Iran’s allies were celebrating on Wednesday after Washington withdrew the last of its forces from neighboring Iraq, where 4,500 US troops died in the biggest US war of the century. More than 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in chaos unleashed after US forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Tehran views the pullout as a victory for its “axis of resistance” of allied armed groups and a step towards its aim of driving US forces out of the region.

With the US-Israeli war against Iran now entering its eighth month, Iran put forward a proposal last week under which the United States would lift its blockade of Iranian ports and Iran would reopen the disrupted Strait of Hormuz within seven days.

Trump said on Sunday he had rejected the proposal, although Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had not received a formal rejection. In a post on X on Wednesday, an Iranian government spokesperson said Araqchi had conveyed a US response to the Iranian government.

Iran says its plan aims to restore an interim agreement that collapsed weeks after it was signed by Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in June.

Last week, Qatari mediators shuttled between US and Iranian envoys in New York on the sidelines of a meeting of the United Nations, the first proximity talks between the warring sides since the ceasefire unravelled.

An official briefed on the talks, who is not Iranian and spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the Qataris had briefed Araqchi on the US response on Tuesday when Araqchi stopped off in Doha on his way home from New York. According to the official, the sides largely agree about the steps that are needed but still disagree about the order in which to take them.

Iran wants an eventual deal to grant it control over the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil shipping route, which runs past its coast.

Shipping through the strait has increased in recent weeks, with shippers charging high fees to brave the risk of attacks. But flows of crude oil, refined products, and natural gas remain substantially disrupted. In the latest incidents, Britain’s UKMTO maritime security body reported on Wednesday that two ships had been hit by projectiles the previous day.

US withdrawal seen in Iraq as defeat for Washington

US and Iraqi officials announced the withdrawal of the last American troops from bases in Iraq on Wednesday, fulfilling a plan agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out by the Trump administration while it wages war with Iran next door.

The withdrawal was celebrated by Iran and its allies. It marked an “​historic victory for the Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and honorable Iraqis and a crushing defeat for the American project,” said Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of armed factions.

Iraq, which the United States invaded in 2003, and Tehran has established broad political and military influence there.

The country has frequently become a proxy battlefield between the United States and Iran. Of the 18 US service members listed as killed since Trump launched “Operation Epic Fury” in February, seven died in Iraq. Washington blames groups in Iraq for striking neighbouring countries, most recently knocking out a big Saudi oil pipeline three weeks ago.

The US withdrawal raises “the possibility that Iran’s proxies will feel increasingly empowered in the absence of a Western military presence,” said Baghdad-based political analyst Ahmed Younis. “These groups may attempt to expand their role in shaping state policies and consolidating their presence within ​key institutions.”

At home in the United States, polls show the Iran war was unpopular from the outset. The disruption to global energy supplies and resulting surge in fuel prices have hurt Trump’s Republicans, trying to hang on to both houses of Congress in legislative elections five weeks away.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps urged Americans on Tuesday to vote out Trump’s allies.

“Remove from power the evil, deceitful, and violent politicians who are responsible for America’s current state,” they wrote in a 26-page letter to US voters. “Make sure your politicians understand that the world has changed.”

The war has intensified an economic crisis inside Iran, but Tehran has retained the ability to strike its neighbours and menace ships in the strait, where a fifth of global oil transited before the war. Trump says the war will be over soon and Iran will ultimately surrender.

“I don’t know if they are going to give up yet but they’ll give up,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “They are doing very poorly.”

Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai diverted over Jordanian airspace towards Saudi Arabia, transmitting a general emergency signal before transmitting another emergency signal that indicates a possible unlawful interference several minutes later, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Iran threatens new strikes

The Boeing 737 plane then again transmitted the general emergency signal before landing at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, the website said.

The incident was not believed to have been a hijacking, the Israeli prime minister’s office said. Flydubai was not immediately available for comment.

Iraq, Syria close airspace after Iran attacks Israel

An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the pilots had transmitted the emergency signals after getting into a physical altercation with each other.

It was not immediately clear if either pilot had intentionally transmitted the signal.

Three Israeli security officials earlier told Reuters that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations over the flight. Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir also held a “situational assessment” with the commander of the air force and other military officials, Israel’s military said in a statement.

Flydubai starts flights for Lahore, Islamabad

Flydubai operates daily flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv, a route that is popular among Israeli nationals.

Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have official diplomatic relations.

The meeting comes as the kingdom reels from weeks of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on its tankers, oil facilities, airports and even its capital, after the group took control of the Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

Riyadh has for weeks been reaching out to international allies for help against the Houthis.

The crown prince and the vice president met to “review brotherly bilateral relations and regional developments”, the Saudi Press Agency said, adding the sit-down was also attended by Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman.

Last December, Riyadh accused Abu Dhabi of threatening its national security by supporting southern Yemeni separatists who orchestrated a brief offensive in government-held areas.

But in July, top officials and ministers from Saudi Arabia and the UAE began posting messages on social media about friendship and unity, signalling a rapprochement.

