Hormuz shipping attack sparks oil supply fears

ADEN/DUBAI, Sept 13: 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 global energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline.

The British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said it had a report of a projectile hitting a vessel as it moved through the strait. The crew were evacuated by local authorities after a fire broke out following the attack, the agency said on Sunday.

UKMTO's report came the day after Saudi Arabia said it had temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precaution after 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, 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.

Iranian state media reported an Iranian commercial vessel was struck off its southern coast early on Sunday, killing one person and wounding three others, without giving further details.

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia carried out three airstrikes on the al-Rubaie area in Taiz province in southwestern Yemen. There was no official confirmation from Saudi. On Saturday, the Houthis said there have been 129 Saudi airstrikes over the past 48 hours.

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 southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Houthis have been attacking Saudi ships in the area since declaring a blockade in July and targeting its other oil facilities.

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.�" REUTERS