Here's the latest
• Widening conflict: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. US President Donald Trump warned Tehran would be held accountable for any further Houthi attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran “suckered” the group into attacking shipping lanes.
• Oil hits $100: As concerns deepen about the flow of crude from the region, global oil prices climbed to $100 a barrel and average US gas prices rose to $4.09.
• War powers: The US House voted to halt the Iran conflict absent congressional approval, marking a significant rebuke to Trump’s war powers. But even if a similar measure passes the Senate in an upcoming vote, it would not compel the administration to end the war.
• On the ground: Jordan and Kuwait reported fresh Iranian attacks targeting sites in their countries. US strikes killed two people at an Iraq-Iran border crossing, Iranian state media reported.
Recapping the latest: Another critical waterway threatened in Middle East
If you’re just tuning in, the focus has been on developments in critical waterways in the Middle East. The Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen have threatened to blockade the Bab al-Mandeb, a major bypass of the Strait of Hormuz, while there’s also been attacks in the Red Sea.
Here are the key things to know, plus other developments in the war with Iran:
- Oil has topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May, as the widening conflict threatens a further squeeze on global supplies.
- President Donald Trump said today that the US would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis in the Strait of Hormuz, warning of “major military punishment” if the group targets ships again. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Houthi rebels for getting “suckered” into attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea, calling on the group to de-escalate.
- Insurance companies can cancel policies for ships that pay tolls to Iran or any other country to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a major trade group announced, injecting a new layer of uncertainty into the oil market.
- Recent threats by the Houthis to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia jeopardize regional stability and “constitute a dangerous escalation,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief said.
- Streams of tankers and cargo vessels continue to traverse the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, even as the Houthis threaten to blockade the critical waterway.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia that would impact ships in Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key export route for the kingdom’s oil after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout explains how this could impact the already unstable global oil market amid the Iran War.
In other news:
- The US continues to strike Iran, while Tehran launches widening attacks on US allies in the region. Jordan and Kuwait reported incoming Iranian fire on Thursday. The UK warned against all but essential travel to Kuwait and Bahrain.
- Trump placed a new condition on this week’s nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, saying the country now must join the Abraham Accords. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the development.
- The US House of Representatives voted to halt Trump’s war in Iran absent congressional approval, marking another significant rebuke of the president’s war powers. Even if the Senate passes a similar measure in an upcoming vote today, the concurrent resolutions lack the force of law. But the votes have highlighted growing discontent from some Republicans over the ongoing conflict.
CNN’s David Goldman, Hanna Ziady, Billy Stockwell, Betsy Klein, Alejandra Jaramillo, Adrienne Vogt, Aida Karimi, Sana Noor Haq, Duarte Mendoca, Dana Karni, Oren Liebermann, Lauren Chadwick, Nic Robertson, Mostafa Salem and Ellis Kim contributed to the report.
White House says Saudi deal is "off" unless kingdom normalizes relations with Israel
The White House said Thursday that an already signed civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is “off” unless the kingdom normalizes diplomatic relations with Israel.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to President Donald Trump’s repeated past statements pressing other countries, including Saudi Arabia, into joining the Abraham Accords.
But she stopped short of providing a full explanation for why Trump’s new condition on the nuclear arrangement wasn’t spelled out before the deal was inked on Wednesday.
“The president is always the final dealmaker, as you know,” she said. “This is something he has mentioned on numerous occasions.”
And she denied that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested the new condition. “Not to my knowledge, no. Again, as I told you, this was an idea the president has long had.”
Leavitt said Trump would continue conversations with Saudi leaders on normalization, but that the president hadn’t spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who has stated plainly that he will not normalize relations with Israel unless there is a clear pathway toward a Palestinian state — since Trump unveiled the new condition.
“The president just put out this statement a few hours ago. I don’t believe he’s had a call with MBS in the hours since. However, this is something that he has raised in previous conversations and has also said many times in the past,” Leavitt said.
Trump set to gather his Cabinet for meeting at Camp David
President Donald Trump is expected to gather his Cabinet next week for a meeting at Camp David, convening at a high-stakes moment for both his presidency and the US war with Iran.
