🇺🇸 Regional military coordination: According to Axios, senior military commanders from the U.S., Israel and eight Arab countries met privately in Germany the previous week to discuss the Iran war and regional security. The report named Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt among the Arab participants. At the CENTCOM-organized meeting, Cooper said U.S. forces would remain in the region despite Iranian attacks and outlined plans to expand shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
⚛️ Iran’s weapons programs and disputed negotiation claims: Israeli Atomic Energy Commission head Moshe Edri told the IAEA’s 70th General Conference that Iran continues building missile-production infrastructure while attempting to advance its military nuclear program. He warned that Israel would not stand idly by against threats to its destruction: “We have acted in the past to ensure our survival, and we will do so again if necessary.”
Trump said Iran wanted a deal urgently and that he would determine whether the U.S. engaged, while remaining open to the concept. Tasnim rejected his account, saying Iran had repeatedly stated it was not seeking negotiations for an agreement with the U.S. government and accusing Trump of making false claims.
⚓ Competing accounts of incidents near Hormuz: The IRGC Navy claimed the supertanker EL GAIA struck a mine while attempting to cross a “prohibited zone” south of the Strait of Hormuz, and that failed firefighting efforts left the entire vessel engulfed in flames. It declared the strait closed and under Iranian control.
CENTCOM said an Iranian missile had disabled the Panama-flagged tanker the previous month and that Iran struck it again with a drone over the weekend while it sat off Oman. It said a regional partner was towing the vessel and rejected the IRGC account as an attempt to intimidate commercial shipping.
Separately, Axios reported that U.S. forces destroyed two Iranian boats after the IRGC allegedly tried to seize a U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessel in the strait. An American drone reportedly fired two missiles, killing most aboard. CENTCOM confirmed the attempted seizure and said the unmanned vessel remained under U.S. control. Tasnim described the targets as fishing boats struck by U.S. drones near Bandar Kargan in Hormozgan province on Monday evening, reporting several fishermen missing and search-and-rescue operations underway.
🌊 Saudi diplomacy against the Houthis: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Cooper in Jeddah following reports that he had twice asked Trump in recent days to strike the Houthis and been refused. The meeting came after the Houthis captured Mokha and Perim Island. Cooper was already in Saudi Arabia for coordination meetings when the collapse on Yemen’s western coast occurred.
Trump said the Houthis had contacted the U.S., did not want to fight it or be targeted, and were allowing most ships through. Houthi Political Bureau member Hezam al-Assad rejected that account as baseless, adding: “But reality sums him up with the old proverb: 'The hand you cannot break — kiss it, and pray for it to break'”.
The crown prince also held talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb security, the Houthis, Iranian attacks on Gulf states and the wider effects of the Iran war. Egypt’s potential accession to the Pakistani-Turkish-Saudi Mecca Defence Alliance was not expected to be discussed.
🌐 Turkey criticism: Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said Israel stood with Greece and Cyprus against regional Islamic extremism led by Turkey. He accused U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack of acting against the interests of the West, Christians and the U.S.
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