Trump hopes Iran war nearing end
Photo: REUTERS
As the conflict enters its seventh month, US President Donald Trump expressed hope that the war against Iran is nearing an end.
However, fighting escalated dramatically across the region as Saudi aircraft pounded Yemen, while Houthis launched drones and missiles at Saudi cities.
Iran-backed Houthis executed a lightning advance along the Red Sea in Yemen and launched strikes against Saudi Arabia, damaging the country’s East-West oil pipeline. These aggressive actions extended Tehran’s reach in the war and heightened global oil-supply risks.
As hostilities expanded into this new theater, the US tightened its travel warning for Saudi Arabia, forbidding government personnel from traveling within 20 miles (30 km) of the Yemen border.
Just hours after reports emerged detailing fresh clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, Trump addressed reporters on Wednesday evening, saying, “Well, hopefully we are towards the end of the war.”
Referring to Iran, Trump reiterated previous statements, remarking, “They want to make a deal. We’ll see how that works out,” while adding that he had heard from Iran “directly,” without offering further details.
Throughout the hostilities that commenced on 28 February - when the US and Israel attacked Iran, prompting Tehran to strike Israel and US bases across Gulf states - Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines.
The spillover into Yemen threatens to worsen the severe global energy-supply shortage. The war has severely disrupted shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which previously handled around 20 percent of global oil and LNG.
Market traders warn that a prolonged shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline could cut off up to 4 percent of global oil supply, while Saudi Arabia has not announced when operations might resume.
Energy markets reflected this volatility on Wednesday, as Brent crude hovered near $108 a barrel, approaching its highest level since May. Meanwhile, the politically sensitive average retail price of diesel fuel in the US surpassed $6.30 a gallon for the first time, reaching a new record high. Prices retreated during early Thursday trade after reports indicated that Saudi Arabia offered extra crude cargoes via Oman, easing immediate fears of Middle Eastern supply disruptions.
By 0049 GMT, Brent crude futures fell $1.24, or 1.2 percent, to $104.59 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures dropped $1.14, or 1.1 percent, to $101.29.
The surge in oil and gas prices resulting from the US-Israeli war on Iran has created a major political challenge for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of the upcoming November midterm elections.
Axios reported that Trump plans to meet with Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to evaluate next steps in the conflict. Citing unidentified sources, the report stated that Trump will meet leaders or foreign ministers representing Gulf Cooperation Council nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.
Neither the State Department nor the White House responded to requests for comment.
On the battlefront, the Houthis released combat footage on Wednesday showing fighters capturing armored vehicles from Saudi-backed forces, alongside scenes of warplanes flying overhead and massive desert explosions.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced that the group executed new drone and missile strikes targeting the major Saudi Red Sea oil port of Yanbu and a southern Saudi airbase at Khamis Mushait, though he did not specify the exact timing. Saree claimed that Saudis carried out up to 450 air strikes on Yemen this week.
Officials from the Saudi-backed government controlling southern Yemen acknowledged that their forces and Saudi Arabia conducted air strikes against Houthi positions, although Riyadh has not independently confirmed these operations.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition fighting the Houthis since 2015. Although a truce had largely calmed the conflict in recent years, hostilities reignited in July after the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia and targeted southern areas within the kingdom.
Source: Reuters (adapted)