“Next Friday, the president will host the 13th Cabinet meeting of this term at Camp David, which will be a lot of fun and something different for the Cabinet to experience together,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
It comes as a ceasefire deal with Iran has fallen apart and fighting has intensified in recent days. There is significant political pressure on the White House to resolve the conflict, with gas prices on the rise and the consequential midterm elections just months away.
This marks the first Cabinet meeting since May 27.
Trump has visited Camp David, the highly restricted Maryland presidential retreat, relatively sparingly as president, just twice during his second term and 15 times during his first.
Originally called “Shangri-La,” the facility has been used as a presidential retreat and place to host foreign dignitaries since President Franklin Roosevelt. The tranquil 180-acre camp houses log cabins, an outdoor swimming pool, a one-hole golf course, a shooting range, a bowling alley and trails.
The camp also serves as a working White House and is fully equipped with the security and resources necessary to run the country.
“Yea, Camp David is very rustic, it’s nice, you’d like it. You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes,” Trump said in an interview before taking office in 2017.
House votes to restrict Trump’s Iran war powers
The US House of Representatives has voted to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran absent congressional approval, the latest repudiation by lawmakers of the president’s handling of the conflict.
Four Republicans voted with Democrats in support of the measure, which was brought by Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal. The vote was 214 to 208.
What comes next: The US Senate is expected to vote soon on a similar measure. But even if it passed the Senate, it would not compel the administration to end the war. Concurrent resolutions, which are not presented to the president for signature or veto, lack the force of law.
Big picture: The House resolution still amounts to a significant rebuke.
The vote comes amid escalations in the renewed conflict after a recent ceasefire came to an end. This marks the second time the House has voted to check the president’s ability to continue waging war, but the first after the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran collapsed.
Democrats have repeatedly forced votes to limit Trump’s war powers in both the House and the Senate, but the campaign has gradually picked up more GOP support in a sign of growing discontent within the party over the ongoing conflict. This vote renews the spotlight on the conflict on Capitol Hill.
Rubio claims Iran “suckered” Houthis into attacking vessels along the Red Sea
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Yemen’s Houthi rebels for getting “suckered” into attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea on Thursday, calling on the Iran-backed group to “de-escalate.”
Rubio told reporters that the Houthis “largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict.” “They now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships,” he said in Manila, the Philippines.
Earlier this week, the Houthis announced a blanket maritime prohibition on Saudi vessels, a significant escalation that has drawn regional actors into the fighting between Tehran and Washington. They are are a key ally of Iran, having repeatedly threatened to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – a crucial hatch at the southern end of the Red Sea. Just on Thursday, the group claimed to have hit two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea – sending oil prices spiraling.
The Houthis had accused Riyadh of striking Yemen’s Sana’a Airport, effectively signalling the end of a UN-brokered truce signed with Saudi Arabia in 2022. It came after the opposing Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed Tehran had dispatched a flight of military and security staffers bound for the Houthis.
The secretary of state repeated that accusation on Thursday, saying the Houthis “decided to send direct flights from Tehran into Yemen, carrying IRGC elements. … And the Saudis responded to it, and that’s what’s led to the situation we’re now facing.”
Iraqi prime minister visits Tehran following Washington meeting
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi was welcomed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at Sa’dabad Palace as he visits Tehran on Thursday.
It follows al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington last week, where he met with US President Donald Trump.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said al-Zaidi may convey messages and viewpoints from Trump, but insists Tehran is not seeking further mediation with the US.
“Iran currently has no shortage of mediators or means to exchange messages with the United States,” Araghchi told the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
“The primary obstacle is the ‘irrational, excessive, and hegemonic’ approach of the US,” he said, according to state media.
Netanyahu applauds Trump’s new requirement on Saudi nuclear deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has applauded President Donald Trump’s new requirement on the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia.
Just hours after Trump said the Saudis would have to join the Abraham Accords in order to finalize the deal, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying, “Saudi Arabia’s joining of the Abraham Accords would be an historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East.”
