live Trump Says US 'Open' To Deal With Iran

A planned meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf Arab states regarding the Strait of Hormuz has been postponed until conditions are more “conducive” to dialogue, Omani and Iranian state media reported.

"It has been decided to postpone to a later date the regional meeting that was to be held on [September 14] in Salalah, in order to create conditions conducive to a constructive dialogue [and] sustainable understandings," the Oman News Agency said.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said the meeting had been postponed "in the interest of consensus." "We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region," he wrote on X.

Iran’s Fars news agency, citing the Foreign Ministry in Tehran, said the ⁠meeting was postponed at the ‌request of some regional countries and that the decision was made jointly by Tehran and Muscat.

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Details about the proposed gathering remained murky. No country in the region had confirmed that it was planning to participate. No new date was announced.

US President Donald Trump said he did not mind if Iran and the US-allied Gulf states met.

"I don't care. That's up to them," Trump said during his trip to Ireland.

The discussion over talks in the Omani port city come as the Washington and Tehran continue to clash over the crucial waterway and a US blockade of Iranian ports.

The mostly Sunni Muslim Arab states have often been the target of retaliatory Iranian missiles and drones since the start of the US-Israeli war with Shi'ite-led Iran.

Iran has attempted to formalize its control of the strait and has suggested it has the right to charge fees for passage -- an idea vehemently opposed by the US and most other nations, who say Hormuz is an international waterway and not under the control of any particular country.

Iran and Oman border the strait and have been in negotiations over policies regarding the waterway.

Iranian reports said Tehran and Muscat finalized an understanding this month and that Persian Gulf states would be briefed on its details at the proposed meeting rather than participate in actual negotiations.

The arrangement has already drawn opposition from Bahrain, which said it would boycott the meeting until diplomatic ties with Iran were restored. Manama said any deal on Hormuz must guarantee free passage for all ships without discrimination, fees, or requirements for permits.

Before the war, the strait -- through which some 20 percent of the global crude oil and natural gas supplies flowed -- was free to transit for all vessels.

(This item as been updated)

An Iranian commercial vessel was hit in waters near the southern island of Qeshm early on September 13, killing one person and injuring three others, according to a senior local official.

Qeshm Governor Amir Teymouri told state broadcaster IRIB that the vessel was struck at around 5 a.m. local time in waters between Hengam Island and the village of Shib Deraz, south of Qeshm.

Teymouri did not identify the vessel or say what type of projectile struck it. He also gave no details about the condition of those injured.

IRIB described the incident as an "attack by the terrorist enemy" but did not identify the alleged attacker. No Iranian official has publicly assigned responsibility for the strike.

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on September 13 that an “unknown projectile” had struck a vessel while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz. In a later update, it said a fire had broken out onboard.

No country or group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and US officials have not publicly commented on the incident.

The reported strike comes amid escalating attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Over the past couple of weeks, the US military has targeted several Iranian oil tankers in the strait in response to missile attacks by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) against US warships.

Iran, in turn, has attacked several oil tankers and commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have reached the strategic island of Perim, also known as Mayyun, in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, potentially strengthening their grip on one of the world's most important shipping routes, according to Yemeni government sources.

Four government sources told Reuters on September 11 that Houthi forces had reached the island, while the German dpa news agency cited a Yemeni government source as saying the group had taken control of it.

Reuters reported that forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government had withdrawn from Perim. AFP cited an unnamed Yemeni military official as saying the Houthis now control the country's entire Red Sea coast.

All territory that had been under government control "on the western coast has fallen" following the Houthis' seizure of Perim and the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands, AFP quoted the military official as saying.

Perim, or Mayyun, sits at the southern entrance to the Bab al-Mandab, the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and a crucial route for trade and energy shipments between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal.

The waterway's strategic importance has grown sharply since the Iran war disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, another of the world's key energy chokepoints.

The Houthi advance follows the group's reported capture of the Red Sea port of Mocha on September 10. Government sources also reported Houthi advances on the mainland and other islands in the strait.

The developments raise the prospect of disruptions to shipping through the Red Sea at a time when Saudi Arabia has become increasingly reliant on the route for oil exports because of conflict-related restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian arrived in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on September 11 to join the leaders of BRICS countries for a summit, with the escalating Middle East conflict expected to feature prominently on the agenda.

BRICS, a grouping of major emerging markets and developing countries, takes its name from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It expanded from five to 11 members in 2024 and 2025, adding Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Making his first visit to India since taking office in 2024, Pezeshkian is scheduled to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iran's IRNA state news agency reported.

The two-day BRICS Leaders' Summit begins on September 12 and is expected to bring together Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, among other leaders.

Iran, which joined BRICS in 2024, is directly involved in the conflict, while fellow member the UAE has faced Iranian missile attacks and taken measures against Tehran.

The UAE suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran in August following the attacks, underscoring growing tensions within BRICS as the summit convenes amid the deepening regional crisis.

The UAE is expected to be represented by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Oil prices surged to a four-month high on September 11 as escalating threats to two of the world's key energy shipping routes fueled fears of prolonged supply disruptions and renewed inflation.

Brent crude touched $109.97 a barrel after jumping more than 6 percent a day earlier, before falling back. The benchmark was still on track for a weekly price gain of about 11 percent.

Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain restricted as the United States and Iran trade attacks, while the reported seizure of Yemen's Red Sea port of Mocha by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels has raised concerns over shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The oil rally intensified inflation concerns across global markets, pushing government bond yields sharply higher as investors increased bets on further interest-rate hikes.

