Iran-US war latest: Crucial Saudi oil pipeline ‘on fire’ as Houthis capture island near key shipping route

Donald Trump rejected pleas from allied Saudi Arabia for support in tackling the Yemeni Houthi rebels, according to a report.

Citing two US officials, Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called president Trump twice on Thursday urging him to launch strikes against the Houthis.

But Trump reportedly rejected the request and has not intervened in the escalating conflict. US officials said the administration does not plan to take direct military action at this time.

The US is still supporting Saudi Arabia in Yemen, but has decided to stop short of direct military engagement.

Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Pakistani army chief ⁠Asim Munir discussed finding ways to restore diplomatic efforts to ⁠de-escalate Tehran’s conflict ​with ⁠the U.S. on all fronts.

A Pakistani security official said the two spoke by phone on ‌Thursday and the ‌conversation was focused on the US-Israeli war ⁠with Iran, the possibility of getting back to talks, and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the official ‌said.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog has said that nuclear activity is taking place at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a day after new satellite imagery showed a surge in construction activity at the site.

Researchers from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies used six years of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) change detection with Sentinel-2 optical change detection and very-high-resolution (VHR) Airbus imagery from July 9, 2026, as well as a Satellogic image from August 9, 2026.

The Houthis’ entry into the Red Sea port of Mokha on Thursday brings them within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important alternative for global shipping as Iran targets vessels on the Strait of Hormuz.

It’s the rebels’ biggest territorial gain in years.

The Bab el-Mandeb at the southern end of the Red Sea is especially important to neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, whose blockade of the Houthis has fed into the rebels’ escalating attacks on Saudi shipping as the kingdom tries to get its oil out of the region.

About 12% of the world’s goods are typically shipped through the strait.

Counter-terrorism officers in London have arrested a man and a woman suspected of aiding the foreign intelligence service of Iran.

According to the Metropolitan Police, the 60-year-old man and 42-year-old woman were taken into custody after properties in north and north-west London were searched on 24 June.

Following their detention under the National Security Act (NSA), officers conducted a further search at a third address in north-west London on 9 September.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made two phone calls to President Donald Trump on Thursday, pressing him to execute military strikes targeting Houthi forces, according to an Axios report citing two American officials.

Trump turned down the request, with U.S. officials stating the administration currently has no intention of taking direct military action against the Houthis.

Neither the White House nor the Saudi embassy in Washington immediately responded to requests for comment outside standard business hours, and the details could not be independently verified.

According to the report, Washington is increasingly concerned about the rapidly intensifying conflict in Yemen and is bolstering support for Saudi Arabia while seeking to avoid direct military involvement.

Read our full report below.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the BRICS summit in India, alongside Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

The summit will be held in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday, and now has 21 members including Russia, China and Brazil.

In a statement released on Friday, Mr Pezeshkian did not mention the war ahead of the summit, but said: “The BRICS seeks to enable countries to promote economic and regional development without relying on the US dollar, while standing firm against unilateralism and the excessive demands of major powers.”

Germany’s federal prosecutor said on Friday it had ⁠charged seven men in Berlin over alleged membership in ⁠Hamas and ​preparing ⁠a serious violent act endangering ⁠the state linked ​to ⁠weapons procurement ‌in Germany.

The prosecutor said the men, ‌acting on ‌orders from senior Hamas figures, secured ⁠a fully automatic rifle, 13 pistols and more than 700 rounds of ammunition for a ‌planned attack in Germany ​or Austria ‌around October ⁠2025 targeting ⁠Israeli representatives, Jews or ‌pro-Israel ​individuals.

Washington has largely ignored the lingering disruption created by the Houthis around the Red Sea. But a wider conflict with Saudi Arabia could force them to intervene, writes James C. Reynolds.

Britain’s economy grew by a much stronger than expected 0.4% in July, extending the strong performance seen in the first half of the year despite headwinds from the US-Iran war, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.

Compared with a year earlier, output in July was 1.6% higher, the fastest annual rate since February 2025 and above economists’ 1.2% forecast.

Growth in the three months to July held at the 0.4% recorded in the three months to June, compared with economists’ median forecast for a slowdown to 0.3%.

Britain, like other European economies, has taken less of an immediate hit to growth from the US-Iran war than economists had feared at the outset.

But the conflict this week pushed oil prices above $105 a barrel with knock-on impacts on government borrowing costs, and the BoE expects inflation to rise to around 3.2% later this year.