It is Netanyahu’s first public comment about the deal – which could allow the Gulf state to enrich its own uranium without international oversight – even as other Israeli politicians called the agreement a strategic disaster. Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman wrote on X that a civilian nuclear program for Saudi Arabia “will end with nuclear weapons and lead to a wild arms race across the entire Middle East.”
The accords are Trump’s signature foreign policy accomplishment from his first administration that saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and others. But Saudi Arabia has said it will only join the Abraham Accords if there is a viable path to a Palestinian state, something Netanyahu has openly rejected.
Oil tops $100 a barrel as Middle East war widens and tankers struck
Oil has topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May, as the widening conflict in the Middle East threatens a further squeeze on global supplies.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped more than 6% Thursday to briefly touch $100.14 a barrel, before pulling back just a bit. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, was up almost 5% to $90.98 a barrel.
Fears about global oil supply are resurfacing after Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted Saudi ships in the Red Sea, threatening to cut off a crucial escape hatch for Saudi Arabia’s oil exports.
The kingdom has been sending about 4 million to 5 million barrels of oil via the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, according to analysts. That lifeline for the global oil market is now at risk, with the Houthis claiming to have struck two Saudi tankers on Thursday.
Brent has surged by around $27 a barrel this month, a gain of more than a third. It last settled above $100 on May 22, according to FactSet.
“The developments over the past week including the Houthis implementing a naval blockade in the (Bab al-Mandeb), a lack of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as Ukraine’s drone campaign disrupting Kazakh oil flows from Russian export terminals have all pushed Brent crude prices above $100 per barrel,” Hamad Hussein, climate and commodities economist at consultancy Capital Economics told CNN.
“Unless signs of de-escalation across the various conflicts emerge, the risks to oil prices are skewed to the upside.”
– Maisie Linford contributed reporting.
Watch the latest shipping traffic through Bab al-Mandeb Strait
Streams of tankers and cargo vessels continue to traverse the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, even as Yemen’s Houthi rebels threaten to blockade the critical waterway.
Another oil chokepoint, the strait sits between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.
Here is a video showing the latest shipping traffic through the channel:
Iran fires drones toward Kuwait-Iraq border, Kuwaiti defense ministry says
Iranian forces launched a drone assault on northern Kuwait on Thursday, according to the Kuwaiti defense ministry, as Tehran escalated strikes on US-allied Gulf nations.
The attack at the Abdali border crossing with Iraq “resulted in material damage,” ministry spokesperson Major General Saud Abdulaziz said in a statement.
No one was injured or killed, the statement added, stressing the Kuwaiti armed forces’ “ongoing readiness and constant preparedness to protect the nation’s borders.”
Other Persian Gulf nations that host US military bases, including Bahrain, have come under repeated Iranian fire in recent days – after Washington escalated its assault on Iran following Tehran’s attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Who are the Houthis?
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis represent the country’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis, and are formally known as Ansar Allah – “Partisans of God.”
They emerged as an armed group in the 1990s and fought a series of rebellions against Yemen’s central government over two decades.
After the Arab Spring in 2011, they seized a northern province and later the capital Sanaa, which they still hold, along with most of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. In the process they became part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” across the region, receiving weapons and missile technology.
Tehran has provided the group with sea mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), according to a 2021 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
After Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, the Houthis launched missiles against Israel and began targeting shipping in the Red Sea. Israel responded with strikes on Houthi infrastructure and killed a number of senior Houthi officials.
Amid the US-Iran war, the militant group has repeatedly warned they could take action to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea. Earlier this week, the group declared a maritime blockade on Saudi ships in the strait, threatening to create a new front in the Iran war.
CNN’s Lex Harvey contributed reporting.
Trump places new condition on signed Saudi nuclear deal
President Donald Trump has placed a new condition on a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia a day after formally approving it, saying the country now must join the Abraham Accords.
Trump wrote in a post on social media Thursday that the signed deal “will be approved,” but added, that it “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”
On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart signed the agreement, which provides Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program.
It has already sparked criticism from Israeli officials and is expected to draw scrutiny on Capitol Hill. CNN previously reported that the administration let the deal languish for months over concerns about the Iran war and the potential for congressional disapproval.