That same month, Yemen’s civil war roared back to life when the Houthis launched a new campaign against Saudi-backed government forces, taking over a swath of territory and launching attacks on Saudi soil.

The group has also declared a maritime blockade on Saudi ships in the Red Sea.

Riyadh has been carrying out strikes on the Houthis, while for weeks reaching out to international allies for help.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been at odds on foreign policy for some time, from Yemen and Sudan to the Horn of Africa, where they have supported rival forces.

The resumption of Yanbu loadings, halted earlier this month after a drone attack on the pipeline, weighed on global oil prices on Monday as it added to signs of increased flows from the Middle East, from which the US war with Iran has throttled oil shipments.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco notified customers on Monday evening of its October loading schedule from Yanbu, an Asian refining source said. The refiner loaded a cargo from Yanbu late last week.

Drone attacks, which Saudi Arabia blamed on Iraqi militias, forced the kingdom to shut the pipeline on September 11, halting crude exports from Yanbu. Pipeline operations resumed last Tuesday.

Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mideast oil exports rebound in September as Saudi Arabia boosts shipments

Oil products are also being loaded, tracker says

European Space Agency satellite pictures also pointed to a resumption of loading.

“ESA satellite imagery captured over the Red Sea on September 27 shows Saudi Arabia loading nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz,” vessel-tracking firm TankerTrackers wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

Al Muajjiz is a terminal south of Yanbu.

“We also observed refined-product loadings. In total, we visually identified 40 tankers, regardless of their activity or proximity to these terminals.”

Two trade sources separately estimated crude loadings from Yanbu at about 2 million barrels per day since last week.

Saudi Arabia restarts East-West oil pipeline, sources say

Oil throughput on the pipeline is about 2 million barrels per day, according to an industry source, and around 2.65 million bpd according to ship-tracking firm Kpler. This is far short of the pipeline’s 7 million bpd capacity.

Throughput will climb to between 3 million and 4 million bpd in the coming days, Kpler said. A full return to the pre-attack rate of roughly 5.5 million bpd could still take another month, it said in a note on Monday.

Crude inventories at the Yanbu terminal rose by roughly 1 million barrels on September 22, the first build since the attack, according to Kpler.

The restart of crude loading at Yanbu added to signs of rising Middle East oil shipments following a recovery in exports via the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil loadings at Egypt’s Sidi Kerir resumed on September 22 after a 10-day hiatus, but tankers remain queued offshore as restrictions continue to limit access for much of the commercial fleet, Kpler said in the note.

The ministry said Iraq had secured a special exemption allowing Iraqi Airways to operate services to Iran.

Iraq halted flights to and from Iran on Friday in line with US sanctions, and the government had sought exemptions for travel related to pilgrimage, medical treatment and education.

The transport ministry said services next month would initially operate from the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf once regulatory and technical requirements were completed.

A source in the Iraqi transport ministry said the exemption was provided by the US Treasury and would run for one month. The number of allowed flights has not yet been determined, the source said.

Three Iraqi airports suspend Iranian flights starting Friday, sources and state media say

The announcement comes after Reuters reported on Monday that the Trump administration was set to grant a one-month US Treasury waiver allowing Iraqi Airways to fly between Iran and Najaf, with a more permanent exemption potentially following.

Baghdad had offered safeguards including passenger screening and information sharing, as well as measures to prevent the flights being used to transport weapons, sanctioned individuals or illicit money, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

US and Iranian officials held separate talks with mediators on Monday, officials from both countries said, in a renewed push to end the war.

Any further negotiations are expected to centre on an amended version of the seven-day proposal Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to an official briefed on the talks.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index declined 1.2%, dragged lower by a 1.4% decline in oil giant Saudi Aramco.

Meanwhile, the kingdom has resumed oil loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after restoring operations on the East-West Pipeline, trade sources and shipping data showed, bolstering prospects for Middle Eastern crude exports.

Regional uncertainty continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Although US-Iran talks are being conducted through mediators, the absence of a clear diplomatic timetable and limited evidence of tangible progress have kept investors cautious, said Joseph Dahrieh, managing director at Tickmill.

At the same time, subdued shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and persistent maritime disruptions continue to heighten market concerns, Dahrieh added.

Qatar’s benchmark retreated 1.1%, with Qatar National Bank , the Gulf’s largest lender, losing 1%.

Sentiment was also clouded by continued disruption to LNG flows. QatarEnergy has extended force majeure notices and will be unable to deliver liquefied natural gas cargoes to Italian utility Edison and certain Asian customers, while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, Edison and trading sources said on Monday.

Dubai’s main share index fell 0.2%, hit by a 1.6% slide in toll operator Salik Co .

In Abu Dhabi, the index was down 0.3%. Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index lost 0.3%.

El Mansouri, who has also served as the kingdom’s minister of habitat, was received by King Mohammed VI at the royal palace and was “tasked with forming the new government”, the cabinet said.

