Here's the latest
• Red Sea deaths: Pakistan said three of its nationals were killed in an attack by the Iran-backed Houthi militia on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea. The deaths would mark the first fatalities in the Red Sea since the Houthis declared a blockade of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – and follow on the heels of Pakistan signing a mutual defense treaty with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
• Strait of Hormuz: US officials have warned that the continued shutdown of the strait could lead to higher oil and gas prices. Global oil prices rose as the US and Iran set stringent conditions on each other for the reopening of the critical waterway. Shipping data does not back up US President Donald Trump’s claim that the strait is “open.”
• Trump’s secret move: Trump covertly flew out of Turkey last month on a smaller aircraft after feigning his departure on Air Force One, part of an elaborate ruse prompted by an Iranian threat.
A closer look at the Houthis and what fighting in Yemen means for the Iran war
One of the strongest Iran-backed militias in the region, the Houthis entered the war in March, a month after Israel and the US attacked Iran, by firing missiles towards Israel. Today, the group is trading fire with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and striking Saudi Arabia after a four-year de facto ceasefire with the kingdom.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s foreign minister said three of its nationals were killed and one more wounded in an attack by the Houthis on a Saudi-owned commercial vessel in the Red Sea.
The escalation comes while there is shaky maritime security in both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, and as Iran and the US give conflicting accounts of whether direct talks to reopen the waterway were taking place.
The latest attacks also raise the threat of an outbreak of another full-scale war in Yemen. The last war, which began in 2014, left the country facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Read more about the Houthis here.
Oil spills seen off Iran's Qeshm Island
Video geolocated by CNN shows oil washing up on a beach around Iran’s Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz.
In the video, pools of thick, black oil can be seen stretching along the beach, on Qeshm’s southeast coast.
“The pollution has affected a distance of over 1 kilometer of the beach,” said Shahmorad Jafari, head of the Qeshm Island Department of Environment, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
The oil slicks have spread to nearby mangrove forests, which are important habitats for marine wildlife and birds, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said today.
Officials are investigating the source of the oil, according to Fars News Agency, adding that a clean-up effort was underway.
“A marine source is among the possibilities being considered,” the state-affiliated news agency said.
Oil tankers have repeatedly come under attack throughout the war as the US and Iran continue to vie for control of the critical waterway.
Satellite imagery taken on August 10 appeared to show large oil slicks off the southern coast of the nearby Hengam Island.
Pakistan says three of its nationals killed in Red Sea strike, condemns Houthi attack
Pakistan’s foreign minister has said three of its nationals were killed and one more wounded in an attack by the Houthi militia on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea.
The deaths would mark the first fatalities in the Red Sea since the Yemen-based, Iran-backed Houthis declared a blockade of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on July 20. They also follow on the heels of Pakistan signing a mutual defense treaty with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as the Middle East conflict threatens to widen.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel,” Ishaq Dar wrote on X.
“Such attacks endanger innocent lives, constitute a violation of international law, and pose a serious threat to freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the safety of commercial shipping in the Red Sea.”
Yemen’s internationally recognized government earlier accused the Houthis of killing four crew members and two rescue workers in a “double-tap” strike against a Saudi-owned vessel sailing through the strait.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike via the group’s news agency Saba on Tuesday, saying the ship was carrying military equipment. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to the claim.
The group warned last month that it would target any Saudi shipping seeking to transit the strait, in response to a long-standing Saudi blockade against the group, which controls much of northern Yemen.
Signed earlier this month, the mutual defense pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey stipulates an attack against any of them “shall be regarded as an attack against them all.”
Speaking to reporters during a briefing on Wednesday, Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Islamabad’s foreign ministry, said as a signatory to the deal, the country is “ready and willing to assist Saudi Arabia and other coalition partners to preserve the security and safety of maritime traffic.”
Andrabi said Pakistan is in touch with the Saudi Arabian and Yemeni governments to seek more information on the strike.
Rubio, Bessent among those who remained on larger AF1 that was used as a decoy
At least two Cabinet secretaries were aboard the larger Air Force One plane that departed Turkey last month without President Donald Trump aboard, according to a US official, after Trump furtively switched jets on the tarmac.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had been accompanying Trump at the NATO summit in Ankara, stayed behind on the blue and white Boeing 747 along with other White House staffers, military personnel and members of the press, most of whom were unaware of Trump’s whereabouts.
The plane was believed to be the target of an Iranian threat deemed credible enough to force Trump’s secret swap, and was used as a sort-of decoy, departing Turkey without the president on board.
It’s not yet clear which staffers joined Trump aboard the smaller plane that ferried him to a military base in Britain.
Read more here.
Trump insists US controls the Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump insisted tonight that the United States still has control over the Strait of Hormuz and threatened that Iran would “get blown away” if the country tried to “do something.”
Trump has previously said the Strait of Hormuz is “open,” claiming that the US Navy has swept the waterway for mines and is in control of it, but shipping data doesn’t back that up, CNN reported Monday.
Both the US and Iran have yet to arrive at a deal to reopen the critical waterway. But Trump on Monday applied a new condition on talks, saying that he would now require compensation from the country for past misdeeds.
Trump says Secret Service and military advice prompted elaborate plane-switch ruse
President Donald Trump said tonight that he followed instructions from the US Secret Service and military when he secretly switched aircraft in Turkey last month, using a catering truck to keep himself hidden from public view.
“I just follow what they’d like to do. So I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” Trump told reporters as he landed at Joint Base Andrews from Ohio.
Trump said he was not given many details of what necessitated the clandestine maneuvering. “I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats,” he said.
Asked why it was considered too dangerous for him to fly on Air Force One but not for members of the press, Trump said any plane he is on is more likely to be targeted.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk … Because that would be the plane, I think, that they would be more likely to go for,” he said.
The president said he was not surprised when the Secret Service asked him to secretly switch planes.
Asked whether he was concerned about the possibility of a shoulder-fired missile attack during his departure from Turkey, Trump said he was generally unbothered: “I don’t worry about anything, to be honest. Whatever it is, you know my attitude? Whatever.”
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal have reported that Trump’s plane switch was prompted by an Iranian plot to target Trump with a shoulder-fired missile as he departed the NATO summit.