Trump emphasized in his post that there will be “no enrichment” of nuclear material. Saudi Arabia has previously been resistant to efforts to join the Abraham Accords, an effort started during Trump’s first term and expanded during his second to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East.
It is unclear what impact Trump’s social media missive will have on the signed agreement.
CNN has reached out to the Saudi embassy for comment and the White House for additional information.
Trump says US will hold Iran responsible for future Houthi attacks in Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump said today that the United States would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in the Strait of Hormuz, warning of “major military punishment” if the group targets ships again.
Trump’s warning comes after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for striking two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, days after announcing a naval blockade targeting Saudi vessels.
“(If) they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The reported attacks sent global oil prices above $98 a barrel.
Why US oil just topped $90 for the first time since early June
The war with Iran continues to intensify and expand, and oil traders are growing more concerned about the ability to get crude out of the Middle East.
That’s why Brent crude, the international benchmark, is closing in on triple digits again. But US oil is also on the rise, topping $90 for the first time since June 8.
So what gives? Why is US oil so expensive when Middle Eastern oil is getting blocked at every turn?
Oil trades on a global market, and a shortage in one region increases demand for crude from a different region.
The United States has become the supplier of last resort during the course of the Iran war, supplying jet fuel to Europe and diesel to Australia and Asia. That has kept a floor under US crude prices — but it has lifted American gas and diesel prices even more. As refiners make more jet fuel and diesel for foreign markets, they have made less gasoline.
That’s a big reason why gas prices have bounced back sharply, rising to $4.09 overnight, according to AAA, after falling as low as $3.77 just a few weeks ago.
Residents in Iran decry “cycle of war” as US strikes ravage region
Yellow taxis zoomed through a bustling junction in Tehran on Thursday, as Iranians walked through the streets of the capital.
But the scenes of relative calm, in footage from Reuters, were undercut by palpable anxiety expressed by several residents after the US escalated lethal attacks along Iran’s southwestern coast and deep into parts of the north.
As a stinging war of words further undermined shaky diplomacy between US and Iranian officials, one man in the capital told Reuters the time to “sit down for talks” had passed. “I believe we have to see this through to the end and finish it,” said Mr Mahbobi, who was identified only by his last name. “Either death or life, one of those will happen, and that’s better than this cycle of war.”
Washington ramped up strikes on Iran in mid-July, after Tehran attacked vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. At least 53 people have been killed in Iran by the US assault since July 6, the Iranian health ministry reported on Wednesday.
Tehran has also hiked up attacks on US-allied nations in the region, including in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan – all of which accommodate US military bases.
Another resident, Shahram Mohammadi, told Reuters that, “The Arab countries must also understand that if our infrastructure is struck, theirs will certainly be struck as well.”
“We were in negotiations when (the US and Israel) struck our leader. We were in negotiations when they struck our commanders. I think around 70 to 80% of the people are now familiar with this experience,” added Mr Mohammadi.
EU says Red Sea blockade threats constitute "dangerous escalation"
Recent threats by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia jeopardize regional stability and “constitute a dangerous escalation,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
In a statement published Thursday, Kallas called on the Houthis to cease all actions that “endanger international shipping and the lives of seafarers.”
The militant group claimed to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea earlier Thursday following their Monday announcement of a naval blockade on Saudi ships, a move which threatens to open up a new front in the Iran war.
UK warns against all but essential travel to Kuwait and Bahrain
Britain’s Foreign Office has warned against all but essential travel to Kuwait and Bahrain, citing the “unpredictable” situation in the Middle East, as Tehran and Washington trade daily strikes.
Both Persian Gulf nations have faced repeated Iranian attacks in recent weeks amid the latest spike in regional violence. The new travel advice published Thursday comes shortly after the UK announced it had temporarily withdrawn its staff from Iran.
Another oil snafu: Insurers may ditch ships that pay Iran a toll
Insurance companies can cancel policies for ships that pay tolls to Iran or any other country to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a major trade group announced Thursday, injecting a new layer of uncertainty atop the oil market quagmire that the Iran war has unleashed.
Lloyd’s Market Association, a group representing maritime insurance underwriters, said in a newly drafted clause for shipping policies that paying a toll to Iran directly or via any of its agents is illegal. If ships pay the toll, it can void the ship’s entire insurance policy.