Iraqi security experts say the withdrawal — agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out by Donald Trump’s administration even as it wages war against Iran — could give Tehran and its powerful allies free rein, while also allowing other US enemies to stage a comeback, including Islamic State.

“Iran stands to benefit strategically from the coalition’s departure because it removes a military presence that for years acted as a counterweight to Tehran’s influence in Iraq,” said Jasim al-Bahadli, an Iraqi security analyst.

He predicted that the militia groups would not only portray the departure as a victory for their movement, but also “seek to translate that momentum into greater influence over security and political decision-making”.

Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, described the US withdrawal as “a historic victory for the Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and honourable Iraqis, and a crushing defeat for the American project”.

US warns Iran over alleged involvement in Iraq unrest

“On September 30, we will celebrate the turning of a black page in Iraq’s history and the failure of the occupation to impose its will on our country,” he told Reuters. “Iraq has proven that its sovereignty cannot be secured by foreign forces, but by the resistance and the will of its people.”

Not ready

While the eventual departure of US forces is broadly popular among Iraqis, those who worry about the strength of the groups fear the withdrawal is premature.

“We believe Iraq is still not fully ready to take over the security file at this time,” Abdulrahman al-Zobaie, once a bastion of anti-American resistance, told Reuters.

“All Iraqis aspire to full sovereignty, and no Iraqi would dispute that. But I believe that the (US-led coalition) leaving in this way and creating a vacuum is what all Iraqis fear.”

American forces invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein, and went on to occupy the country before withdrawing at the end of 2011.

Around twice as many Americans died in “Operation Iraqi Freedom” as in the parallel war in Afghanistan, which ended with an abrupt US withdrawal in 2021.

US military says US, Saudi forces struck sites of Iran-backed groups in Iraq

In recent years, Iraq has been the only country to maintain close political and military alliances with both the United States and Iran.

The United States killed a top Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani, with a strike on Baghdad Airport in 2020. Iran’s allies repeatedly fired on US bases, sometimes drawing reprisals.

In this year’s war against Iran, 7 of the 18 US service members listed as killed were in Iraq, the last an army sergeant who died during the controlled detonation of a drone at a base near Erbil in July.

Victory for Iran’s axis

Iran, which says its ultimate aim is to force American forces to leave the entire Middle East, casts the US withdrawal from Iraq as a victory for its “axis of resistance” of allied armed groups across the region.

“Lasting security will prevail in Iraq” once the Americans leave the country and the region, the deputy chairman of the National Security Commission of Iran’s Parliament, Amir Hayat Moqaddam, said on Monday.

Iran “welcomes the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and will undoubtedly support it,” he told Iran’s parliamentary news service. “Resistance groups are currently taking action, sometimes targeting and confronting American troops.”

Iraq, Syria close airspace after Iran attacks Israel

Washington has accused militia groups in Iraq of playing a role in the wider Middle East conflict by launching attacks on neighbouring countries at the direction of Tehran, most recently hitting a major Saudi oil pipeline this month. The Baghdad government says it is trying to curb their influence.

New life for Islamic State?

Some Iraqi security officials, both in the federal government and the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, say the US pullout also risks giving new life to Islamic State, who, despite the defeat of their self-proclaimed caliphate nearly a decade ago, retains a sleeper cell network.

A lack of US intelligence, logistical support and drones will give Islamic State a chance to regroup, said Kurdish commander Sirwan Barzani.

“For more than two weeks, we have noticed movement by (Islamic State) sleeper cells, after it was announced in the general media that there will be an official withdrawal of the international coalition from Iraq by the end of September,” he said. “This has boosted, in my opinion, the morale” of the fighters.

Iraqi security forces said a suspected Islamic State cell was preparing suicide attacks to coincide with the pullout. The plot highlighted concerns that the militant group remains capable of exploiting security gaps despite years of military setbacks, said four Iraqi security and army officials.

Islamic State “is seeking to send a message that the group is still powerful and capable of launching bloody attacks,” said Colonel Khalid al-Bayati, a senior security official in the strategic oil town of Kirkuk.

Among his reasons for waging war on ​Iran, Trump has cited the need to ensure ​that it will never be able to build ⁠a nuclear weapon.

“The enemy (US) knows that Iran is ​not after nuclear weapons,” Hossein Mohebbi said. “Their issue with ​Iran is not its nuclear programme but rather its vastness, which they want to destroy.”

He also challenged US assertions that Iran ​has lost most of its leverage over the ​Strait of Hormuz, in part because the US military has been ‌able ⁠to protect some of the tankers bringing oil out of the Gulf.

“The fact that the Americans might manage, at great expense, considerable trouble, and high risk to ​sneak a small ​vessel through ⁠the Strait of Hormuz under cover of darkness to export, say, 100 or ​200 barrels of oil does not mean ​the Strait ⁠is open,” Mohebbi said.

Mojtaba says US will be forced out of ME

According to Kpler data, September has seen a recovery of oil exports via the Strait of ⁠Hormuz, ​which are set to hit ​almost 10 million barrels per day, about half the pre-war volume.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ​Netanyahu and Defence ​Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military had targeted and ​killed Beik, who ​they said has been involved ‌in ⁠the planning of attacks and recruitment of militants.

