Latest news with #Iran-supported
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First Post
2 hours ago
- Business
- First Post
Israel attacks Iran: Oil shares tank, prices soar
Oil prices have jumped by nearly 11% in the wake of the Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear and military sites. read more Crude oil tankers lie at anchor in Nakhodka Bay near the port city of Nakhodka, Russia. File image/ Reuters Crude oil prices have jumped by nearly 11 per cent after Israel attacked Iran in the early hours of Friday. The Brent crude's futures jumped by 12.86 per cent to $78.31 and WTI crude's futures were up 10.95 per cent to $75.49 at the time of writing the story. Israel struck several sites in Iran associated with the military and the country's nuclear programme. It also appeared to have attacked homes of senior commanders and other officials in what apparent targeted assassinations. The strikes have sparked fears of a full-scale war in West Asia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Any conflict in West Asia is bound to upset the world's energy supply and global trade. West Asia supplies as much as 40 per cent of world's oil and around a third of all cargo of the world passes through the region. As was seen in the aftermath of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Iran-supported groups in the region, such as Yemen's Houthis, could disrupt the maritime trade and lead to further increase in prices. This is a developing story. It will be updated as details emerge.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Says Houthis Will Cease Attacks on Red Sea Shipping
President Donald Trump said the U.S. would cease its airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen 'effective immediately' after the Iran-supported group said they would stop attacking ships in the Red Sea. 'The Houthis have announced, to us at least, that they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight,' said President Trump during an Oval Office meeting with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. 'And we will honor that. And we will stop the bombings. They have capitulated…we will take their word that they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that's the purpose of what we were doing.' More from Sourcing Journal Following Trump's commentary, Oman's foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said the country had mediated a truce between the Houthis and the U.S. Neither side would target the other, including U.S. vessels in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait. However, it remains unclear if the Houthis are exclusively referring to American-flagged commercial or military ships as part of the truce. Officials for the group do not explicitly say they will stop attacking all commercial vessels in the Red Sea. In a post on X made over an hour after Trump's claims, Houthi senior political official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti appeared to refute parts of Trump's statement. 'Our military operations in support of Gaza will not cease until the aggression against Gaza stops and the blockade on its residents is lifted, allowing the entry of food, medicine, and fuel,' al-Bukhaiti said. 'As for our attacks on the U.S., they fall within the context of the right to self-defense. If it halts its attacks on us, we will halt our attacks on it. This position also applies to Britain.' The Houthis began their onslaught on shipping lanes after the Israel-Hamas war began, with the group saying it was in support of Palestinians. According to al-Bukhaiti, the only way the Houthis will halt their military operations in the Red Sea is if the U.S. pressures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 'respect the terms of the ceasefire agreement.' U.S. officials have not immediately confirmed Trump's assertion that the airstrikes will stop. A senior Israeli official told Axios the U.S. didn't notify Israel in advance of Trump's announcement of a Houthi truce. The attacks on commercial ships sailing the Red Sea have persisted since November 2023, and have essentially forced most container shipping firms to divert their ships away from the region for the past 18 months. Ocean carriers have since elected to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, which adds one-to-two weeks of transit time to complete a voyage. With the Houthi threat lingering, container shipping giants like Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have avoided the Red Sea route and the Suez Canal. The companies have publicly stated that they will not return to the Red Sea until it is safe to do so, and until security through the passage is guaranteed. The Houthis have not directly targeted container ships throughout 2025, but the ongoing threat they have posed to military ships has kept the industry at a distance. On top of that, war-risk insurance premiums remain elevated, which insure ocean carriers against losses sustained in the event of an attack on a vessel, The volume of ships arriving in the Gulf of Aden, which connects to the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, was 70 percent lower than 2023 levels as of April 2025, according to Clarksons Research. For more than 50 days, the U.S. has conducted a series of airstrikes in Yemen known as 'Operation Rough Rider,' with the Pentagon claiming to hit more than 1,000 Houthi targets. The U.S. has targeted Houthi infrastructure in an attempt to deter the militant group. The White House has previously stated that the operation would continue until freedom of navigation in the Red Sea was restored. 'This was always a freedom of navigation issue,' said Secretary of State Marco Rubio during Trump's Oval Office interview. 'You had a band of individuals with advanced weaponry that were threatening global shipping, and the job was to get that to stop, and if it's going to stop, then we can stop.' Tensions between Yemen and Israel have ramped up in recent weeks as the future of the war-torn Gaza Strip remains uncertain. Late Monday, Israel had launched a barrage of air attacks on Yemen's Port of Hodeidah and a nearby cement factory, a day after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile that struck close to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport. Israel's offensive took an even larger turn on Tuesday, with forces striking Sanaa International Airport in Yemen. The Israeli Defense Forces said the strikes fully disabled the airport. The air attack killed three people and wounded 35 others, according to Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV.
