US-Iran War News Live Updates: Fighters In Yemen, Backed By Iran Threaten Gulf Countries; US Claims Destruction Of Five Iranian Oil Tankers

Global crude oil prices hit multi-week highs, gaining for the third straight week after Iran-backed Houthis attacked Saudi energy facilities and Tehran threatened the US with 'economic warfare'. Brent crude futures were up 2.17% to $100 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $94.41 a barrel, up $2.93, or 3.2%. 

Brent crude earlier rose to as much as $99.45 per barrel, its highest since July 24, while WTI reached $94.60 a barrel, its highest since June 8

Regional officials and experts say Iran is now using the Iraqi militias and the Houthis to threaten Saudi Arabia and other American allies in the Gulf in order to drive up the costs of the war launched by the US and Israel in February.

It is a risky strategy. A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Tuesday threatened to reignite full-scale war with the kingdom. Iraq has ordered militias to disarm by the end of this month, though powerful Iran-backed groups have refused to do so. A new American effort to economically isolate Iran could spark further escalation.

(Source: AP)

In July, Saudi Arabia and the United States bombed Iran-backed militias in Iraq after blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that had been claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally.

Now, regional officials tell The Associated Press that the Houthis helped the Iraqi militias plan and execute the two-day swarm attack, showing a new level of coordination.

(Source: AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will not allow Iran's attacks to go unanswered.

“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers. And I think you'll see that again today,” Rubio told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the latest attacks in Iran while on a trip to Colombia.

The Trump administration on Tuesday also imposed sanctions on additional elements of Iran's aviation industry, targeting more than two dozen commercial and private airlines as well as foreign cargo service providers, in its new push to isolate Tehran from its remaining trading partners.

Both the US and Iran are seeking to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, where about one-fifth of the world's oil passed before the war began. Rising energy prices are posing political problems for Trump and his Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections. 

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on latest sanctions by US said, "After 47 years of sanctions, the US went to war with Iran on behalf of Israel. The fallout has been disastrous for America, including its standing worldwide. "

"After failing to achieve its aims through sanctions or war, Washington’s “novel” solution is…more sanctions. Seriously,?" concluded Araghchi.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said  that they had seized a US uncrewed submarine near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, providing a rare insight into the military use of underwater drones.

Iranian state media identified the vessel as a Dive-LD, a large autonomous underwater vehicle manufactured by California-based defence company Anduril. The 19-foot (5.8-metre) submersible is designed for missions including mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering and inspections of underwater infrastructure such as cables and pipelines, according to the company.
 

(Source: Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it launched "devastating" missile strikes at US forces stationed at Al Azraq base in Jordan. "In this operation, aimed at punishing the aggressor, a significant number of ballistic missiles, both solid and liquid fuel, struck the maintenance, preparation, and deployment sites of F-35, F-16, and F-15 fighter jets, as well as their shelters, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy”, the IRGC said in the statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

(Source: Al Jazeera)