Medics and Hamas sources ​confirmed ​Beik’s ⁠killing in the Israeli strike on ​an apartment building ​in ⁠Gaza City’s Nasr neighbourhood around dawn.

The talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Araqchi remains in New York after attending the General Assembly. It was not immediately clear who would represent the US side in the talks with mediators.

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency later confirmed that Araqchi would meet the mediators in the United States on Monday morning, New York time.

The two sides will “examine the latest proposals and views regarding the current situation”, ISNA added.

Britain warns Iran it will not tolerate hostile activity on UK soil

Iran’s seven-day plan envisages an end to all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars worth of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.

Tehran would then allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the two sides would also resume talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had rejected Iran’s proposal, saying Tehran wanted a swift agreement because of the crippling economic pressure it is under.

However, he also told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to engage in further talks this week.

Araqchi said on Sunday that mediators had not formally conveyed a US rejection to Tehran and that Iran was awaiting Washington’s definitive position before deciding its next steps.

“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” he said on Sunday, adding that only a negotiated solution could resolve the impasse.

A woman was killed and her husband and others were wounded in one Israeli strike on the rooftop of their building in Gaza City, medics said. Another strike killed a woman and wounded others in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, they added.

The Israeli military said it struck a militant in Nuseirat, without giving further details. It did not immediately comment on the reported strike in Gaza City.

Palestinian authorities say more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Four killed in Gaza in strikes, Israel says it killed a Hamas finance chief

A US-brokered ceasefire agreed last year calls for the eventual reconstruction of the territory, but little progress has been made as negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops. Israeli airstrikes have continued.

At least 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory’s health officials, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed.

Israel and Hamas trade blame over responsibility for violations of the ceasefire agreement.

Iran said diplomacy remained the only path forward, having put its UN-announced framework to Washington through Qatari intermediaries. Trump dismissed the overture as a sign of Iranian desperation.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 1%, hit by a 1.7% slide in Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s biggest lender by assets.

Oil major Saudi Aramco retreated 1.1%.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Washington on Monday for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, state media reported.

Qatar’s index declined 0.5%, with Qatar Fuel dipped 3.1%.

Dubai’s main share index gained 0.3%, helped by a 1.4% rise in top lender Emirates NBD

In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.4%.

Diplomatic fractures compounded over the weekend as the Saudi-led coalition intercepted a barrage of Houthi ballistic missiles and drones targeting the kingdom.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index closed 1.1% lower.

The two will discuss bilateral ties as well as key regional and international developments, the agency added.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought US military help this month against the Houthis, but Washington declined to launch strikes, though it agreed to supply intelligence and targeting support, sources had told Reuters.

“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media. “Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this deadlock.”

Iran announced a peace proposal last week at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators. Trump said on Saturday he rejected the plan and argued that desperation was driving the Iranians’ push for an agreement on the key waterway.

READ ALSO: Trump expects new Iran talks

“They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Despite Trump’s public statements, mediators facilitating Tehran’s talks with Washington have not officially relayed a US rejection of the plan, Araghchi said.

“We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them,” Araghchi posted.

The US has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to put pressure on Tehran to stop Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which have drastically reduced shipping through the area even as Trump repeatedly asserts that the US controls the waterway.

The commander-in-chief of Iran’s army, Amir Hatam, said the war was at a critical and decisive stage, adding that Tehran would not accept a situation in which it was unable to trade while foreign powers used the region’s strategic waterways.

“If Iran cannot trade, if Iran cannot live, no one will be able to trade or live,” he said, in comments reported by state media.

Saudi Arabia drawn deeper into war

Previous attempts at diplomacy have failed to end the war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Since then it has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands while degrading the conventional forces of Iran and damaging its already ailing economy.

Iran and its allies have responded by extending the conflict throughout the region. Iran has struck US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles while its Houthi allies in Yemen have hit Saudi interests.

Saudi Arabia, the largest of the Gulf states, has been drawn deeper into the war this month as Houthi have advanced in Yemen, routing forces of the Saudi-backed government and threatening Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office and the UAE’s foreign ministry. The visit comes after Israeli newspaper Haaretz this month reported that Sheikh Mohamed had warned Netanyahu a week and a half before October 7, 2023 that Hamas was planning a major operation against Israel. The warning was not passed to Israeli intelligence agencies or the military, Haaretz reported.

Netanyahu, who has denied the report and threatened legal action against the newspaper, is facing a tough reelection campaign.

“We have just been informed by Saudi authorities that schools must remain closed all week,” read two separate messages seen by AFP.

There was no official reason given but the move comes amid heightened tensions in the Gulf and near-daily attacks aimed at Saudi Arabia by Houthis in Yemen.

“When a decision affects an entire school community for a full week, families deserve clear communication and transparency about the reasons behind it,” one Riyadh parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

“It’s a last-minute decision. We have no clue what’s happening,” a Lebanese expatriate living in Riyadh added.

