Iran's Houthi allies launch a new attack on Saudi Arabia and promise more to come as Trump considers U.S. action on the new front line in the wider Mideast war.
At least 10 vessels have been attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz since Sunday, a high since war broke out between the United States, Israel and Iran, security data showed Wednesday.
Four vessels were struck on Tuesday and six on Sunday — the highest number of attacks in a single day since the start of the conflict — according to data from security firm Vanguard, the International Maritime Organization and the British maritime agency UKMTO.
Two seafarers have been reported missing and a container ship reportedly sank as a result of recent attacks, according to the maritime sources.
Merchant vessels transiting the vital passage were first targeted by Iran in March in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes on its territory, and Tehran has continued to strike vessels passing through the strait via routes it has not approved.
The attacks have disrupted shipping through the strait, which is normally one of the busiest routes for exporting oil and other commodities from Gulf countries.
Twenty-three attacks have been recorded since the start of October, almost double the average monthly number of incidents since the start of the war.
"Gulf oil flows have been recovering, with traffic through Hormuz recently returning to around 80 percent of pre-war levels despite the conflict," Vanguard analyst Barun Gupta told AFP on Wednesday.
"Increasing the tempo of attacks therefore gives Tehran a way of demonstrating that it can still disrupt that recovery and impose costs on commercial shipping and global energy markets," Gupta continued.
The Yemeni government has spoken with Beijing about the Houthis' alleged attempts to utilize Chinese-made technology for weapons, a Yemeni minister said on Wednesday.
"The Chinese are partners and we have discussed with them about, you know, the use of dual products," Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba said in response to an AFP question about reports the Iran-backed group was trying to secure Chinese components to help manufacture weapons.
"They were very keen for any sort of information so they can investigate it. Their support to the Yemeni government is clear," Zouba added.
The minister spoke to journalists via a virtual press conference to address the war in Yemen, which has also drawn in the government's main backer, Saudi Arabia.
The comments came after a recent report by the Conflict Armament Research group alleged the Houthis were attempting to produce advanced medium-range ballistic missiles.
Conflict Armament Research also suggested the group was "expanding its supply chains beyond Iran-linked supply networks, with several purpose-built missile components found alongside shipping documents that listed a Chinese supplier."
The escalating war between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces is cutting off lifesaving food supplies to about 800,000 people in the region, according to the U.N. World Food Programme.
Many parts of Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, which is located in Houthi-controlled territory, is completely inaccessible to the nonprofit, the WFP said. There are more than 600,000 people, including 200,000 women and children, in Taiz who depend on humanitarian aid, according to the agency.
"We are critically concerned about the escalating conflict, but even more so about the growing number of people we can no longer reach because of it," El-Khidir Daloum, WFP representative and country director in Yemen, said in a statement Wednesday. "Many of the families affected have been displaced multiple times and were already struggling to afford even basic food items. This is the kind of situation that can rapidly spiral into a humanitarian catastrophe if assistance cannot move safely and reach those who need it most."
The hunger situation in Yemen is among the worst in the world. Ten out of 16 districts in Yemen are categorized as being at emergency levels of food insecurity, the WFP said. About 500,000 children in Yemen under the age of 5 suffer from severe acute malnutrition, according to the group.
There are also 37 WFP employees currently being held by the Houthis, the group said, calling for their immediate release.
The chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority on Wednesday said the exhibition Six Kings Slam tennis tournament has been postponed for logistical reasons, after Yemen's Houthis carried out several deadly attacks on the kingdom.
"The Six Kings Slam tournament has been postponed due to logistical reasons and will now take place on December 27," wrote Turki Alalshikh on X, sharing a statement from the Riyadh Season entertainment program.
The tournament, while not officially sanctioned as an ATP event, features some of the top players in the world vying for millions of dollars and airs live on Netflix. It had initially been scheduled to air Oct. 21 to 24.
The men's-only event features Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Alex De Minaur and Learner Tien, who replaced Jannik Sinner due to injury.
The event premiered in 2024 with Sinner winning each of the first two competitions. Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic or Zverev has won every major since Wimbledon in 2022.
Israel has signed a deal with the Pentagon to acquire 12 Apache helicopters from Boeing, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
"The procurement of Apache helicopters is a critical step in building the IDF's force capabilities; it will strengthen operational readiness against a wide range of threats and contribute to the security of the State of Israel for years to come," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
The helicopters, the newest Apache E model, can carry 16 HELLFIRE missiles, 76 2.75-inch rockets and 1,200 30 mm chain gun rounds, according to Boeing.
