Turkiye sending technical, defensive support to Saudi Arabia to help fight Houthis

US-Iran war Turkiye sending technical, defensive support to Saudi Arabia to help fight Houthis US, Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb 28, with Trump declaring “major combat operations” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei martyred in the strikes, and his son Mojtaba succeeded him in March A 2-week ceasefire agreed on April 8, followed by US-Iran face-to-face talks in Pakistan A preliminary agreement reached in June, but renewed fighting and disputes over Strait of Hormuz continued through July The war has now entered its 8th month, with Hormuz remaining at the centre of the crisis –> Live Reporting –> Updated On:Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:44:39 PKT Iran has ‘lost complete control’ of Hormuz Strait: Rubio Iran has "lost complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday, adding that Tehran’s economy was "in total and complete freefall".

"There’s almost as much oil flowing out now as there was before this conflict began. So they’ve lost complete control of the Straits," Rubio said during a visit to Athens. 

Ex-oil minister Mohsen Paknejad has pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s accusation that he resigned because Iran has “no oil”, Al Jazeera reports.

Paknejad resigned on Sunday for “personal reasons” and was replaced by acting minister Hamid Bovard.

“My resignation has nothing to do with Trump’s claims last night,” he says in a statement. 

Oil prices have risen, with Brent futures holding above $100 a barrel, on continued Middle East supply risks and a storm heading for oil-producing regions in the United States, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures were up 75 cents, or 0.75pc, to $101.33 a barrel at 5pmPKT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 39 cents, or 0.44pc, to $89.83.

Investors are not convinced that recent rises in supply and exports from the Middle East are sustainable, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.

Downward pressure on prices abated because of the approaching US storm, as well as conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, Varga said. 

The Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, has accelerated Israel’s decline, the chief of staff for Iran’s armed forces says, as Israelis mark the third anniversary of the deadliest day in their country’s history, AFP reports.

“The Resistance Front turned its defensive strategy into an offensive strategy for the legitimate defence of the Palestinian people and their land, and accelerated the decline of the Zionist regime (Israel),” Ali Abdollahi says in a statement. 

Washington’s "requests and ideas" about Iran’s nuclear programme are at odds with Tehran’s demands, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday when asked about US Vice President JD Vance’s comment that Tehran must cut enrichment to end the war with Washington.

"Vance’s comments are Washington’s ideas and requests (…) Americans are free to make requests and have ideas, but they are at odds with Iran’s demands," the senior Iranian official, who is directly involved in indirect negotiations with the United States, said.

The official added that no negotiations had taken place with the US about Iran’s nuclear programme and that Washington must first meet Tehran’s conditions before nuclear talks can start.

The official said US recognition of Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment is Tehran’s red line, which "it will not show flexibility on in any way. However, he added that details of enrichment can be discussed later".  

Turkiye 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.

A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the support expected from Turkey was only in the form of military equipment, intelligence sharing, and weapons systems, adding that no other form of deployment had taken place as part of the alliance so far. 

An adviser to the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has told the semi-official Fars News Agency that transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz deemed illegal by Tehran, referring to the southern pathway hugging Oman’s coast, will soon be closed, Reuters reports.

Mohammadreza Naqdi says these “few routes” have been created by blasting and damaging some of the rocky passages in the strategic waterway and are used by “small boats smuggling oil and transferring it to tankers”, challenging the narrative that Gulf oil exports are regaining pre-war levels.

“The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have full control over it. This situation will continue until Iran’s legitimate demands are met,” he adds. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says cultural and sports complexes will be closed in Iran if necessary to provide electricity and energy needed for industrial production.

“We must not allow the production cycle to be damaged. We will reduce the consumption of electricity, gas, gasoline, water and other energy sectors,” he told Iran’s Fars news agency. “[The] condition for resistance and standing up to the West is for everyone to endure hardship.”