Late Sunday, some schools indicated that they would be returning to in-person learning on Monday.

Saudi officials have not officially commented publicly on the closures or on any order to return to in-person learning this week.

The announcement comes a day after the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted drones and ballistic missiles targeting the kingdom.

The strikes were the latest in a series of escalating Houthi attacks since July, when renewed hostilities shattered a years-long truce and embroiled Yemen in the wider Middle East war.

The United Nations Security Council earlier condemned escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Houthis, noting that the strikes have wounded “civilians, including women and children”.

Iran’s truce plan, announced by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the United Nations earlier this week, calls for the release of frozen Iranian assets, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the US naval blockade in order for the key waterway central to the world’s energy supplies to be opened.

“This was, I think, a pretty cynical attempt to put something on the table that they knew was unacceptable,” US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said on Sunday in an interview with NBC. “To ask for the release of the blockade, the sanctions, international sanctions, and access to billions in assets just to talk.”

US President Donald Trump rejected the deal on Saturday, stating that Iranian leaders wanted the deal because “they are losing so badly.”

“I think it’s kind of common sense that the president doesn’t have a lot of confidence this time after we just tried a few months ago, but at the end of the day, of course, the president this has to end in some type of arrangement,” Waltz said. “But he’s going to leave all options on the table to get there.”

Speaking on NBC shortly after, Araghchi denounced what he described as “old, unproved accusations” made by Waltz.

“We are ready to open the strait if certain things are done by the US and these certain things are not new, have not come from the space,” he said. “These are our rights that we want to be respected.”

Araghchi struck a pessimistic tone regarding the prospect of a deal.

“There is also always hope for diplomacy, but we have no reason, to be honest with you, we have no reason to come back to diplomacy and engage with this administration once again because of their behavior in the past two years,” he told NBC.

“Through a coordinated, complex operation involving intelligence oversight and electronic warfare, IRGC naval forces’ personnel successfully captured an advanced unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) belonging to the terrorist US military,” the IRGC naval forces said in a statement, according to state TV.

They added that the drone was “operating in the Strait of Hormuz for espionage purposes”, identifying the model as a Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle that was “now in the hands of the force’s specialists for data recovery”.

Earlier this month, the Guards said they captured another US submarine drone in the strait that was crucial for oil and gas trade before the Middle East war started in late February and choked off shipping.

Iran has maintained a blockade of the Hormuz strait since the outbreak of the conflict, while the United States has imposed a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on social media.

“Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this deadlock.”

Iran announced a peace proposal last week at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators.

Trump said on Saturday he rejected the plan and argued that desperation was driving the Iranians’ push for an agreement on the key waterway.

“They want to make ​a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Despite Trump’s ⁠public statements, mediators facilitating Iran’s talks with the United States have not officially relayed a US rejection of the plan, according to Araqchi.

Saudi Arabia thwarts Houthi ballistic missiles, Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition says

“We are waiting for the mediators to ​convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them,” Araqchi posted.

The US has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to put pressure on ​Tehran to stop Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which have drastically reduced shipping through the area even as Trump repeatedly asserts that the US controls the waterway.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had rejected the Iranian proposal, citing unnamed US officials.

Pakistan, others call for preservation of Gaza ceasefire

It said Trump was privately skeptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he sees ​a renewed bombing campaign as likely after the November US midterm elections.

A US official had said earlier that discussions with Iran through mediators were “positive and constructive”.

Conflict has disrupted ​oil flows, harmed global economy

The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through a critical shipping ‌lane and ⁠taken a toll on the global economy.

Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday the proposed deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting.

UNSC condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

“If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared,” Araqchi said. If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks “on mutually agreed subjects.”

That could potentially include discussions of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has said Tehran must never acquire a ​nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told ​Reuters that Iran would show no flexibility, opens new tab ⁠over its nuclear program even if the US accepted its peace deal.

US launches ninth night of strikes on Iran as it hits out at Gulf neighbors

Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including enriching uranium or shipping its highly enriched uranium out of the country, the official said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with the ​CBS show “Face the Nation”, said Tehran was ready for talks on its nuclear program and other issues, but would not accept “bullying ​or coercion”.

“Iran is not ⁠seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks,” Pezeshkian said, adding that it had already agreed that “we’re not supposed to develop nuclear weapons”.

Previous attempts at diplomacy have failed to end the war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks.

Since then the war has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands while degrading the conventional ⁠forces of Iran ​and damaging its already ailing economy.

Iran and its allies have retaliated by extending the conflict throughout the ​region. Iran has struck US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests.

Trump praises Mamdani after meeting in New York

Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition said early on Saturday it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two ​drones launched by the Houthis towards the kingdom.

Vice President Han Zheng did not mention the US by name in his remarks. The US has launched a pressure campaign on Cuba that has largely blocked oil from reaching the island. The US war on Iran started with US-Israeli strikes in February.

