Houthi forces in Yemen’s capital Sana’a, September 10, 2026 (Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty)

EA on Express 24-7 and Pakistan TV: US and Iran Escalate Their Attacks — Is There A Way Out?

UPDATES: US War on Iran, Day 197 — Vance and Rubio to Trump — This Could Last Into 2029

UPDATE 1453 GMT:

The US military claimed two “fishing boats” which they struck yesterday were being used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in an attempt to snatch an American drone.

An American official said a US drone fired two missiles, destroying both boats.

Iranian media said fishermen were missing.

A US official also claimed Navy ships are leading tankers through the Strait of Hormuz during the day as well as at night. He declared that an average of 40 ships with 14 million barrels of oil cross each day.

UPDATE 1448 GMT:

Diplomatic and security officials say US Central Command is overseeing contacts between Saudi Arabia and Israel over the Houthi advances in Yemen and attacks on the Saudis.

The contacts reportedly seek to share Israeli intelligence that could help Riyadh defend itself. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman turned to CENTCOM to enlist the Israeli aid, the sources said, and the Saudis have also turned to other Gulf States and Egypt.

The Israeli military recommended that leaders avoid ordering strikes on the Houthis or other actions that would place Israel at the forefront of the military struggle. The focus should remain on a “political effort to create an international and regional coalition” against the Houthis.

UPDATE 0854 GMT:

A US Government watchdog confirms that the military is facing shortfalls of strategic inventories and severe supply bottlenecks for advanced weapons.

The joint assessment was compiled by Inspectors General from the Defense Department, State Department, and US Agency for International Development. It assessed that defense contractors will need up to three years to restore advanced missile and interceptor stockpiles to pre-war levels.

The assessment confirms that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of structures across US bases in eight countries: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan. Dozens of American aircraft and drones were damaged or destroyed.

UPDATE 0852 GMT:

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claim they destroyed an advanced US MQ-1 drone west of the Strait of Hormuz.

UPDATE 0850 GMT:

Only four monitored vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, down from 10 on Sunday.

At least 436 vessels are at a standstill near the Strait.

UPDATE 0845 GMT:

Three people, including two children, have been killed by Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen.

Two people were injured in the attacks on the districts of Dhubab and Maqbanah in the Taiz Province in the southwest of the country.

UPDATE, SEPT 15:

Saudi Arabia says it will react “firmly to protect [our] sovereignty” after Yemen’s Houthis carried out a series of missile and drone attacks wounding 13 civilians in the south of the Kingdom.

The Houthis claimed a “large-scale” attack using “dozens of ballistic missiles and drones” on the King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait on Monday.

A Houthi strike on western Yemen yesterday killed eight government soldiers, said two military sources. The Saudi-led coalition supporting the government Riyadh-led coalition confirmed missile and drone attacks on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, injuring 13.

Saudi warplanes responded with 54 strikes across the Lahj, Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib, and Hajjah regions, said the Houthis.

UPDATE 1350 GMT:

The World Health Organization says fighting in Yemen killed 504 people and injured 2,379 from September 6 to September 12.

At least 77,789 people were displaced throughout governorates including Taiz, Marib, al-Jawf, Lahj, Hodeidah, Abyan, and Shabwa.

UPDATE 1019 GMT:

The Trump Administration has blocked the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, from attending the annual conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in New York.

“Mohammad Eslami and his delegation took a regular flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were blocked on the way because of obstructions by the United States,” Iran State TV reported.

Iran summoned Austria’s charge d’affaires in response to the decision to bar Eslami. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said:

The Austrian government’s refusal to issue visas to the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a completely unjustified decision.

It is clear to us that this incident occurred under American pressure, but that does not absolve the Austrian government of responsibility.

UPDATE 1012 GMT:

Yemen’s Houthis rebels have captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, government and Houthi officials confirm.

The Houthis have taken Greater and Lesser Hanish Islands, adding to their seizure last week of the Mayyaun Island in the middle of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The Houthis rebels deployed fighters on the Hanish Islands, 160 km (100 miles) north of Bab al-Mandeb, after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew from the archipelago.