While the deal was signed Wednesday, it will be awhile before they are in combat. They are "scheduled for delivery early next decade," according to the Israeli defense ministry. Israel already has older models of the Apache helicopter.
Israel agreed to buy a second squadron of F-15IA fighter jets from Boeing earlier this year. They initially purchased a squadron in 2024.
Kevin Hassett, the White House's top economic adviser, blamed the disappointing inflation numbers for September on attacks against Saudi oil assets.
"What happened was that because the Houthis started attacking the Saudi pipeline and other Iranian proxies from Iraq were attacking refineries and so on, we had a negative shock to energy again in September," Hassett told Fox Business on Wednesday.
"A lot of Trump policies are helping to keep inflation down, but the energy shock is really the headline story today," he said.
Hassett said much of the energy concerns had "abated," and while the East-West pipeline is back up and running, the Houthis have also stepped up attacks in Saudi Arabia. In addition to targeting civilian airports, they have targeted Aramco, the world's largest oil producer, facilities and even the executive headquarters overnight Wednesday.
The price of Brent crude, the international standard for oil, was hovering around $105 on Wednesday, up from $98 on the last day of September.
Saudi Arabia plans to move ahead with a major investment conference in Riyadh despite Houthi attacks on the kingdom, offering on-site and virtual attendance as well as alternative air and land travel routes, diplomatic sources told AFP.
Riyadh usually hosts a packed calendar of events, but it has recently seen escalating military tensions with the Iran-backed Yemeni group, which has intensified attacks on the kingdom's airports and oil facilities.
Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative Institute hosts an annual forum dubbed "Davos in the desert," which usually draws foreign leaders and business titans, and this year it is scheduled to be held in Riyadh from Oct. 26 to 29.
In order to prevent cancellation, organizers reached out to embassies and foreign companies to explore "hybrid" participation options, allowing officials and business executives to attend either in person or virtually, diplomatic sources said.
They have even discussed arrangements for participants to fly by private jet to Dhahran airport in eastern Saudi Arabia before traveling by road to Riyadh.
A diplomat from an Asian country said "they contacted us and offered that attendees travel to Manama or Doha," referring to the capitals of Bahrain and Qatar respectively, and then drive by land to the Saudi capital.
Riyadh's international airport, a main target for Houthi attacks, suspended operations last week after 13 were killed in a strike there, with no clear timeline for when air traffic would reopen.
Inflation accelerated across the U.S. in September, rising at an annual rate of 3.7% as energy prices soared, according to new government data.
Inflation picked up after two months of holding steady at an annual pace of 3.4%. Core CPI, which excludes the more volatile energy and gas categories, rose 2.6% from a year ago, accelerating from a 2.4% rate in August and higher than economists' forecast of 2.5%.
Inflation has risen sharply since the start of the year due to soaring energy prices, sparked by the war in Iran and Russia's war with Ukraine.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that gasoline prices, which rose 9.1% in September from the prior month, accounted for more than half the monthly increase in the CPI report. Energy prices rose 20.4% from a year ago, while gasoline jumped 34.2%.
Prices at the pump have cooled slightly in recent weeks but remain elevated. The national average for a gallon of gasoline was $4.33 a gallon on Wednesday, AAA reported, up from $2.98 before the war started. The national average for diesel, which hit a record high in late September, was $6.29 a gallon.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday to discuss the situation in the Middle East, according to the Lebanese president's office.
Both sides "discussed the current situation in the region in light of recent developments and agreed on the necessity of supporting diplomatic solutions as the best means to put an end to the conflicts in the region," the Lebanese presidency said in a statement about the call.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group has been waging war with Israel in the southern part of Lebanon for months, with the official Lebanese government attempting to cool the conflict down with ceasefire agreements. Those have all been dismissed and ignored by Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh arrived in Lebanon for talks with several groups. He was greeted by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is pro-Hezbollah, and other Hezbollah representatives, according to the official Iranian news outlet IRNA.
The meeting comes amid an increase in attacks by another Iran-backed proxy group, the Yemen-based Houthis.