LMA said insurers can apply a blanket policy about tolls so agents don’t need to figure out who is ultimately getting the money in the end. That could include the United States, after President Donald Trump briefly suggested the country could also impose tolls before abandoning that plan.
But LMA’s clause is just guidance, and agents and shipping companies can draft policies as they see fit.
That could nevertheless significantly complicate an already convoluted situation in the Strait of Hormuz: Iran has fired on vessels that attempt to enter or exit the Persian Gulf by hugging the Omani coast. Iran wants ships to transit the strait close to its coast so it can register them and impose tolls.
But the United States and other countries have imposed sanctions on Iran, so doing business with the regime would violate the law, LMA said.
That leaves shipping companies with few good options — especially as the Houthis have announced a blockade of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, leaving few remaining paths for Middle Eastern oil to get to its customers.
What we know about the two Saudi tankers attacked in the Red Sea
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed early Thursday to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, in what appears to be the group’s first enforcement action of its recent threat to blockade Saudi ships.
Here’s what we know about the tankers:
The Houthis, one of Iran’s principal allies in the region, identified the vessels as the Encelia and Layla. Both are Saudi-flagged, according to maritime tracking agency MarineTraffic.
The Layla (identified by its unique International Maritime Organization number 9336098) is listed as a laden crude oil tanker, while the Encelia (IMO 9240172) is identified as a laden oil products tanker, MarineTraffic said.
The vessels were struck in separate attacks approximately 70 nautical miles (around 80 miles) off the Saudi coast, maritime risk consultancy Marisks said Thursday. The Encelia sustained damage after being hit by a projectile, Marisks said, while the Layla was also “targeted.”
Satellite imagery from NASA appears to show the Encelia on fire in the Red Sea.
There is a risk the Houthis “may broaden their interpretation of ‘Saudi-linked shipping’ to include foreign-flagged vessels trading with Saudi ports, carrying Saudi cargoes or operating under Saudi commercial interests,” Marisk added.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said a tanker had been struck 70 nautical miles (around 80 miles) southwest of the Saudi Arabian town of Al Shuqaiq, but it did not provide the vessel’s name.
Meanwhile, Saudi Press Agency said the Encelia was “targeted while sailing in the Red Sea,” causing “a fire on the vessel’s bow,” citing an unnamed official at the General Transport Authority. In its report, it did not comment on the Layla.
CNN’s Eleni Giokos contributed reporting.
US claims Iran is “begging” for a deal, as Tehran warns of “unlawful” threats. Catch up
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Thursday that Tehran is “begging” the Trump administration for a peace agreement, after reporters pressed him on the president’s threat to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants this week.
Rubio doubled down on those comments, describing Trump’s move as “a head for an eye,” refering to Iran’s threat to take “an eye for an eye.” He further claimed that Iranian officials “haven’t come to their senses” and are “clearly not ready to make a deal.” An act of targeting civilian infrastructure could be considered a war crime.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, warned that Trump’s repeated threat to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants is “manifestly unlawful and criminal.”
That war of words escalated as both parties try to wrest control of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz – and now the Red Sea, opening up a new front of regional violence.
Here’s what you need to know:
- US strikes kill two people at Iran border: Two people were killed and 11 others injured after Washington launched a salvo across southern and western Fifty-three people have been killed by US strikes on Iran since July 6, the Iranian Ministry of Health said on Thursday.
- Iran fires on regional nations: The Iranian military launched four missiles toward Jordan early Thursday, three of which were intercepted, according to the Jordanian Armed Forces. Further east, sirens also sounded across Bahrain, the country’s interior minister said.
- New US-Saudi deal will have safeguards, says Rubio: The Secretary of State sought to allay concerns over a fresh nuclear pact between Riyadh and Washington, telling reporters in Manila that the Gulf ally was a “strategic partner.” He insisted there will be “safeguards in place to ensure that it can’t be turned into a weapons program.”
- Oil prices peak: The cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 4% passing $98 a barrel early morning ET on Thursday, after the Iran-backed Houthis attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea.