The comments stood in sharp contrast to the bonhomie on display earlier this week at the White House, where President Donald Trump feted Chinese leader Xi Jinping with military flyovers and at a lavish state dinner.

“Major countries should have special responsibilities for safeguarding international peace and security, and they should take the lead in complying with the rules, upholding rule of law, and doing what’s right,” Han said.

“China holds that the sovereignty and security of countries in the Middle East, including the Gulf, should be respected.”

Trump warned Xi against providing support to Iran during the Washington talks and received assurances that China would not do so, the US ambassador to China said on Friday.

The warning followed reports that Beijing had supplied Iran with shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers and that Tehran had found ways to evade sanctions on its oil sales with Chinese help.

Call for end of blockade on Cuba

On Cuba, Han said: “China urges the relevant country to immediately stop using threat of force against Cuba and immediately and completely lift the blockade and sanctions against Cuba.”

Cuba’s electrical grid suffered a total collapse earlier this month, plunging the nation into darkness and leaving millions without power as the US presses its blockade.

Cuba’s aging power generation system has been under severe strain from fuel shortages and decrepit infrastructure for years, but a US-imposed oil blockade that began in January has worsened blackouts and led to frequent grid collapses.

Han also used the speech to portray China as a reliable partner on the global stage and a steadfast defender of developing nations.

“China holds that all countries, big or small, are equal members of the international community, and that world affairs should be handled by all through consultation,” said Han.

Iran raised the initiative at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators and that it could reopen the strategic waterway and put an end to hostilities in the region within seven days.

But in comments to reporters at the White House, Trump said: “I reject their proposal. … I rejected their deal.

“They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” he said before leaving for Tennessee. “We’re winning tremendously.

“They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine, I like making a deal too. What they want to do is immediately open the Hormuz Strait … because they have no money coming in, because they get their money from the Hormuz Strait,” Trump said.

The US has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to put pressure on Tehran to lift its blockade of Hormuz, which has drastically reduced shipping through the strait, even though Trump again asserted that the US had control of the waterway.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had rejected the Iranian proposal, citing unnamed US officials.

It said Trump was privately sceptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely after the November US midterm elections to Congress.

A US official had said earlier that discussions with Iran through mediators were “positive and constructive”.

Conflict has disrupted oil flows, harmed global economy

The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through a critical shipping lane and taken a toll on the global economy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday the proposed deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting.

“If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared,” Araqchi said. If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks “on mutually agreed subjects.”

That could potentially include discussions of Iran’s nuclear programme. Trump has said Tehran must never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would show no flexibility over its nuclear programme even if the US accepted its peace deal.

Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including enriching uranium or shipping its highly enriched uranium out of the country, the official said.

Pezeshkian also told broadcaster CBS that the Islamic republic would fulfil its obligations were the United States to agree to the proposal, according to excerpts released by state news agency IRNA.

The strait is crucial for the world’s oil supply and central to the conflict between the US and Iran, which remains deadlocked after nearly seven months.

“Coordination with the leader of the revolution (the supreme leader)… has been carried out,” Pezeshkian said.

“If the US accepts it and fulfils its obligations, we will do the same, and there will be no issue in this regard,” he added.

Pezeshkian said that a six-member team in Iran has been meeting for discussions and has “the authority to make decisions”.

This team includes representatives from “various organisations and bodies, including the military, the parliament and the government”.

Washington has yet to publicly respond to Iran’s proposal but reports indicated that President Donald Trump had rejected the plan, which calls for a cessation of all hostilities in the Middle East.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the plan’s conditions were the same as those laid out in a memorandum of understanding signed with the US in June.

It notably calls for the release of frozen Iranian assets estimated to be worth at least $12 billion, as well as the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the US naval blockade of Iran.

Iran raised the diplomatic initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators and could reopen the strategic waterway and put an end to hostilities in the region within seven days.

The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding the strait, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes and taken a toll on the global economy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday the deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting.

“If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared,” Araqchi said.

If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks “on mutually agreed subjects,” Araqchi said.

That could potentially include discussions of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has vowed that Tehran will never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran will show no flexibility over its nuclear program even if the United States accepts its peace deal.

Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including enriching uranium or shipping its highly enriched uranium out of the country, the official said.

Even so, Iran had put forward a plan that would halt hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. The plan in turn would require the United States to lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen funds, and waive its oil sanctions, Araqchi said.

Pakistan, KSA, Turkiye review institutionalisation of Makkah defence pact

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had previously called discussions through mediators “positive and constructive.”

But Trump was privately skeptical that Iran would meet his demands, the Journal report said, and he told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the Journal report.

Saudi allies unite

Previous attempts at diplomacy have failed to end the war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks.

Since then the war has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands while degrading Iran’s conventional forces and damaging Iran’s already ailing economy.

Iran and its allies have retaliated by extending the conflict throughout the region. Iran, which controls the strait along with Oman, has struck US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests. Houthis in Iraq were blamed for a pipeline attack that temporarily took more Saudi oil off the market. All the while, Hezbollah has been engaged with Israeli forces in Lebanon.