"During his visit, Khatibzadeh is scheduled to hold a series of meetings with senior Lebanese officials and prominent figures to discuss bilateral relations and explore opportunities to broaden cooperation between the two countries," according to IRNA.
Two ships sustained minor damage after coming under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, a British maritime agency reported Wednesday.
Both vessels were struck on Tuesday by an "unknown projectile," bringing to four the number of attacks on ships in Hormuz that day.
Iran and the United States continue to vie for control of the waterway, a vital shipping route for Gulf energy exports.
Tehran regularly targets ships it accuses of transiting without its permission, while Washington has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said a 50,000-ton container ship and another 19,000-ton vessel were struck but continued on their way after sustaining only minor damage.
British security firm Vanguard also said attacks had targeted four ships. It identified the vessels as the GFS Pride and GFS Giselle, both sailing under Singaporean flags, and the Alfonso, which was flying a Barbados flag. The fourth ship was identified as the Al Saadiyat, sailing under the Marshall Islands flag.
According to Vanguard, the GFS Pride, a container ship, sank, while the fate of the Alfonso, a tanker, remains unknown.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that a cargo ship had sunk after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz. It is the first time Iran has reported a ship sinking after hitting a mine during the war.
There were few details, including about the fate of the crew. Iranian state TV quoted a statement from the IRGC saying the ship was traveling on what Iran considers an illegal and dangerous route - likely the shipping lanes the U.S. has urged vessels to use, close to Oman's coast - when it hit the mine Wednesday morning.
It said the ship was carrying 2,500 containers when it first caught fire. Iran has repeatedly warned ships against trying to transit the strait without its approval.
At the end of August, President Trump declared the strait free of sea mines, saying U.S. forces had "totally cleared the strait of mines … Any boat goes through with a mine, we take it out."
There was no immediate verification of the sinking and no report by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said Wednesday that they would continue targeting Saudi Arabia's international airport and oil infrastructure in the coming days
In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the attacks were "in response to the treacherous Saudi aggression against the capital Sanaa and the free governorates" and part of the group's "deterrence operations against the Saudi aggressor."
Saree also warned international shipping companies, civilians, and employees working at the targeted airports and businesses to "stay away from them and evacuate them immediately," as they would be considered legitimate targets.
A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition forces said Wednesday they had intercepted an attack from the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a post on X a ballistic missile "launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh has been intercepted and destroyed."
Earlier, residents in the Saudi capital had reported hearing explosions.
Residents in Saudi Arabia's capital say they have heard new explosions in Riyadh.
The residents spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety. One lives in northern Riyadh, where King Khalid International Airport is located.
The source of the explosions wasn't immediately clear. The Saudi civil defense reported air raid alerts in Riyadh and Kharj province southeast of the capital. Kharj is home to the state-owned Military Industries Corporation and Prince Sultan Air Base.
The airport in Riyadh has been targeted several times in the past week with deadly attacks. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen have claimed responsibility.
Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense said debris from two intercepted Houthi missiles fell on residential areas in Riyadh on Tuesday, injuring four people and damaging 15 homes.
State-run Saudi Press Agency reported the injured included two women, a man and a child. Images released by Saudi's Civil Defense showed broken windows caused by what it said was fallen shrapnel.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy said Tuesday a limited fire broke out in an administrative building in Aramco, one of the world's largest oil facilities, that was targeted in the country's Eastern Province. The ministry said no injuries were reported.
The attack comes as the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi coalition exchanged attacks Tuesday night. It marks a fresh escalation in the widening Middle East crisis and came shortly after the Saudi coalition reported a series of alerts for incoming missiles heading for the country's Eastern Province, a major oil-producing region and the capital Riyadh.
The Saudi-led coalition battling the Iran-backed Houthis confirmed it struck oil sites across western Yemen on Tuesday, including in the capital Sanaa, in response to the deadliest attack on the kingdom's soil in years.
Blasts were heard shortly after in Saudi capital Riyadh and at an oil giant Aramco facility in eastern Saudi Arabia, witnesses and journalists told AFP.
Tuesday's coalition strikes in Yemen's Sanaa and the western provinces of Dhamar and Saada targeted facilities used to "supply the war effort" by the Houthis to "threaten the kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and waterways," coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki wrote on X.
An AFP correspondent in Sanaa reported an explosion, while a breaking news alert on the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV channel said earlier that "Saudi aggression" targeted the oil firm.