⚓ An MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter lifts off from the flight deck of USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) as the destroyer enforces the U.S. blockade against Iran in the Arabian Sea. As of September 15, U.S. forces had redirected 103 commercial vessels to ensure compliance.
🔸 Senior U.S. officials met with Houthi representatives in Oman over the weekend after the group seized a strategic stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, Reuters reported. The Houthis have not confirmed the meeting, which included sanctioned Houthi official Mohammad Abdulsalam and Abdelmalik al-Ajri.
According to Reuters, the Houthi representatives told U.S. officials they would not attack American vessels, Israeli ships or commercial vessels, saying only Saudi vessels would remain targets. This marks a notable shift in their stated policy: since the May 2025 ceasefire, the Houthis had explicitly excluded the U.S. from their attacks while continuing to target Israeli-linked shipping.
🛡️ Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors amid continued Houthi attacks and has asked the UK, France, Pakistan and Egypt for air-defense support, AP reported.
🔸 Saudi Arabia also asked China to privately press Iran to restrain the Houthis following their seizure of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Reuters reported. Three Iranian sources said Beijing conveyed the message to Tehran, going beyond its public calls for restraint.
Iran responded that regional stability depends on first ending the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. According to Reuters, China issued no threats and did not use its economic influence over Tehran as leverage.
⚠️ The U.S. raised its travel advisory for Saudi Arabia to Level 3, urging citizens to 'reconsider travel' because of the escalating conflict involving Yemen.
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