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Rubio says Iran ‘lost’ Hormuz. Has it?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Iran has “lost complete control” of the waterway, pointing to the recovery in Gulf oil exports in September.
Al-Monitor
Politics
Turkey to send Mecca pact to parliament, opening path to Saudi deployment
Parliamentary ratification will remove a legal hurdle for Turkish military deployment to Saudi Arabia under a trilateral defense pact.
News
Syria weighs military aid for Saudi Arabia amid Yemen war, sources say
By Timour AzhariRIYADH, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Syria is carefully considering providing military assistance to key ally Saudi Arabia amid an escalating war against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, a US official and a Syrian military official briefed on the matter said.Options being considered include defensive aid to protect the kingdom from attacks, or deployment of forces in an offensive capacity to help Saudi-backed Yemeni troops fight the Houthis, the sources said.
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Exclusive-Saudi Arabia launches air safety probe into flydubai incident, sources say
By Allison Lampert, Tim Hepher, Steven Scheer and Federico MaccioniOct 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has launched an air accident probe following last week's cockpit stabbing on a flydubai jet, as experts examine any fallout for aviation safety alongside a separate UAE-led criminal investigation, three people close to the matter said.Safety probes designed to keep flights safe are normal after accidents but are not mandatory when a deliberate act is involved, such as the suspected attempt by a co-pilot to bring down the Israel-bound flydubai jet on September 30.
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Exclusive-Lebanon's Hezbollah gets $200 million from Iran to help displaced, sources say
By Laila Bassam and Maya GebeilyBEIRUT, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help Lebanese displaced by this year’s war with Israel, two people with direct knowledge of the transfer said, in what would be the first significant aid from the group to supporters who bore the brunt of the conflict.The US disputed the claim. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement that the money "is not there," accusing Hezbollah of "trying to save face with fake stories about cash influxes from Iran."
News
Rubio says US, Greece to jointly combat security threats
ATHENS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that "strong and model NATO ally" Greece and the United States are launching new counterterrorism information sharing between their law enforcement agencies.During an official visit to Athens,Rubio said Greece was particularly exposed to the threats posed by mass migration and human trafficking.
Politics
Erdogan aide named suspect in Turkey financial scandal
Former AKP deputy chairwoman Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya is facing allegations of being linked to a market manipulation scandal.
Politics
Bulgaria halts rescue operation for crew of sunken ship
By Alex LefkowitzSOFIA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Bulgaria has halted its search for the missing crew of a ship that sank after being hit by a drone about 70 nautical miles (130 km) off its coast, Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency said on Wednesday.Early on Tuesday, two ships were hit in a drone attack in Bulgaria's Black Sea exclusive economic zone. One sank and the other was damaged. The crew of the damaged ship were rescued, but the crew of the sunken one remain missing.
News
US enrichment stance unclear as Vance urges 'meaningful' Iran cuts
It's unclear whether Vice President Vance was signaling a retreat from earlier demands of zero enrichment in a final deal or describing preliminary steps Iran would need to take to end the war.
News
Explainer-The status of Iran's uranium enrichment programme
By Francois MurphyVIENNA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - US Vice President JD Vance told Reuters on Monday that Iran must make a "meaningful" reduction in its uranium enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the countries' seven-month war.The Trump administration has sought to force Iran to denuclearize in slow-moving negotiations to end the conflict. Below is a summary of what is known, and not, about the current status of Iran's uranium enrichment programme, which is at the heart of its nuclear infrastructure.WHAT DID IRAN HAVE BEFORE THE US AND ISRAEL BOMBED?
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Attacks on tankers in Hormuz hit highest of any week since start of Iran war, sources say
By Jonathan SaulLONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Attacks on tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz hit their highest last week of any week since the Iran war began, according to maritime security sources tracking incidents, amid a bigger export push by Gulf producers.Attacks, attempted attacks and harassment activity including drone overflights, surveillance and hailing using VHF radio by Iran's Revolutionary Guards have persisted in the strait, the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said in a note on Sunday.
News
Spared, married, hanged: the last weeks of Iranian protester Alireza Sepahi
Alireza Sepahi was arrested in the wake of Iran's January protests, was spared public execution in July after suffering a heart attack and married his fiancee on the eve of his death. But on the morning of October 5 came the moment the 25-year-old had feared for months when he was hanged in the central city of Isfahan. He had married his partner Mahshad Kashani, 22, who was also jailed over the protests, in a ceremony conducted by telephone by their lawyer on the eve of the execution, according to reports by several rights groups.
News
African Union delegation meets Congo rebels, calls for continued peace efforts
Oct 7 (Reuters) - An African Union delegation that met Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo has called for continued engagementin the peace process, as fighting continues despite ongoing mediation efforts.• The delegation, which includes three former presidents, Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta, Ethiopia's Sahle-Work Zewde and Botswana's Mokgweetsi Masisi, met leaders of the AFC/M23 rebel group on Monday, the African Union said in a statement on Wednesday• The rebels control large areas of North and South Kivu provinces captured during a lightning offensive last year
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Exclusive-In interview, US Vice President Vance says Iran must cut enrichment to end war
By Jacob BogageFAIRBANKS, Alaska, Oct 6 (Reuters) - US Vice President JD Vance said in an exclusive interview with Reuters that Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the countries’ seven-month war, even as Washington was unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations.
News
Iranian official says 'illegal routes' in Strait of Hormuz to soon be blocked
DUBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz deemed illegal by Iran will soon be closed, an adviser to the Revolutionary Guards' Commander told the semi-officialFars News Agency on Wednesday, referring to the southern pathway hugging Oman's coast. Mohammadreza Naqdi said these "few routes" had been created by blasting and damaging some of the rocky passages in the strategic waterway and were used by "small boats smuggling oil and transferring it to tankers", challenging the narrative that Gulf oil exports are regaining pre-war levels.
News
More than 200,000 people displaced since fighting in Yemen began, says UN agency
By Olivia Le PoidevinGENEVA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - More than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes since fighting inYemen began in recent weeks, according to data released on Wednesday by the United Nations' International Organization for Migration.IOM described the crisis sparked by renewed fighting between the Iran-backedHouthi groupand Saudi-backed governmentforces in Yemen as alarming, with displacement figures surging from 76,000 in mid-September to more than 200,000 as of Wednesday — nearly all of whom fled since fighting began in early September.
News
Turkey sending technical, defensive support to Saudi Arabia to help fight Houthis, officials say
By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Timour AzhariANKARA/RIYADH, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Turkey is sending mainly defensive and technical support to Saudi Arabia to help it fight Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, two officials said on Wednesday, after the NATO member and Pakistan pledged to act on the collective defence commitment of their newly formed alliance.
Politics
Mayor of Turkey's secular stronghold Izmir joins Erdogan's party
By Ece Toksabay and Huseyin HayatseverANKARA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The mayor of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city and a bastion of its secular opposition, joined President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP) on Wednesday, amid a crackdown on the opposition in which dozens of mayors have been jailed.Cemil Tugay, elected mayor in 2024 as a candidate of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) before quitting in June, formally joined the AKP at a ceremony in Ankara, handing Erdogan's party the mayoralty of a city it has never managed to win at the ballot box.