UPDATE 0741 GMT:

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says today’s meeting with the Gulf States and Iraq, discussing arrangements for the management of the Strait of Hormuz, was cancelled because of “the events unfolding in Yemen”.

Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Oman and Iran “have taken a joint decision aimed at arriving at a responsible [approach], and the meeting in Muscat was an “opportunity to demonstrate the significance of these decisions”.

Had this meeting took place, it would have been a very suitable opportunity. I do not believe any responsible country would accept in any shape, way, or form to be dictated to or be subjected to pressure from any outside forces.

Baghaei insisted Tehran had “no relations whatsoever with what is unfolding in Yemen”. Iran-backed Houthis have taken control of the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, pushing back Saudi-backed Government forces.

Citing a “senior official in one of the Gulf states”, journalist Barak Ravid says Saudi Arabia submitted amendments to the Iran-Oman proposal. Riyadh was concerned that the proposed wording might actually establish a status quo in the Strait unacceptable to it or other Gulf States.

UPDATE 0658 GMT:

Iran’s judiciary has seized properties from 240 people accused of affiliations with Israel and other “hostile countries”.

The judiciary declared that those targeted had “carried out propaganda or practical actions against the country”, resulting in “extensive damage” to Iran’s infrastructure.

UPDATE 0656 GMT:

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claim they intercepted and destroyed an advanced US MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

UPDATE 0600 GMT:

Oman says today’s meeting between the Gulf states, Iraq and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz has been postponed in the “interests of consensus”.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry official says the postponement came at the request of certain regional countries and through a joint decision by Tehran and Muscat.

Iran and Oman have been negotiating arrangements for the management of the Strait. The Trump Administration has been pressing Muscat not to complete the agreement, as Washington tries to break Iranian control of the waterway.

UPDATE 0553 GMT:

Only 14 monitored vessels passed the Strait of Hormuz this weekend, below the 10-day average of 14.

Four vessels exited and 10 entered.

Around 125 ships passed each day before the US-Israel War on Iran.

UPDATE, SEPT 14:

Saudi Arabia will run out of oil ⁠stocks for export if its drone-damaged East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea cannot be repaired and reopened within days, say Saudi oil buyers and traders.

The cutoff could lead to the loss of up to 4% of global supply, further tightening oil stocks amid Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Satellite photos released on Sunday night showed a charred and badly-damaged pumping station on the 1,200-km (745-mile) pipeline, following drone attacks on Friday.

Officials said repairs could take three to five weeks. The pipeline, with a daily capacity of up to 7 million barrels of oil, may work partially during that time.

The current price of Brent crude oil is $107 per barrel.

UPDATE 1556 GMT:

With Houthis controlling the Yemeni portion of the Red Sea coast and the Saudi East-West Pipeline damaged by an airstrike, Saudi Arabia has only between five and seven days’ worth of oil stored in it Red Sea port city of Yanbu.

Sources added that Riyadh has a smaller amount of oil stored in Egypt.

UPDATE 0550 GMT:

At least 76,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since July, with the number quadrupling in the past week, reports the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

The IOM warned of “a rapidly worsening displacement crisis in Yemen unfolding by the hour….Entire families are on the move, often at night. They have nowhere safe to go.”

UPDATE 0543 GMT:

An Iranian commercial vessel has been struck off southern Iran, killing one person and wounding three others, says the governor of Qeshm County.

A vessel crossing the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an unknown projectile on Saturday, reports the UK Maritime Operations Center. The condition of the crew and extent of damage were not immediately known.

The deputy political commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has warned US naval vessels against approaching the Strait, challenging Donald Trump’s claims that the US controls the waterway.

“If the Strait of Hormuz is under American control, then go ahead – bring one of your warships within 100 km,” the commander challenged.

UPDATE 0537 GMT:

In a surprise visit to southern Lebanon, President Joseph Aoun has pledges to achieve an Israeli withdrawal and rebuild the area.

Aoun toured the city of Nabatieh, near the zone of Israeli occupation and attacks.

A senior US diplomatic official said last week that a new round of American-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon, initially scheduled for next week, has been pushed back to October.

Meeting hospital staff, Aoun said:

We stand by your side, and we are looking into how to provide all the necessary services so that you can remain here safely.

