Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, adding to concerns about Iran-related threats to energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strikes on the pipeline. Satellite images showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina.
The British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said it had a report of a projectile hitting a vessel as it moved through the Strait of Hormuz. The amount of damage and the status of the crew were unknown as of early Sunday, the agency said. UKMTO’s report came the day after Saudi Arabia said it had temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precaution after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate. The attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said without detailing the impact on exports. US President Donald Trump, visiting Ireland to attend a golf tournament at one of his resorts, said Iran was probably to blame.
On Saturday, the Saudi Civil Defence said in a statement that a projectile fired by the Houthis had injured two people in Jazan region, and damaged several buildings, including a mosque. Trump confirmed on Saturday that he had spoken to the crown prince, and said the Houthis had also phoned his administration and asked Washington not to become directly involved in the conflict. Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Iran would be attending a meeting with Gulf Arab states in Oman on Monday, at which the future of the Strait of Hormuz would be discussed.
In a post on X on Saturday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said: “As long as the American side does not accept all of Iran’s conditions, dialogue and negotiation are of no use.”
