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Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman portrayed an upcoming meeting with Persian Gulf Arab states in Oman as evidence that Tehran’s military power had strengthened, rather than undermined, its regional diplomacy despite Iranian strikes on US bases in those countries.
US President Donald Trump used his remarks marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks to defend the war with Iran, saying the campaign was necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. His war secretary also vowed to 'finish this fight'.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Friday effectively completed a rapid advance along the country’s Red Sea coast, strengthening their hold over a vital global shipping route and bolstering Iran’s regional position.
Foreign ministers from Arab states in the region plan to meet Iran's foreign minister on Monday in Salalah, Oman, to discuss a temporary arrangement for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, FT reported on Friday
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged US President Donald Trump to order strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, but Trump declined, Axios reported.
Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said Iranian forces heavily damaged the US Fifth Fleet’s base in Bahrain, leaving the USS Abraham Lincoln’s crew with “no place for them to pull in.”
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The Strait of Hormuz will reopen if the United States ends its naval blockade against Iran, President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview with India Today on Saturday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Pezeshkian said Iran and Oman would sign an agreement on a shared route through the strait in Muscat on Monday, in the presence of Arab foreign ministers. The agreement would then be submitted to the International Maritime Organization, he said.
“The same countries from whose territory we were attacked will be present at this meeting,” he said.
Pezeshkian accused Washington of turning to a naval blockade after failing to achieve its objectives through war, adding that the pressure would not stop Iran.
Heavy clashes broke out early Saturday between Iranian military and security forces and unidentified gunmen in the Bakhshan area of Saravan, in southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, the Haalvsh rights group reported.
Citing local sources, Haalvsh said the fighting began at around 4 a.m. local time on Saturday after dozens of military and security personnel entered the area, with gunfire heard across Bakhshan.
The group said the clashes were continuing and described them as intense. No confirmed information was immediately available on the identity of the gunmen, the cause of the fighting or possible casualties.
Houthi militants in Yemen used Anthropic’s Claude AI model in efforts to develop guidance, navigation and control software for guided rockets and ballistic and hypersonic missiles, according to an Anthropic threat report.
According to the report, Anthropic identified a cell of actors based in northern Yemen running three weapons-development programs, including a guided rocket, a multi-stage ballistic missile with a stated range goal above 2,000 km and a missile variant involving a hypersonic glide vehicle.
Anthropic did not identify the actors as Houthis. The Financial Times reported Friday that the northern Yemen cell appeared to be linked to the Iran-backed group, which controls much of the area.
The report said the actors used Claude Code “in place of human software engineers” to develop software that steers and stabilizes a flying vehicle.
Anthropic said its safeguards blocked many, but not all, of the actors’ requests. The group test-fired a guided rocket that apparently failed and returned to Claude within hours to analyze the failure.
Bahrain's Foreign Ministry condemned a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline on Friday.
In a statement carried by the Bahrain News Agency, the Foreign Ministry said the attack caused injuries and material damage and described it as a “blatant violation” of international law, the UN Charter and principles of good neighbourliness.
The ministry said Bahrain stood in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and supported its right to take measures to protect its sovereignty, security and infrastructure.
Iran obtained high-resolution satellite imagery from Chinese entities before a July attack that killed three US troops in Jordan, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing US officials familiar with the incident.
The officials said Washington had linked the imagery to the July 17 strike, calling it the clearest evidence so far that Chinese support for Iran during the war had lethal consequences for US forces.
US officials did not identify the Chinese entities involved and did not allege direct involvement by Beijing. They said Tehran acquired the imagery both before and after the attack.
Senior US officials raised the issue with Chinese counterparts, who pushed back and demanded proof, according to the report.
The finding could add to tensions ahead of a planned summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Journal reported.
Iran’s Economy Minister Seyed Ali Madanizadeh said Friday that BRICS members had emphasized cooperation to reduce economic pressure on Iran and strengthen trade ties, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.
“BRICS will play an important role in de-dollarization and reducing the impact of sanctions in the long term,” Madanizadeh said.
He added that BRICS talks focused on the use of local currencies, developing payment systems, strengthening financial infrastructure and the role of the bloc’s New Development Bank.
“Iran and Russia are already using local currencies and cryptocurrencies for trade,” he added, according to the report.
Iraq ordered the closure of the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran as a precaution after the latest drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported, citing two security sources.
The sources said a wide-scale operation was underway to pursue those responsible for the attack.
Saudi Arabia said Friday that its East-West pipeline was struck by drones launched from Iraqi territory.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi discussed developments in Iran’s nuclear file and broader regional tensions.
According to the statement, the two spoke by phone on Thursday and stressed the importance of continuing to support diplomacy, containing escalation and prioritizing political solutions to prevent further tensions and preserve regional security and stability.
They also discussed strengthening cooperation between Egypt and the IAEA and preparations for the agency’s upcoming General Conference.
The Trump administration is providing Saudi Arabia with significant intelligence and targeting assistance but does not currently plan to launch direct military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, ABC News reported, citing two US officials.
The officials told ABC News that the position could change if threats to Red Sea shipping escalate significantly.
US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper traveled to Saudi Arabia for meetings on Thursday as part of Washington’s support for Riyadh, according to one of the officials.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with President Donald Trump twice on Thursday and sought direct US military intervention, one official said, though he did not indicate it was essential.
A senior Trump administration official said the United States remained focused on protecting core national security interests, including freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, while encouraging regional partners to take the lead on security challenges.
Another US official said Saudi Arabia had signaled a willingness to launch a major operation against the Houthis even without US military involvement, but had not made a final decision, according to the report.