JPMorgan analysts now expect eight of nine developed-market central banks to raise interest rates by the end of the year as policymakers contend with persistent inflation and rising commodity prices.

With reporting by Reuters

Foreign ministers from Persian Gulf Arab states are expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Oman next week as regional powers seek support for a temporary arrangement to restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported.

The meeting, an Omani initiative, is scheduled for September 14 in the coastal city of Salalah, according to two people briefed on the matter cited by the FT. One of the people said details were still being finalized, but that a number of states had confirmed their participation and the meeting was expected to go ahead.

Oman and Iran have been negotiating a temporary arrangement under which ships would enter the strait through Iranian waters and mostly exit through Omani territory. Diplomats cautioned, however, that a US-Iran agreement would ultimately be needed for the waterway to fully reopen.

One person briefed on the talks told the FT that Iran and Oman hoped to get GCC backing and use it to press Washington to lift its blockade of Iranian ports. Gulf states, meanwhile, want to ensure that any arrangement is temporary and allows vessels to enter and leave.

The diplomatic push comes after a short-lived US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed in June unraveled amid disputes over shipping through Hormuz.

Washington has told mediators it wants any new agreement to also address Iran's nuclear program, while Tehran is demanding concessions including an end to the blockade and permission to resume oil exports, the FT reported.

There are currently no direct US-Iran talks, though regional mediators are maintaining diplomatic back channels.

US President Donald Trump said he had no regrets about going to war with Iran despite the conflict's potential impact on November's midterm elections, and said he would make the same decision again.

“I don't believe in the word 'regret.' You can always question yourself a little bit,” Trump told Fox News in an interview broadcast on September 10. “If I had it do again, I would do exactly as I did.”

Trump also dismissed suggestions that some of his supporters had been demoralized by the war, saying they were “very proud of the fact that I'm not letting Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

He repeated his prediction that the conflict would end after the midterm elections. “It ends right after the election,” he said, a day after accusing Tehran of seeking to influence the vote.

Rising oil and gasoline prices linked to the conflict have become an issue for Republicans ahead of the elections.

WASHINGTON -- The United States has expanded its campaign against Iran's regional networks, imposing sanctions on individuals and companies in Iraq, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey that Washington says help finance or support Iran-backed militant groups.

The Treasury Department said on September 10 that the measures target networks linked to Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It also announced tougher restrictions on Iran-related licensing, saying most outstanding applications for specific licenses would now face a presumption of denial.

Hezbollah is both a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.

The sanctions focus in part on Iraq's Popular Mobilization Commission and companies involved in procuring foreign military equipment. Treasury said Iraqi government dealings involving the company Ain Al-Iraq included transactions with Russia, China, and Iran to obtain defense components, which it said were connected to broader corruption and sanctions-evasion schemes.

Max Meizlish, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former Treasury sanctions official, said the significance of the move goes beyond targeting Iran-backed militias.

"Buried in today's sanctions action targeting Iran's proxy network, Treasury more directly links the Iraqi government -- not just Iranian-backed militias -- to defense-related dealings involving China, Russia, and Iran," Meizlish told RFE/RL.

The action also targets a Dubai-based exchange that Treasury says moved millions of dollars from Iraq to Iran, as well as Lebanese exchange businesses that US officials accuse of helping transfer Iranian funds to Hezbollah.

The latest measures are part of the Trump administration's broader Operation Economic Outcast, aimed at cutting off the financial channels supporting Iran and regional allies. The department has warned that foreign companies and financial institutions facilitating sanctions evasion could face greater exposure to US penalties.

The State Department said in a statement that the United States "remains committed to supporting a sovereign, stable Iraq free from malign external influence, and to protecting Lebanon's institutions from [Hezbollah's] corrosive financial and political interference."

"These networks not only threaten regional stability but also undermine the economic interests of the very populations Iran claims to serve," spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

Several US military aircraft were damaged in Iranian missile strikes on a base in Jordan housing American soldiers, according to reports.

Iran fired 20 ballistic missiles at the Muwaffaq ‌Salti Air Base on September 9, Jordan said, adding that it shot down 18 of them. Tehran said it was in response to the US military destroying five Iranian tankers hours earlier.

US television broadcaster CBS News, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter, reported that an A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft was struck and lost a wing.

In addition, around eight F-15 fighter jets sustained light damage and were put back into service, CBS News reported.

Reuters, citing a US official speaking on the condition of anonymity, reported the same damage.

No deaths or injuries were reported in the strikes on Jordan.

A report issued in May by the Congressional Research Service said that 42 US military aircraft had been destroyed or damaged since the war with Iran began in February.

With reporting by Reuters and CBS News

Iran's parliament is trying to turn fears of foreign infiltration into law. But as lawmakers work through the legislation, the debate is exposing an increasingly awkward question for the Islamic republic: How far should the state go in policing Iranians' contact with the outside world?

At the center of that debate is Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who, at least publicly, is doing a balancing act. He has defended the need for tougher measures against foreign infiltration while warning that the current draft of the legislation goes too far.

"No patriot opposes countering foreign infiltration," Qalibaf said during a recent parliamentary session. But, he added, lawmakers needed to ensure that people's "rights, their lives, and their trade" were not affected.

He said security agencies may need to be able to vet Iranians' contacts with foreigners but that they cannot demand permission at every stage.

To read the full report, click here.