Araqchi briefed his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the understanding between Iran and Oman regarding safe shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s foreign ministry said early Saturday.

The war’s widening toll has also united Saudi Arabia’s allies to shore up the kingdom’s defenses.

The Saudi-backed, internationally recognized Yemeni government has come under assault from Houthi fighters, with Houthi missiles striking inside the kingdom.

Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition said early Saturday it intercepted two drones launched by the Houthis towards the Saudi capital Riyadh in addition to intercepting a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait.

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have launched attacks against Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.

The attacks have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, adding to pressures on global oil supplies caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran and putting at risk the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.

Defense officials of Turkiye and Pakistan, both partners in a joint defense pact with Saudi Arabia, met in Riyadh on Friday to review the security situation and discuss intelligence cooperation, military coordination, and integrating forces, the Saudi defense ministry said in a statement.

The statement came a day after Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish foreign ministers met within the framework of the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.

The violence in Yemen has prompted a new humanitarian crisis, the United Nations children’s agency said on Friday, reporting a rise in acute malnutrition among children.

The coalition said in posts on X that the missiles were headed towards Khamis Mushait and the drones towards the capital, Riyadh, adding that it was monitoring the missile threat and drones launched at the kingdom, without providing further details.

The Saudi civil defence had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha but not for Riyadh.

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks against Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia thwarts Houthi ballistic missiles, Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition says

The attacks have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, adding to pressures on global oil supplies caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran and putting at risk the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.

Hours earlier, the military chiefs of Saudi Arabia and defence allies Pakistan and Turkiye reviewed threats facing Saudi Arabia at a meeting in the Saudi capital.

The three signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement last month, saying they would regard an armed attack on any of them to be an attack on all. They said the pact aimed to strengthen collective deterrence and military cooperation.

The Saudi defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, said early on Saturday that he had affirmed with Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir in Riyadh continued joint efforts to confront attacks against the kingdom in accordance with the pact.

Pezeshkian took a defiant stand at the UN Wednesday, for which he travelled to New York, telling the world that Iran would not “bend at the knee” to Washington — even as US President Donald Trump acknowledged ongoing US-Iran talks.

“When we can resolve issues through dialog, we shouldn’t resort to killing one another. But with the instigations conducted by Israel, they have imposed this war on us,” he said on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

“But we do not wish to continue. It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not,” he said in remarks translated by the broadcaster.

Pezeshkian insisted Iran was ready to strike a deal with Trump to end the conflict.

“Why is it that within two weeks after the signing of an agreement, they chose to blow it up?” he said of the collapse of a shaky ceasefire.

“If the current American government, within international legal frameworks, wishes to reach an agreement, fine. If not, before the (US midterm) elections or after the elections, what difference does it make for us?”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took part in a meeting with Trump’s roving envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Their talks did not immediately yield a breakthrough.

Houthi backers?

As violence raged between Yemen’s Houthi militant movement — widely seen to be Iran-backed — and Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies, Pezeshkian insisted the Houthis do not take direction from Tehran’s government.

Washington and its allies including Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, accuse Iran of backing the Houthi militant movement that is raining ballistic missiles on the kingdom, and battling Riyadh-backed forces for control of Yemen.

“The Houthis are responsible for their own actions. They don’t take directions from us as those who are resisting in the region, based on the situations that have been imposed on them,” Pezeshkian said, according to the broadcaster’s translation of his remarks.

“We have contacts with them. There is no systematic relationship,” he added.

Saudi Arabia intercepted Houthi ballistic missiles on Thursday after issuing warnings for several regions including Mecca.

The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers and territory and seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, which is vital for Saudi oil exports, causing energy prices to jump.

Their gains cemented the hold of Iran and its allies on the two waterways that the wider Gulf, including top crude exporter Saudi Arabia, relies on to ship out its oil and other fuel products.

He welcomed China saying it wanted the agreement to be revived, posting on X that “Iran shares this approach and underscores the importance of returning to that understanding”.

Diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the Middle East war, launched by the US and Israel with surprise attacks on Iran in late February, have faltered for months.

Also read: Iran urges US to comply with Islamabad MoU

The June deal aimed to lay the ground for a full peace deal but it quickly unravelled.

There had been optimism that talks might be revived during the UN General Assembly this week, but in a defiant speech to the world body on Wednesday, Pezeshkian said Iran would not “bend at the knee” to the US.

A day later he told Fox News that Iran did “not wish to continue” the war but it was up to Washington to end it.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took part in a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner on the sidelines of the General Assembly, but their talks did not immediately yield a breakthrough.

Iranian adviser Mokhber said if Iran cannot have flights and receive airport services, then no one in the region can either, Nournews reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, flights to and from Iran have been suspended at all four Iraqi airports — Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniya — that had been handling the routes, according to sources and state media.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index fell 0.1%, dragged down by 4.8% decline in National Bank of Fujairah and a 1% drop in Abu Dhabi National Hotel.