Miami Herald
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Pressure Grows as Houthis Withstand US Campaign
The Yemeni Houthis have shown growing defiance toward the U.S., despite more than nine weeks of airstrikes aimed at deterring attacks in the Red Sea and on Israel, escalating tensions with Iran over its support for the group. Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon, Houthi officials, as well as the Israel Defense Force and Iran's foreign ministry for comment. The Houthi's escalating and damaging attacks mark a significant shift in the Middle East conflict. President Donald Trump has vowed to annihilate the militant group and the prolonged campaign has prompted additional U.S. military deployments. Since October 7, 2023, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and strikes on Israel have been a key part of the Iran-supported armed groups' response to the Gaza war. In 2025, the U.S. ramped up pressure through intensified airstrikes and renewed sanctions to cut off their financial and arms supply networks. Over a month into the campaign, the U.S. military claimed it had destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets and eliminated key commanders, while the Houthis said they had downed multiple MQ-9 Reaper drones and caused the loss of a fighter jet, which the U.S. says fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. On Sunday, a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis struck near Ben Gurion International Airport, evading interception by the Arrow 3 and U.S. THAAD systems—an unusual breach that raised questions about evolving Houthi missile technology. The Israeli military said it launched an investigation. "They're experts on missiles. I mean they actually make missiles, nobody thought that, but they make missiles," Trump said during an Oval Office press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April. Experts have cautioned since the early days of the strikes ordered on March 15 that they are unlikely to counter entrenched power in guerrilla warfare and territorial control. "Washington must avoid acting in Yemen without at least coordinating with its regional allies in the Gulf, specifically the UAE and Saudi Arabia," Research Fellow Farea al-Muslimi and Associate Fellow Thomas Juneau at Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Program noted in an analysis published in April. But direct involvement may be elusive, as both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are reluctant to reengage militarily in Yemen after years of costly involvement that failed to defeat the Houthis. "However, both the Saudis and Emiratis have a vested interest in how the war ends and may provide more covert support to forces on the ground", Emily Milliken, Associate Director at the Atlantic Council's Middle East Programs told Newsweek. On Tuesday, the United Kingdom joined the United States in a coordinated military operation targeting Houthi positions, part of ongoing efforts to secure Red Sea shipping lanes. But Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pushed back against Trump's request to support the U.S. operations, according to The Wall Street Journal, despite losses in the Suez Canal's revenues as a result of the maritime disruption. Meanwhile, the Houthis, who have been losing hundreds of fighters, have continued to mobilize against the U.S. and Israel, while Iran has dismissed accusations of supporting the group and warned both countries against threats towards its territory. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on X: "President Trump is absolutely right! Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran. Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters." Emily Milliken, Associate Director of Media and Communications for the N7 Initiative at the Atlantic Council's Middle East Programs told Newsweek: "The Houthis' desire to strike Israel in such an important site for tourism underscores the group remains undeterred by the US air strike campaign. As long as the group's senior leadership remains intact, we can expect them to continue strikes targeting Israeli territory and maritime traffic in retaliation to US strikes and to showcase they are undeterred." The escalation is raising regional stakes, with rival Yemeni forces preparing ground offensives and increasing concerns of a potential Iran-Israel confrontation, as the U.S. intensifies its military involvement in the region. Related Articles US Redeploys Pacific Warship As Iran Threat GrowsHouthis Warn Global Airlines After Missile AttackIsrael Reopens Ben Gurion Airport After Houthi Missile StrikeU.S. War on the Houthis: Five Things to Watch 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Al Arabiya
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Border security agreement signed between Syria, Lebanon in Saudi Arabia
Defense ministers from Lebanon and Syria formalized a security agreement in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah aimed at addressing border threats, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Thursday's meeting in Jeddah followed directives from Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and was attended by Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman, Syrian Minister of Defense Major General Murhaf Abu Qasra, Lebanese Minister of Defense Major General Michel Menassa, and their accompanying security delegations, to discuss issues of mutual interest aimed at achieving security and stability between Syria and Lebanon. It follows recent border violence that resulted in 10 deaths. SPA reported that Lebanon's Menassa and Syria's Abu Qasra convened for discussions 'to discuss issues of mutual interest aimed at achieving security and stability between Syria and Lebanon.' The agreement emphasizes 'the strategic importance of border demarcation, the establishment of Syrian-Lebanese legal and specialized committees across various sectors, and the activation of coordination mechanisms to address security and military threats, particularly those originating along the border,' according to SPA. They also agreed to hold a follow up meeting in Saudi Arabia in the future. The Syrian and Lebanese ministers of defense expressed their gratitude to the Kingdom's leadership and to the Saudi minister of defense for hosting the meeting, and asserted their satisfaction with the meeting's outcomes. A previously scheduled Damascus visit by Menassa on Wednesday was delayed at Syria's request. According to a Syrian government source who spoke with AFP, the postponement was related to 'preparations for the formation of a new government' in Damascus. A Lebanese official, speaking anonymously, insisted the delay was 'in no way related to tensions or conflicts.' Had it proceeded, the visit would have marked the first trip to Damascus by a Lebanese cabinet member since Beirut formed its new government in February. Tensions escalated in early March when Syrian authorities claimed that Hezbollah had kidnapped and killed three Syrian soldiers on Lebanese territory. While the Iran-supported group denied any involvement, subsequent cross-border confrontations resulted in seven Lebanese casualties.
