb Strait sees highest number of vessels since 24 August
The Bab el-Mandeb strait, the waterway between Yemen and the horn of Africa, has seen the highest number of vessels transiting since 24 August.
A total of 31 commodity vessels crossed that waterway on Wednesday, above the 10-day average of 25 vessels, Kpler data showed.
On Tuesday, 17 vessels transited the waterway, the data showed.
As we reported earlier, six commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, down from 11 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of about 13, the Kpler data showed according to Reuters news agency.
Vessels transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of southern Yemen (AFP/Getty)
Alex Croft3 September 2026 08:22
Trump discusses Iran war with UAE president
Donald Trump has been on the phone with UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE state news agency WAM said on Thursday.
The pair discussed the ongoing developments in the Iran war, and touched on further bilateral cooperation between the two.
We’ll bring you any further lines from the call as they come in.
Alex Croft3 September 2026 07:59
Sam Kiley: Trump just doesn’t understand he is now in a forever war with Iran – and RussiaTrump Just Doesn’t Understand He Is Now In A Forever War With Iran – And Russia
Alex Croft3 September 2026 07:37
US embassies issue security alerts after reported Iranians strikes
Multiple US embassies in the Middle East issued a security alert to American citizens in the region on Wednesday.
The security environment “remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation”, the embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said.
The US embassy in Riyadh advised Americans to prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions.
A similar alert was issued by the US mission in the UAE.
The warnings came after Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran “at a much harder and higher level” and leave “very little left” of the country if it retaliated. Iran launched retaliatory attacks overnight.
Shweta Sharma3 September 2026 07:16
Trump says US is ‘prepared’ for another wave of strikes on Iran
President Donald Trump said the US hit Iran “very hard” on Tuesday night, claiming the strikes were in response to an Iranian attack on US forces in Jordan.
“They gave a little love tap, but we hit them very hard last night,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
He said the US had “taken out all of the new equipment” Iran had built along the Strait of Hormuz.
“It was a very heavy attack last night,” Trump added. “And we’re prepared to do another one anytime we want.”
Shweta Sharma3 September 2026 07:06
Six commodity vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz
Six commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, down from 11 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of about 13, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing preliminary data from Kpler.
The vessels included two very large gas carriers, two long-range tankers, one Supramax tanker and one Panamax tanker.
The figure is likely to be revised as some vessels typically switch off their transponders while passing through the strait.
Shweta Sharma3 September 2026 06:47
Trump doesn’t understand the forever war he’s created with Iran – and Russia
In an age of rogue lawlessness dominating international affairs since Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office and then staggered about the globe like a toddler with a chainsaw, it is inevitable that other outlaw nations, Russia and Iran, would see opportunity in the mayhem.
But Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei (along with his Guardian Council), the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin are locking America into another forever war.
Shweta Sharma3 September 2026 06:30
Oil edges down as investors weigh uncertainty
Oil prices edged lower on Thursday as investors weighed the uncertainty of renewed military strikes between the US and Iran that risk disrupting supplies from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.45 per cent, to $95.2 a barrel at 0029 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 24 cents, or 0.26 per cent, at $90.77.
Brent and WTI swung between gains of as much as $2 a barrel and losses of $1 a barrel during the previous trading session. The session highs for both benchmarks were the highest since 24 July.
Shweta Sharma3 September 2026 06:24
Russia is secretly helping Iran to develop supersonic cruise missiles, says report
Russia has been helping Iran to develop supersonic cruise missiles in secret for years, including through the US-Iran war, according to a report.
Moscow has enlisted some of its most experienced specialists to help Iran to develop a new class of missile capable of threatening US aircraft carriers and warships stationed in the Middle East, according to an investigation by the Financial Times.
The programme’s central objective was to help Iran to develop a special ‘ramjet’ propulsion system that would allow its cruise missiles to fly at several times the speed of sound, the report said.
Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iranian missiles, framed the programme as a major transfer of sensitive technology from Moscow that Tehran had been after for decades and would require authorisation “from the very top”.
Shweta Sharma3 September 2026 06:00
Trump under pressure to avoid Iran escalation ahead of midterms
Donald Trump is under pressure to avoid further escalation after the US launched its largest wave of strikes on Iran in weeks, as the military faces mounting strain and the November midterm elections approach.
Trump on Wednesday dismissed concerns that the war could hurt Republican candidates, saying he believed his party supported his efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
But the president’s approval rating has fallen to a record-low 33 per cent, while two-thirds of Americans disapprove of his handling of the war. Oil prices also climbed above $90 a barrel on Wednesday.
“I don’t think it will be very much longer,” Trump said when asked how many more Iranian targets the US could strike, as the conflict passed the six-month mark.
The comments came as Reuters reported that the White House was seeking to avoid a major escalation against Iran until after the 3 November election.
The latest fighting erupted after a month of relative calm. US forces carried out about 100 strikes against Iranian targets on Tuesday, saying they were retaliation for maritime threats near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported that a US strike hit a home in southern Iran during a wedding celebration, killing two women and two children and injuring 60 others.
Shweta Sharma3 September 2026 05:57