Energy shares, however, advanced on expectations of improving Middle East energy supplies. Adnoc Gas gained 0.3%, while Adnoc Drilling Company rose 0.4%.

Some 60 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday carrying the highest daily volume of crude oil since early July, despite the ongoing war between the US and Iran, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Dubai’s main index edged 0.05% down, pressured by a 0.7% fall in toll operator Salik Company and 2.6% decline in food delivery platform Talabat Holding.

Oil prices fell more than 1% on Friday as markets weighed the possibility of a truce between the US and Iran against concerns that increasing attacks against Saudi Arabia by Houthi fighters could disrupt supply from the key Middle Eastern producer.

Brent crude was down 1.5% at $105 a barrel by 1141 GMT.

The move means that according to sources and state media, flights to and from Iran are suspended from all four Iraqi airports at which they were operating — Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniya.

Iraq’s state news agency reported the suspension at Najaf International Airport earlier on Friday.

Two separate sources told Reuters earlier in the week that Iraq ordered its civil aviation authority to halt Iranian flights to Baghdad airport from Wednesday. The sources said at the time that the government was discussing diverting Iranian flights from Baghdad to Najaf.

UAE suspends Iranian airlines’ flights until further notice

Washington had announced it would impose sanctions on any global companies doing business with Iranian airlines after September 23, with the aim of grounding Iran’s entire civilian fleet worldwide.

The United Arab Emirates, the Middle East’s biggest travel hub, also said on Thursday it was suspending all flights by Iranian airlines to and from the country until further notice.

The Houthis have launched strikes on the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly fired ‌into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world’s largest energy exporter, as part of a wider Middle East war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

The Houthis said they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Thursday, while authorities in Saudi Arabia said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Houthi fighters.

Saudi Arabia earlier had issued emergency alerts for areas including the holy city of Makkah, Jeddah and Yanbu, the main Saudi Red ​Sea oil port.

Saudi King Salman condemns Houthis as ‘terrorist militia’ in rare statement

Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority called on soldiers in the kingdom to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from power, ​a statement posted on the Saudi state news agency said.

Amid the fighting, the Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish foreign ministers met within the framework of the Makkah Joint ⁠Defence Agreement, according to a Saudi foreign ministry statement. They condemned the attacks targeting Makkah and other civilian sites, while affirming Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself, the statement said.

“The ministers also discussed arrangements for ​holding an urgent meeting of the chiefs of staff of the three countries to discuss ways to support Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, which stipulates that an attack against any one of the ​parties constitutes an attack against all parties,” the statement said.

The meeting was announced shortly after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to distance Iran from the Houthis in an American television interview on Thursday.

“The Houthis are responsible for their own actions,” Pezeshkian told the Fox News program “Special Report with Bret Baier” a day after he appeared before the UN General Assembly in New York.

The Pezeshkian interview and speech took place amid a pause in fighting between the US and Iran and a brief attempt ​at diplomacy in New York, with Qatar serving as intermediary between the warring parties.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters on Thursday that Tehran had conveyed a proposal to the United States via intermediaries under ​which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened if Tehran’s conditions were met.

Under Iran’s proposal, hostilities would end on all fronts, including Lebanon, within seven days. The United States would lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen ‌funds and ⁠waive its oil sanctions, he said.

“The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened on the last day,” Araqchi said, adding that talks with the United States on other issues, including Iran’s nuclear issue, would then start.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran was reviewing Washington’s response to its peace proposals.

The war, which US President Donald Trump launched alongside Israel in February, has killed thousands of people and disrupted global energy supplies, pushing up oil prices.

While the US and Iran have largely stood down from direct combat, Iranian allies are engaged in the region with Hezbollah confronting Israel in Lebanon and the Houthis advancing in Yemen.

Iran and its allies have ​significantly pressured oil exports from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis have disrupted ship traffic at ⁠the mouth of the Red Sea while Iran has effectively limited tanker traffic at the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for 20% of the world’s oil exports before the start of the war. An attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq also temporarily knocked Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline out of service.

Security experts have debated exactly ​how much Iran directly influences the Houthis.

Pakistani among 11 civilians wounded in Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia as kingdom warns of wider threat

However, Yemeni government, Iranian ⁠and regional sources have said the Houthis’ advance down Yemen’s Red Sea coast was carried out with direct guidance from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

With the US-Israeli war against Iran largely stalemated for months on the battlefield, Washington has announced a shift in tactics to extend the reach of its financial sanctions by targeting companies from third countries that do business with Iranian firms, a practice known as “secondary sanctions”.

Iranian airlines were barred from neighbouring countries including the UAE ⁠and Oman on ​Thursday in response to new US sanctions, the first big impact of a shift in US policy to target companies in ​third countries that do business with Iran.

Houthis push for control of Yemen highlands

A flight ban, if sustained, could deepen Iran’s isolation and worsen an economic crisis in the country, which is already facing a US blockade of its ports at sea.

“We are living in an open-air prison,” a retired teacher ​in Tehran told Reuters by text message on condition her name not be used.