By Mohammed Ghobari , Eman Abouhassira and Yasmine Ghania
ADEN/DUBAI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - 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.
The British navy-affiliated agencyUKMTO 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 precautionafter a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate.
Ongoing attacks in the widening Middle East war could send energy prices even higher after a week that saw the cost of Brent crude surge back above $100 a barrel.
The 1,200-km (745-mile) East-West pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula has served as the main route out for global supplies of Middle East oil for the past six months while the Strait of Hormuz has been largely shut by war.
It has been moving 4 million to 5 million barrels per day, amounting to 4% to 5% of global supply, sparing Saudi Arabia the brunt of the disruption that has crippled other Gulf oil and gas exporters.
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 attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said without detailing the impact on exports.
U.S. 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.
SAUDI LEADER ASKS FOR MILITARY HELP
Oil prices shot up over the past week and the retail price of diesel in the United States surged past a record $6 a gallon as the United States and Iran both fired on tankers and the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen advanced along the Red Sea, potentially extending disruptions to another major oil route.
Washington now faces a dilemma over whether to help the Saudis fight the Houthis, risking further expansion of the war.
Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, phoned Trump on Thursday and asked for U.S. military help fighting the Houthis, three sources told Reuters. They said the prince was told that Washington would not intervene directly for now but would help with intelligence.
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.
Four Yemeni government sources told Reuters that the Houthis had seized the strategic island of Perim on Friday in the middle of the Bab el-Mandeb strait — the "Gate of Tears" at the mouth of the Red Sea.
IRANIAN OFFICIAL PLAYS DOWN OMAN MEETING
There have been no talks between the United States and Iran to end the conflict since a June agreement that collapsed within weeks.
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."
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.
But a senior Iranian official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity on Saturday, played down the chances of a breakthrough, saying the meeting, called at Oman's initiative, was intended to discuss issues including the strait but was not expected to yield a signed agreement.
An agreement on routes through the strait between Iran and Oman will be presented at the meeting on Monday, which will also be attended by Iraq, but the strait will not reopen unless seven conditions conveyed by Iran to the U.S. are met, a source told Tasnim news agency, without elaborating.
Iran wants its control of the Strait of Hormuz to be recognised, allowing it to collect fees from ships that use it, which Washington rejects. Oman, which controls the opposite bank of the strait, says it is negotiating with the agreement of other regional states.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Aden, Eman Abouhassira and Maha El Dahan in Dubai, Yasmine Ghania, Menna AlaaElDin and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Catherine Cartier in Beirut, Samia Nakhoul in Ankara, and Jacob Bogage in Washington; Writing by Daniel Trotta, Idrees Ali and Sergio Non; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Facts Only
* Maritime trackers received reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
* The British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO reported a projectile hit a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
* The damage and crew status of the vessel were unknown as of early Sunday.
* Saudi Arabia temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precaution after a drone attack attributed to Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq.
* The East-West pipeline runs across the Arabian Peninsula.
* The pipeline moves 4 million to 5 million barrels per day, representing 4% to 5% of global supply.
* Satellite images showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina.
* The Saudi Foreign Ministry stated that the attack resulted in some injuries and damage, without detailing the impact on exports.
* A projectile fired by the Houthis reportedly injured two people and damaged buildings in the Jazan region.
* Oil prices surged over the past week, and diesel prices in the United States exceeded $6 a gallon due to firing on tankers and operations along the Red Sea.
* Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman requested U.S. military help fighting the Houthis.
* Four Yemeni government sources stated the Houthis seized the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative presents a layered dynamic where kinetic events—ship attacks and pipeline disruptions—are immediately framed within the context of broader geopolitical struggles involving Iran, Saudi Arabia, and external actors like the Houthis and the United States. The central tension lies in the interdependence of energy security, regional conflict, and contested maritime control of critical chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz. The structure juxtaposes localized military actions with high-level diplomatic negotiations regarding transit routes, revealing a disconnect between stated objectives and on-the-ground realities.
A significant pattern emerges in how responsibility is managed: initial reports focus on an attack and subsequent economic fallout, while claims of responsibility are initially absent or deferred, shifting focus to the overall effect of conflict on energy markets. The simultaneous reporting of internal political maneuvering (Iran's position on dialogue versus external demands) alongside military actions indicates a complex system where stated diplomatic goals often appear secondary to immediate security imperatives.
The implications concern the fragility of global supply chains when these chokepoints are contested, and the difficulty in establishing stable conditions for resolution when actors have divergent views on sovereignty and access rights. The framing surrounding the Strait of Hormuz—where Iran seeks control versus Oman negotiates with regional states—demonstrates how seemingly abstract geopolitical goals translate directly into tangible risks affecting global commodity flows. The lack of immediate resolution signals a pattern where conflict drives economic outcomes, requiring an analysis of which external pressures are being allowed to dictate internal regional strategies, and what agency remains for those seeking stability beyond kinetic confrontation.
Bridge Questions: What mechanisms exist for enforcing agreements reached by regional powers regarding transit rights through the Strait of Hormuz? How do shifts in international military support influence the localized risk calculations made by states controlling access to these routes? What long-term incentives might compel a shift from conflict-based security to negotiated maritime governance?
Sentinel — Human
The text exhibits the structure and depth typical of investigative or wire reporting, focusing on interconnected geopolitical events with varied perspectives, strongly suggesting human authorship.