The withdrawal of Israel, the return of prisoners and displaced people, as well as reconstruction, are national constants that the state is committed to implementing.

The President traveled to Zawtar al-Gharbiya, one of the few pilot zones for Israeli withdrawal and takeover by Lebanese forces. He inspected Lebanese army units and observed nearby positions of the Israeli military.

UPDATE, SEPT 13:

Yemen’s Houthis claimed they struck the Sharurah military base in southern Saudi Arabia with drones and missiles.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted that the attack targeted “weapons depots and command and control centers that are managing the aggression against our nation and people”.

Saudi authorities said a Houthi projectile fell in an area near the border, injuring two people and damaging a mosque, several buildings, and vehicles.

The Yemeni Government’s military said they struck Houthi fighters in the Red Sea city of Mocha, seized by the insurgents last week, destroying vehicles and weapons and killing fighters. The government forces later attacked other Houthi positions in the Taiz region in southwest Yemen.

The Houthis said Saudi warplanes conducted 129 airstrikes over the past 48 hours.

UPDATE 1310 GMT:

Israel has bombed several sites across the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts, including the towns of Haddatha and the outskirts of Aynata, in southern Lebanon.

The Israelis also targeted multiple homes in al-Mansouri, subjected to more than 30 explosions since Friday night.

UPDATE 1307 GMT:

Iraq closed three border crossings with Iran on Saturday following a drone attack on a Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline.

Both Saudi and Iraqi officials say the attack was launched from Iraq.

A security source said the “part of an intelligence effort to track down the perpetrators and prevent their escape…and to hinder the smuggling of drones through these crossings”.

UPDATE 1255 GMT:

German security officials suspect a Russian military intelligence officer helped plan an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport last month, reports Welt Am Sonntag.

The officials believe Oleg Le of the GRU was the logistics coordinator. Belarusian national Andrei Ka is a second suspect.

The German Government has publicly blamed Russia for the attack, closing the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russia House cultural center in Berlin.

A bus driver spotted the explosives-laden drone near a Ukrainian cargo plane and knocked it down to prevent its detonation.

Investigators believe that Le arrived in Germany from Turkey. He departed for Serbia from Berlin airport, and is now thought to be back in Russia.

UPDATE 0845 GMT:

US officials say Chinese entities provided Iran with high-quality satellite imagery of a US Air Force base in Jordan, before and after a deadly Iranian attack on July 17.

The officials claimed the clearest evidence yet of Chinese support for Iran which has contributed to the killing of US troops, according to the Journal.

Senior US officials reportedly brought up the imagery from the Muwaffiq Salti Air Base with Chinese counterparts, but Beijing’s officials rejected the allegations, the sources said.

A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington said Chinese-Iranian cooperation was in line with international law. They accusing unidentified detractors of “maliciously linking and smearing other countries”.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have taken control of the country’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The group has held much of Yemen including the capital Sana’a since 2014, and have battled Saudi-backed Government forces over the rest.

In recent days, they made significant advances including the capture of the Red Sea port city of Mokha. On Friday they completed the capture of islands in the Strait, including the volcanic Mayyun Island, also known as Perim, in the middle of the waterway.

Saudi Arabia carried out air raids on Houthi positions in Mocha on Friday. However, the Trump Administration reportedly declined any direct involvement despite two phone calls from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Donald Trump.

About 12% of the world’s goods are shipped through the Strait. The Houthis said on Friday that they would ensure security of passage for all vessels except those connected to Saudi Arabia.

Last month the group announced a blockade of Saudi ports, in response to Saudi Arabia’s closing of Yemeni airspace.

Saudi Arabia said on Friday that it has shut down its East-West oil pipeline as “a precautionary measure”, after an attack on several drones that came from Iraq. The Kingdom said it would not respond to the attack to give the Iraqi Government “an opportunity to take the necessary measures” against Iranian-backed militias.

The Petroline runs for 1,201 km (746 miles) from the Abqaiq oilfield in the Saudi east near Bahrain and Qatar, to the port city Yanbu on the Red Sea.

The UN said on Friday that the latest fighting between the Houthis and Government forces had killed more than 500 people and displaced about 46,000.