An understanding between Iran and Oman does not provide for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz but establishes the basis on which it could reopen, an Iranian source told the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Saturday. The source said the arrangement would be a step towards Iran exercising sovereignty over the strait and that its reopening depended entirely on the United States meeting Tehran's conditions. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom, Editing by Louise Heavens) [Read more]

The U.S. has asked tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz to sail only at specific times to guarantee military protection after Iran stepped up attacks on ships travelling at night, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. Washington has been offering air-based defence since May to ships wanting to sail via a route hugging the Omani coast on the strait's southern side. That period during which ships would be protected was cut down to two specific time slots daily around the start of [Read more]

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi has agreed to an Iranian request for a joint investigation into the discovery of drone launch platforms near the Iraqi-Iranian border, the prime minister's office said on Saturday. The investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the platforms near the border area, the statement said, after it was used to launch attacks on the Saudi Arabia East-West pipeline. (Reporting by Muayad Hameed. Writing by Muhammad Al Gebaly. Editing [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iran was probably responsible for an aerial attack on Saudi Arabia that shut down its East-West pipeline, one of the kingdom's main routes for exporting crude while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. "I think they are, probably they are," Trump told reporters in Dublin when asked if Iran was responsible for the attack on the vital oil conduit. The U.S. president also said that he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he [Read more]

A lightning offensive by the Iran-aligned Houthis has put the militants in a position to control a crucial Middle East waterway, creating a major new problem for U.S. President Donald Trump as his war with Iran grinds on in its seventh month. Widening the Middle East conflict, Houthi fighters have advanced south along Yemen's coast, increasing their ability to choke off the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — the "Gate of Tears" at the mouth of the Red Sea — giving Tehran potential leverage over both of the [Read more]

Saudi Arabia has shut down its East-West pipeline after the vital oil conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war. The world’s largest crude oil exporter temporarily closed the pipeline after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate. Iraq dismissed a military commander on Saturday in response to the attack. The 1,200-kilometre (745-mile) pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula had helped Saudi [Read more]

The Saudi energy ministry said the vital East-West ⁠oil pipeline was temporarily shut down after several attacks on the pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions on Thursday, adding some people were injured and received medical treatment, state media reported citing a source at the Saudi energy ministry. (Reporting by Yasmine Ghania and Ahemed Tolba) [Read more]

U.S. energy firms added rigs this week for the first time in four weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its report on Friday. The total oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by three to 591 in the week to September 11, its highest since mid-August. Baker Hughes said this week's increase puts the total rig count up 52 rigs, or 10%, above this time last year. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by one to 450 this week, their highest since late August, [Read more]

The White House is weighing how to use the Defense Production Act to expand U.S. oil refining capacity as the conflict with Iran exposes the country's vulnerability to global crude supply disruptions and price spikes, according to two sources familiar with the administration's plans. Considering such an extraordinary step highlights how the Trump administration is under growing pressure to show it can contain the impact of surging fuel prices on consumers and businesses ahead of November's [Read more]