Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Friday that a supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil struck a naval mine and caught fire while using an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz,
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- President Trump said Friday the war with Iran is “going to end soon,” without specifying how, as Qatari mediators returned to Tehran to push for a peace deal being haggled over by Iran and the U.S.
- U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper renewed his insistence Friday that Iran’s navy has been destroyed and southern shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz are safe and open. His assertion comes as Iran claims six commercial vessels have hit sea mines on that southern route in the past couple days, and as the U.K. navy confirms an attack on one ship in the area.
- Iran has yet to respond to a letter sent by Vice President JD Vance to senior regime figure Mohsen Rezaei, according to Iranian media. President Trump has denied that Vance’s outreach is aimed at rekindling wider peace talks, telling reporters this week that it is only about getting medical aid into Iran.
- Supertanker caught fire after striking mine in Strait of Hormuz, Iran says
Supertanker caught fire after striking mine in Strait of Hormuz, Iran says
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Friday that a supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil struck a naval mine and caught fire while using an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported. The Guard said it was the fourth oil tanker to suffer an explosion Friday after attempting to use unauthorized routes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly warned vessels against passing through the strait without Tehran’s permission. It has claimed responsibility for attacks on ships and said last month that vessels attempting to pass through the strait without authorization would face “destruction.” Tehran has asserted control over much of the waterway since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.
Earlier on Friday, the Guard’s navy said three other tankers caught fire after striking mines in the strait, Iranian state TV reported. I
Strikes blamed on Houthis target Yemen presidential palace
Yemen’s Houthis targeted the presidential palace in Aden on Friday with two missiles, a police official told AFP, hours after Saudi forces said they had intercepted an attack by the group on the Gulf kingdom.
Aden, the seat of Yemen’s Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government, has been targeted repeatedly since Yemen’s dormant civil war reignited in July.
Two eyewitnesses told AFP they saw ambulances entering the palace in Aden, a large compound made up of several buildings including facilities used by government and Saudi-led coalition forces, after the incident.
Shortly before, residents and an AFP journalist said they heard two blasts in the city.
The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa to the north, most recently struck the perimeter of Aden’s airport on Wednesday after saying they had targeted a naval base and a military camp last week.
Rubio hosts G20 ministers as Iran, Ukraine wars divide members
Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened talks Friday with G20 counterparts including Russia’s Sergei Lavrov, in meetings set to be fractious as wars in Ukraine and Iran, alongside surging energy costs, fan discord.
The foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta takes place just days before crucial midterm elections, setting the stage for a December G20 leaders’ summit in Miami at President Trump’s Doral resort.
But ongoing conflicts have deepened rifts even as the United States seeks to focus on economic growth, trade imbalances and supply chain challenges in areas like energy and critical minerals.
Rubio warned at an opening plenary session that the world faces “interconnected economic and geopolitical crises, many of which pose severe threats” to the global economy.
He urged the G20 to work together against threats including strains to global energy and food supply chains, and on freedom of navigation.
Still, few breakthroughs are expected this week from the Group of 20 economies — which include China, India, Russia, Japan, Germany and France — as officials face divisions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine and fallout from the conflict with Iran.
Global energy prices have rocketed since U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran from late February triggered Tehran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“This is the last test case the G20 has, at least under the US G20 presidency, until Miami,” Alisha Chhangani of the Atlantic Council told AFP. Its outcomes will affect how the December summit shapes up.
UAE says oil spill from tanker in Strait of Hormuz has been contained
No new oil leakage has been detected from the tanker GEM NO. 2 following an oil spill from the vessel in the United Arab Emirates’ territorial waters, as cleanup operations continue along the UAE coastline, the Persian Gulf nation’s official WAM news agencyreported.
WAM quoted the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure as saying Friday that technical teams had repaired damaged parts of the vessel, restored some operating systems and assessed the ship’s structural integrity. Authorities said the source of the spill had been stopped.
According to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the oil slick is concentrated off Umm Al-Quwain, extending toward coastal areas of Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Sharjah.
Pollution levels have declined, while monitoring and cleanup operations continue.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO reported on Oct. 9 that a vessel had been hit by a projectile off the UAE coast, causing a fire that was later brought under control. It did not assign blame, but Iran has repeatedly targeted commercial ships in and around the southern Strait of Hormuz, which includes the UAE coastline.
Saudis intercept drone, missile allegedly launched by Houthis
The Saudis intercepted a drone near the capital of Riyadh on Friday afternoon as well as a ballistic missile in southern Saudi Arabia, according to the country’s Coalition Joint Forces Command.
The coalition said both were fired by the Houthis. It’s unclear exactly where the missile was intercepted in southern Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have regularly targeted locations in Saudi Arabia, everywhere from just over the border from Yemen to hundreds of miles into the interior, including Riyadh. Airports have been a consistent target of Houthi attacks.
The Saudi coalition had earlier announced it intercepted a drone near the holy city of Mecca, which the Houthis denied was fired by their forces.
Lebanon charges 13 people over seized shipment of Hezbollah explosives
A Lebanese military court on Friday charged 13 people for their alleged involvement in shipping explosives to Hezbollah, a judicial source told the AFP news agency, after authorities seized the roughly 1,100-pound cargo earlier this month.
CBS
